Joseph A. Lopez (October 4, 1779 – October 5, 1841) was a Mexican Catholic priest who became a prominent ally of Emperor Agustín de Iturbide. As a priest in Peribán, he tried to arrest the first leader of the Mexican War of Independence, Miguel Hidalgo. Unsuccessful, he fled and became acquainted with Ana María Huarte, the wife of the future emperor of Mexico, Agustín de Iturbide. As a result, he was sent to Madrid to act as Iturbide's attorney and political informant, before returning to Mexico as chaplain and educator of the imperial family. He fled with the exiled family to Europe in 1823, and then returned to Mexico. Following Iturbide's execution in 1824, Lopez fled with the family to Washington, D.C., where he became chaplain to the Georgetown Visitation Monastery, and became a Jesuit. In 1840, Lopez was named the acting president of Georgetown University, becoming the first Latin American president of a university in the United States. He soon fell ill and was sent to St. Inigoes, Maryland, where he died.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_A._Lopez

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1917:

First World War: The Allies devastated the German defence at the Battle of Broodseinde, prompting a crisis among their commanders and causing a severe loss of morale in the 4th Army. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Broodseinde

1957:

The Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 1 (replica pictured), the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth, was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1

2003:

A suicide bomber killed 21 people and injured 60 others inside a restaurant in Haifa, Israel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxim_restaurant_suicide_bombing

2010:

A waste-reservoir dam in western Hungary collapsed, freeing 1 million m3 (35 million cu ft) of red mud, which flooded nearby communities and killed ten people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajka_alumina_plant_accident

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

orient: 1. (transitive) To build or place (something) so as to face eastward. 2. (transitive, by extension) To align or place (a person or object) so that his, her, or its east side, north side, etc., is positioned toward the corresponding points of the compass; (specifically, surveying) to rotate (a map attached to a plane table) until the line of direction between any two of its points is parallel to the corresponding direction in nature. 3. (transitive) To direct towards or point at a particular direction. 4. (transitive, reflexive) To determine which direction one is facing. 5. (transitive, often reflexive, figurative) To familiarize (oneself or someone) with a circumstance or situation. 6. (transitive, figurative) To set the focus of (something) so as to appeal or relate to a certain group. 7. (intransitive) To change direction to face a certain way. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/orient

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I have a talent for silence and brevity. I can keep silent when it seems best to do so, and when I speak I can, and do usually, quit when I am done. This talent, or these two talents, I have cultivated. Silence and concise, brief speaking have got me some laurels, and, I suspect, lost me some. No odds. Do what is natural to you, and you are sure to get all the recognition you are entitled to.   --Rutherford B. Hayes https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rutherford_B._Hayes