Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life. After she studied at the Amherst Academy for seven years in her youth, she spent a short time at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before returning to her family's house in Amherst. Thought of as an eccentric by the locals, she became known for her penchant for white clothing and her reluctance to greet guests or, later in life, even leave her room. Dickinson was a prolific private poet; fewer than a dozen of her nearly eighteen hundred poems were published during her lifetime. Dickinson's poems are unique for the era in which she wrote; they contain short lines, typically lack titles, and often utilize slant rhyme as well as unconventional capitalization and punctuation. Many of her poems deal with themes of death and immortality, two subjects which infused her letters to friends. Despite unfavorable reviews and skepticism of her literary prowess during the late 19th and early 20th century, critics now consider Dickinson to be a major American poet.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

217 BC:

Syrian Wars: Forces under Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeated Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid Empire at the Battle of Raphia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Raphia

1854:

The British Parliament abolished the Seigneurial system of New France. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seigneurial_system_of_New_France

1941:

World War II: As Nazi Germany began its invasion of the Soviet Union, the Lithuanian Activist Front took the opportunity to start an uprising to liberate Lithuania from Soviet occupation and establish a new government. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithuanian_Activist_Front

1978:

Working at the United States Naval Observatory, American astronomer James W. Christy discovered Charon, then considered the sole moon of Pluto. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charon_%28moon%29

1986:

Argentine footballer Diego Maradona scored both the "Hand of God goal" and the "Goal of the Century" against England during the quarter-final match of the FIFA World Cup in Mexico City. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentina_v_England_%281986_FIFA_World_Cup_quarter-final%29

2002:

An earthquake measuring 6.5 Mw struck a region of northwestern Iran, killing at least 261 people and injuring 1,300 others, and eventually causing widespread public anger due to the slowness of the victims receiving aid and supplies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Bou%27in-Zahra_earthquake

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

panjandrum (n): 1. An important, powerful or influential person.

2. A self-important or pretentious person http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/panjandrum

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

If we glance at the most important revolutions in history, we are at no loss to perceive that the greatest number of these originated in the periodical revolutions of the human mind. --Wilhelm von Humboldt http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Wilhelm_von_Humboldt