Herbie Hewett (1864–1921) was an English amateur cricketer who played first-class cricket for Somerset, captaining them from 1889 to 1893, as well as for Oxford University and the Marylebone Cricket Club. A battling left-handed opening batsman, Hewett could post a large score in a short time against even the best bowlers. Capable of hitting the ball powerfully, he combined an excellent eye with an unorthodox style to be regarded at his peak as one of England's finest batsmen. Educated at Harrow School, Hewett won a Blue at Oxford in 1886 and played for Somerset from 1884. In 1892, he made 1,407 runs at an average of more than 35, and was named as one of the "Five Batsmen of the Year" by Wisden in 1893. England did not play any Test matches at home in 1892, or else Hewett would probably have won a Test cap; instead his highest accolade was being selected to play for the Gentlemen against the Players at Lord's in 1894. Hewett practised as a barrister, having been called to the bar at the Inner Temple.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1839:

An earthquake struck central Burma, causing significant damage and killing an estimated 300 to 400 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1839_Ava_earthquake

1862:

American Civil War: General Stonewall Jackson of the Confederate States Army lost the First Battle of Kernstown, but was still able to prevent the Union Army from reinforcing the Peninsula campaign. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Kernstown

1919:

Benito Mussolini and his supporters founded the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento, the predecessor of the National Fascist Party. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasci_Italiani_di_Combattimento

1993:

The demolition of Kowloon Walled City, a densely crowded slum in Hong Kong, began. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

hoar frost: 1. Originally, any frozen dew forming a white deposit on exposed surfaces. 2. (specifically, meteorology) Water vapour which has undergone deposition or desublimation (“transformation directly into ice crystals without first turning into liquid water”) when the air is cold and moist to form a white deposit on exposed surfaces. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hoar_frost

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Fascism, Nazism and Stalinism have in common that they offered the atomized individual a new refuge and security. These systems are the culmination of alienation. The individual is made to feel powerless and insignificant, but taught to project all of his human powers into the figure of the leader, the state, the "fatherland," to whom he has to submit and whom he has to worship. He escapes from freedom and into a new idolatry. All the achievements of individuality and reason, from the late Middle Ages to the nineteenth century are sacrificed on the altars of the new idols. ...built on the most flagrant lies, both with regard to their programs and to their leaders.   --The Sane Society https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Sane_Society