Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan (1933–2003) served as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1966 to 1978, during which he reoriented the agency's focus beyond Europe and prepared it for an explosion of complex refugee issues. He was also a proponent of greater collaboration between non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and UN agencies. The Prince's interest in ecological issues led him to establish the Bellerive Foundation in the late 1970s, and he was a knowledgeable and respected collector of Islamic art. Born in Paris, France, he was the son of Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan and Princess Andrée Aga Khan. He married twice, but had no children of his own. Prince Sadruddin died of cancer at the age of 70, and was buried in Switzerland.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Sadruddin_Aga_Khan

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

54:

Claudius was fatally poisoned by his wife Agrippina the Younger, making her 16-year-old son Nero the next Roman Emperor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero

1307:

Agents of King Philip IV of France launched a dawn raid, simultaneously arresting many members of the Knights Templar , and subsequently torturing them into "admitting" heresy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar

1773:

French astronomer Charles Messier discovered the Whirlpool Galaxy, an interacting, grand-design spiral galaxy located at a distance of approximately 23 million light-years in the constellation Canes Venatici. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whirlpool_Galaxy

1843:

The B'nai B'rith, the oldest continually operating Jewish service organization in the world, was founded in New York City. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%27nai_B%27rith

1917:

An estimated 100,000 people in the Cova da Iria fields near Fátima, Portugal witnessed "The Miracle of the Sun". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Miracle_of_the_Sun

1972:

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed into a remote area in the Andes mountains near the border of Chile and Argentina; the last of 16 survivors were not rescued until December 23. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguayan_Air_Force_Flight_571

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

palaver (v): To discuss with much talk http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/palaver

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The practical reason for freedom is that freedom seems to be the only condition under which any kind of substantial moral fiber can be developed — we have tried law, compulsion and authoritarianism of various kinds, and the result is nothing to be proud of. --Albert Jay Nock http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Jay_Nock