James Bennett McCreary (July 8, 1838 – October 8, 1918) was an American politician from Kentucky who served in both houses of Congress and twice as the state's governor. During the American Civil War, he fought under Confederate Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan. In 1869, he was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives where he served until 1875; he was twice chosen Speaker of the House. In 1875, the Democrats chose McCreary to run for governor, and he defeated Republican John Marshall Harlan. In 1884, McCreary was elected to the first of six consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. After two failed bids for election to the Senate, the legislature elected him in 1902, but he failed to gain renomination. In 1909, McCreary gained a second term as governor, defeating Edward C. O'Rear in the general election; he died in 1918. McCreary County, named in his honor, was formed during his second term..

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCreary_County,_Kentucky

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1663:

King Charles II of England granted John Clarke the Rhode Island Royal Charter, described by one historian as "the grandest instrument of human liberty ever constructed". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Clarke_%28Baptist_minister%29

1808:

Joseph Bonaparte approved the Bayonne Statute, a royal charter intended as the basis for his rule as King of Spain during the Peninsular War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayonne_Statute

1947:

After news reports of the capture of a "flying disc" by U.S. Army Air Force personnel in Roswell, New Mexico, the military stated that what was recovered was debris from an experimental high-altitude surveillance weather balloon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roswell_UFO_incident

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

pessimize: 1. (transitive) To take a pessimistic view of; to speak of in a negative or pessimistic way. 2. (transitive) To make (something) pessimal or the worst; (in a weaker sense) to make (something, such as a computer program) less efficient. 3. (intransitive) To think like a pessimist; to believe the worst. 4. (intransitive) To become pessimal or the worst. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pessimize

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

A miracle worker is an artist of the soul. There’s no higher art than living a good life. An artist informs the world of what’s available behind the masks we all wear. That’s what we’re all here to do. The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we’re not yet starring in our own lives. The cosmic spotlight isn’t pointed at you; it radiates from within you.   --Marianne Williamson https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marianne_Williamson