Eduard Streltsov (1937–1990) was a Soviet football forward who represented Torpedo Moscow and the Soviet national team. He was widely regarded as one of the Soviet Union's finest players, earning the nickname "the Russian Pelé". Streltsov joined Torpedo in 1953, aged 16, and made his international debut two years later; he then played a key role in winning the gold medal for the USSR at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Ranked among the top seven footballers in Europe during 1957, he was accused of rape the following year. Evidence against Streltsov was inconclusive, but government agents told him that he would be retained in the USSR's 1958 World Cup team if he confessed. When he did so, he was instead convicted and sentenced to twelve years in the Gulag. He was released after five, and received a hero's welcome from fans when he resumed his football career with Torpedo Moscow in 1965. In the first season of Streltsov's comeback, Torpedo won the Soviet Championship. He returned to the national team in 1966, and was twice named Soviet Footballer of the Year before he retired in 1970. Since Streltsov's death in 1990, Torpedo's home stadium has been renamed after him, and two statues depicting his likeness have been erected in Moscow.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

356 BC:

The Temple of Artemis (model pictured) in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was destroyed in an act of arson by a man named Herostratus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Artemis

1774:

The Russo-Turkish War officially ended after the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire signed the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, with the latter ceding parts of the Yedisan region to the former. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Turkish_War_(1768%E2%80%931774)

1861:

In the First Battle of Bull Run, the first major land battle in the American Civil War, the Confederate Army under Joseph E. Johnston and P. G. T. Beauregard routed Union Army troops under Irvin McDowell. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Bull_Run

1925:

American high school biology teacher John T. Scopes was found guilty of violating Tennessee's Butler Act by teaching evolution in class. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scopes_Trial

2007:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book in the popular Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, was released to record sales of 15 million copies in its first 24 hours, making it the fastest- selling book in history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Deathly_Hallows

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

mither: 1. (intransitive, Northern England) To make an unnecessary fuss, moan, bother. 2. (transitive) To pester or irritate someone. Usually directed at children. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mither

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it. --Robin Williams https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robin_Williams