95px|Tom Swift and His Motor Cycle (1910), the first Tom Swift book

Tom Swift is the name of the central character in five series of books, first appearing in 1910, totaling over 100 volumes, of American juvenile science fiction and adventure novels that emphasize science, invention and technology. The character was created by Edward Stratemeyer. His adventures have been written by a number of different ghostwriters over the years. Most of the books are published under the collective pseudonym Victor Appleton. The 33 volumes of the second series use the pseudonym Victor Appleton II. The character first appeared in 1910. New titles have been published as recently as 2007. Most of the various series focus on Tom’s inventions, a number of which anticipated actual inventions. The character has been presented in different ways over the years. In general, the books portray science and technology as wholly beneficial in their effects, and the role of the inventor in society is treated as admirable and heroic. Translated into a number of languages, the books have sold over 30 million copies worldwide. Tom Swift has also been the subject of a board game and a television show. Development of a feature film based on the series was announced in 2008. (more...)

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1808:

Charles IV of Spain abdicated in favour of his son, Ferdinand VII. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_IV_of_Spain

1863:

American Civil War: On her maiden voyage from Scotland, where she was built, the Confederate States Navy steamer Georgiana, reputed to be one of the most powerful in the fleet, was damaged and sunk in the Charleston, South Carolina, harbor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Georgiana

1921:

Irish War of Independence: About 1,300 British troops attempted to encircle about 100 IRA volunteers at Crossbarry in County Cork. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossbarry_Ambush

1941:

The Tuskegee Airmen , the first all-African American unit of the United States Army Air Corps, was activated. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Airmen

1990:

Ethnic clashes between Romanians and Hungarians took place in Târgu Mureş, Romania, leaving several dead and hundreds injured. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_clashes_of_T%C3%A2rgu_Mure%C8%99

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

vaguery (n): 1. (uncountable) Vagueness, the condition of being vague. 2. (countable) A vagueness, a thing which is vague, an example of vagueness. 3. (countable, in the plural) An eggcorn for vagaries http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vaguery

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

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Reason is Life's sole arbiter, the magic Laby'rinth's single clue:

Worlds lie above, beyond its ken; what crosses it can ne'er be true. --Richard Francis Burton http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Francis_Burton