Stan Musial (1920–2013) was an American professional baseball player and Navy veteran of World War II. He was a Major League Baseball outfielder and first baseman on the St. Louis Cardinals for 22 seasons, from 1941 through 1963. Widely considered to be one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, with 3,630 career hits, Musial ranks fourth all-time and first in a career spent with only one team. He hit 475 home runs during his career and was named the National League's Most Valuable Player three times. In 1946 he earned his third and final World Series title, despite missing the entire previous season serving with the navy. He shares the major league record for the most All-Star Games played (24) with Hank Aaron and Willie Mays, and was a first-ballot inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969. He was also known for his harmonica playing, during and after his playing career, and for his modesty and sportsmanship. Musial was selected for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999. In February 2011, President Barack Obama presented Musial with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the highest civilian awards the US government can bestow.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1607:

San Agustin Church in Manila, the oldest church in the Philippines, was completed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Agustin_Church_(Manila)

1795:

A day after William V, Prince of Orange (pictured), fled the Dutch Republic as a result of the Batavian Revolution, the Batavian Republic was established. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batavian_Republic

1917:

Approximately 50 tons of TNT exploded at a munitions factory in Silvertown in West Ham, present-day Greater London, killing more than 70 people and injuring more than 400 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvertown_explosion

1975:

A magnitude 6.8 Ms earthquake struck northern Himachal Pradesh, India, causing extensive damage to the region. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_Kinnaur_earthquake

2006:

In the deadliest aviation accident in Slovak history, an Antonov An-24 aircraft operated by the Slovak Air Force crashed in northern Hungary, killing 42 of the 43 people on board. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Slovak_Air_Force_Antonov_An-24_crash

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

ascertain: To find out definitely; to discover or establish. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ascertain

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

If there be such a principle as justice, or natural law, it is the principle, or law, that tells us what rights were given to every human being at his birth; what rights are, therefore, inherent in him as a human being, necessarily remain with him during life; and, however capable of being trampled upon, are incapable of being blotted out, extinguished, annihilated, or separated or eliminated from his nature as a human being, or deprived of their inherent authority or obligation.   --Lysander Spooner https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lysander_Spooner