Sjafruddin Prawiranegara (1911–1989) was an Indonesian statesman and economist. He became active in politics after an education in law, and joined the Indonesian nationalist movement during the Japanese occupation of 1942–1945. He was appointed finance minister in the republican government during the Indonesian National Revolution of 1945–1949. In December 1948, the Indonesian revolutionary leaders were captured and Sjafruddin served as head of government for seven months. After Indonesia's independence he first served as deputy prime minister, then again as finance minister until 1951. A pragmatic policymaker, he espoused religious socialism based on a liberal interpretation of Islam; he was a staunch opponent of communism. Sjafruddin's opposition to the government's system of Guided Democracy resulted in his leading three years of guerrilla warfare, which ended with his surrender in 1961. Imprisoned until 1966, he became a vocal critic of the Indonesian government until his death in 1989.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1836:

English astronomer Francis Baily observed Baily's beads (example pictured), a phenomenon during a solar eclipse in which the rugged topography of the lunar limb allows sunlight to shine through. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Baily

1864:

American Civil War: A small Confederate force, which included cadets from the Virginia Military Institute, forced the Union Army out of the Shenandoah Valley. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_New_Market

2010:

Three days before her seventeenth birthday, Jessica Watson arrived in Sydney after sailing non-stop and unassisted around the world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Watson

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

primigravida: (obstetrics, veterinary medicine) A woman or female animal who is pregnant for the first time, or who has been pregnant once. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/primigravida

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

It was Toto that made Dorothy laugh, and saved her from growing as gray as her other surroundings.   --L. Frank Baum https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/L._Frank_Baum