Spyridon Marinatos (1901–1974) was a Greek archaeologist who specialised in the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations of the Aegean Bronze Age, and excavated the Minoan site of Akrotiri (fresco pictured) on Thera between 1967 and 1974. He received several honours in Greece and abroad, and was considered one of the most important Greek archaeologists of his day. He joined the Greek Archaeological Service in 1919 and spent much of his early career on the island of Crete, where he excavated several Minoan sites. He served three times as head of the Greek Archaeological Service, including under the military junta which ruled Greece between 1967 and 1974. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the junta; in the late 1930s, he had been close to the dictatorial regime of Ioannis Metaxas. Marinatos died while excavating at Akrotiri in 1974, and is buried at the site.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1519:

Zhu Chenhao declared Ming emperor Zhengde to be a usurper, beginning the Prince of Ning rebellion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Ning_rebellion

1668:

Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660): Henry Morgan with an English privateer force landed at Porto Bello (in modern-day Panama) in an attempt to capture the Spanish city. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Morgan%27s_raid_on_Porto_Bello

1925:

Indian mystic and spiritual master Meher Baba began his silence until his death in 1969, only communicating by means of an alphabet board or by unique hand gestures. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meher_Baba

1978:

Moktar Ould Daddah, the first president of Mauritania, was ousted in a coup d'état led by Mustafa Ould Salek. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_Mauritanian_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

cooling center: (US) An artificially cooled emergency shelter that operates during dangerously hot weather to provide care and relief for people affected by the high temperature. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cooling_center

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Elemental Music is never just music. It's bound up with movement, dance and speech, and so it is a form of music in which one must participate, in which one is involved not as a listener but as a co- performer.   --Carl Orff https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Orff