The recorded history of Gibraltar (pictured in 1782) spans over 2,900 years. First inhabited 50,000 years ago by the Neanderthals, Gibraltar may have been one of their last refuges before their extinction. To the Carthaginians and Romans it was one of the Pillars of Hercules at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea. Moors from North Africa first settled and fortified it, calling it Jebel al-Tarik, later corrupted into Gibraltar. Castile contested it and eventually conquered it in 1462, after which it became part of Spain. An Anglo-Dutch force seized it in 1704. It was ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Utrecht, signed on 13 July 1713. Spain unsuccessfully besieged Gibraltar in 1704, 1727 and 1779–83; its status is still disputed. The territory became a British Crown colony and an important trading post and base for the Royal Navy during the Peninsular War. During the Second World War it was a key British garrison, controlling access to the Mediterranean. Gibraltar's fourteen sieges have led to it becoming "one of the most densely fortified and fought over places in Europe". Today it is a self- governing British Overseas Territory with an economy based largely on financial services, shipping and tourism.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Gibraltar

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1793:

Charlotte Corday assassinated Jean-Paul Marat, a leader in both the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, in his bathtub. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Corday

1863:

Three days of rioting began in New York City by opponents of new laws passed by the United States Congress to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_draft_riots

1962:

In an unprecedented action, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan dismissed seven members of his Cabinet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Long_Knives_(1962)

1977:

Ethiopia and Somalia went to war over the disputed Ogaden region in eastern Ethiopia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethio-Somali_War

2003:

French DGSE personnel aborted an operation to rescue Colombian politician Íngrid Betancourt from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, causing a political scandal when details were leaked to the press six days later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Op%C3%A9ration_14_juillet

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

tardigrade: Sluggish; moving slowly. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tardigrade

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I believe that order is better than chaos, creation better than destruction. I prefer gentleness to violence, forgiveness to vendetta. I believe that in spite of the recent triumphs of science, men haven't changed much in the last two thousand years; and in consequence we must still try to learn from history. History is ourselves.   --Kenneth Clark https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kenneth_Clark