Attalus I (269–197 BC) ruled the Ionian Greek Pergamene Kingdom from 241 BC until his death. He won an important victory, the Battle of the Caecus River, against the Galatians, a group of migratory Celtic tribes from Thrace, who had been plundering and exacting tribute through most of Asia Minor for decades. The victory was celebrated with a triumphal monument at Pergamon (The Dying Gaul) and Attalus taking the title of king (basileus). He participated as an ally of Rome in the First and Second Macedonian Wars against Philip V of Macedon. He conducted numerous naval operations in the Aegean, gaining the island of Aegina for Pergamon during the first war and Andros during the second. Attalus styled himself as a protector of the freedoms of the Greek cities of Asia Minor and portrayed himself as the champion of Greeks against barbarians. He funded art and monuments in Pergamon and in Greek cities he sought to cultivate as allies. He died at the age of 72 and was succeeded by his son Eumenes II.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1277:

Charles I of Anjou acquired a claim on the Kingdom of Jerusalem in exchange for a significant sum of money. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I_of_Anjou

1906:

Romanian inventor Traian Vuia became the first person to fly a heavier-than-air monoplane with an unassisted takeoff. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traian_Vuia

1959:

Tibetan uprising: After the 14th Dalai Lama sought refuge at Sera Monastery in Lhasa, Tibet, Chinese forces bombarded the monastery, inflicting severe destruction and killing hundreds of Buddhist monks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sera_Monastery

1977:

The punk group the Clash released their first single, "White Riot", described as their "most controversial song" due to its lyrics about class economics and race. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Riot

2019:

Syrian civil war: The U.S. Air Force carried out an airstrike in al-Baghuz Fawqani, killing 64 civilians. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_U.S._airstrike_in_Baghuz

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

brickbat: 1. A piece of brick, rock, etc., especially when used as a weapon (for example, thrown or placed in a sock or other receptacle and used as a club). 2. (figurative) A piece of (sharp) criticism or a (highly) uncomplimentary remark. 3. To attack (someone or something) by swinging or throwing brickbats (noun sense 1). 4. (figurative) To assail (someone or something) with (sharp) criticism. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/brickbat

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I see myself immersed in the depths of human existence and standing in the face of the ineffable mystery of the world and of all that is. And in that situation, I am made poignantly and burningly aware that the world cannot be self-sufficient, that there is hidden in some still greater depth a mysterious, transcendent meaning. This meaning is called God. Men have not been able to find a loftier name, although they have abused it to the extent of making it almost unutterable. God can be denied only on the surface; but he cannot be denied where human experience reaches down beneath the surface of flat, vapid, commonplace existence.   --Nikolai Berdyaev https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nikolai_Berdyaev