William Hayden English (August 27, 1822 – February 7, 1896) was a US Representative from Indiana and the Democratic nominee for vice president in 1880. English entered politics at a young age, becoming part of the conservative wing of the state Democratic Party. He was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives in 1851 and served as its speaker at the age of 29. Elected to Congress in 1852, he served four terms, leaving office in 1861. English was a War Democrat, supporting the Union in the Civil War. He was successful in business, and became one of the wealthiest people in Indiana. He returned to political life as Winfield Scott Hancock's running mate in 1880, but they were narrowly defeated by their Republican opponents, James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur. Afterwards, English continued in business and wrote two books.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1896:

The United Kingdom and Zanzibar went to war, with Zanzibar surrendering less than an hour after the conflict broke out. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Zanzibar_War

1927:

Five Canadian women filed a petition to ask the Supreme Court of Canada, "Does the word 'Persons' in Section 24 of the British North America Act, 1867, include female persons", to which the court eventually replied that it does not. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Famous_Five_%28Canada%29

1979:

The Troubles: IRA bombs killed 18 British soldiers in an ambush near Warrenpoint, and British royal family member Louis Mountbatten and three others on his boat at Mullaghmore. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrenpoint_ambush

2009:

The Burmese military junta and ethnic armies began three days of violent clashes in the Kokang Special Region. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Kokang_incident

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

as ever trod shoe-leather: (idiomatic, archaic) As ever existed or lived. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/as_ever_trod_shoe-leather

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

At any particular moment in a man's life, he can say that everything he has done and not done, that has been done and not been done to him, has brought him to that moment. If he's being installed as Chieftain or receiving a Nobel Prize, that's a fulfilling notion. But if he's in a sleeping bag at ten thousand feet in a snowstorm, parked in the middle of a highway and waiting to freeze to death, the idea can make him feel calamitously stupid.   --William Least Heat-Moon https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Least_Heat-Moon