The Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France is dedicated to the memory of Canadian Expeditionary Force members and other Canadians killed during the First World War. Designed by Walter Seymour Allward, the monument is the centrepiece of a 100-hectare (250-acre) battlefield park, overlapping the site of the Battle of Vimy Ridge offensive (9 April 1917) that began the Battle of Arras. In that offensive, all four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force participated as a cohesive battle formation for the first time, and it became a Canadian national symbol of achievement and sacrifice. France ceded the land to Canada for its memorial. Wartime tunnels, trenches, craters, and unexploded munitions still honeycomb the grounds, which are largely closed off for public safety. Preserved trench lines and several other memorials and cemeteries are contained within the park. King Edward VIII unveiled it in July 1936, and Queen Elizabeth II re-dedicated the restored monument on the 90th anniversary of the offensive. The site, one of only two National Historic Sites of Canada outside the country, is maintained by Veterans Affairs Canada.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1860:

On his phonautograph machine, Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville made the oldest known recording of an audible human voice, when he recorded himself singing "Au clair de la lune" (audio featured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89douard-L%C3%A9on_Scott_de_Martinville

1917:

First World War: The Canadian Corps began the first wave of attacks at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in Vimy, France. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vimy_Ridge

1947:

Sixteen white and black men began a two-week journey in the American South, acting in defiance of local laws that enforced segregated seating on public buses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_of_Reconciliation

1967:

The first Boeing 737 took its maiden flight, eventually becoming the most ordered and produced commercial passenger jet airliner in the world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_737

2005:

Charles, Prince of Wales, married his long-time mistress Camilla Parker Bowles. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Charles,_Prince_of_Wales,_and_Camilla_Parker_Bowles

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

lovingkindness: (archaic, uncountable) Kindness or mercy which is based on, or arises from, love; (countable) an act of such kindness or mercy. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lovingkindness

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

There is in the word, in the logos, something sacred which forbids us to gamble with it. To handle a language skilfully is to practice a kind of evocative sorcery.   --Charles Baudelaire https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Baudelaire