In 1896, William Jennings Bryan ran for President of the United States.
The former Democratic congressman from Nebraska, who gained his party's
presidential nomination in July of that year after electrifying the
Democratic National Convention with his Cross of Gold speech, was
defeated in the general election by the Republican candidate, former
Ohio governor William McKinley. Born in 1860, Bryan grew up in rural
Illinois and in 1887 moved to Nebraska, where he practiced law and
entered politics. He won election to the House of Representatives in
1890, and was re-elected in 1892, before mounting an unsuccessful Senate
campaign. Despite the loss, he set his sights on higher office,
believing he could be elected president in 1896 even though he remained
a relatively minor figure in the Democratic Party. In anticipation of a
presidential run, he spent much of 1895 and early 1896 making speeches
across the United States; his compelling oratory increased his
popularity in his party. After gaining the nomination, he undertook an
extensive tour by rail to bring his campaign to the people, speaking
some 600 times, to an estimated 5,000,000 listeners. His campaign
focused on prosperity through bimetallism (or free silver), an issue
which failed to appeal to the urban voter.
Read more:
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Jennings_Bryan_presidential_campaign,_1896>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1778:
American Revolutionary War: British forces and their Seneca
allies attacked a fort and the village of Cherry Valley, New York,
killing 14 soldiers and 30 civilians.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_Valley_massacre>
1889:
Washington, named in honor of the first U.S. president, was
admitted to the United States as the 42nd state.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_(state)>
1934:
The Shrine of Remembrance, a memorial to all Australians who
have served in war, opened in Melbourne.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrine_of_Remembrance>
1942:
World War II: The Allies (Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery
pictured) defeated the Axis at the Second Battle of El Alamein, Egypt,
turning the tide in the North African Campaign by ending Axis hopes of
taking control of the Suez Canal and thus gaining access east to the
Middle Eastern oil fields.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_El_Alamein>
1965:
Southern Rhodesia, led by Prime Minister Ian Smith,
unilaterally declared independence from the United Kingdom to become
Rhodesia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Smith>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
papaverous:
Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the poppy.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/papaverous>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I didn't learn until I was in college about all the other cultures, and
I should have learned that in the first grade. A first grader should
understand that his or her culture isn't a rational invention; that
there are thousands of other cultures and they all work pretty well;
that all cultures function on faith rather than truth; that there are
lots of alternatives to our own society. Cultural relativism is
defensible and attractive. It's also a source of hope. It means we don't
have to continue this way if we don't like it.
--Kurt Vonnegut
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut>
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