Norman Birkett, 1st Baron Birkett (1883–1962) was a British barrister,
politician and judge noted for his skill as a speaker. Born in
Ulverston, Lancashire, he initially trained to be a Methodist preacher,
and attended Emmanuel College, Cambridge to study theology and history
with that in mind. He became President of the Cambridge Union, and
after switching to law graduated in 1910. He was called to the Bar in
1913 and developed a reputation as a barrister able to defend people
with almost watertight criminal cases against them, such as in the
second of the Brighton trunk murders and the Blazing Car murder. He sat
as a Member of Parliament for the constituency of Nottingham East for
two Parliaments in the 1920s, and was described as "the Lord Chancellor
that never was". In 1941, he became a judge of the High Court, and
later served as the alternate British judge in the Nuremberg Trials.
Unhappy with his time in the High Court, he accepted a position in the
Court of Appeal in 1950, but after finding he enjoyed it even less,
retired in 1956 when he had served long enough to draw a pension.
Following his retirement he was made a hereditary peer, and spoke
regularly in the House of Lords. After speaking there in 1962 he
collapsed at home, and following a failed operation died aged 78.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Birkett%2C_1st_Baron_Birkett>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
394:
Forces of the Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius I defeated Eugenius,
the usurper of the Western Roman Empire, at the Battle of the Frigidus
near modern-day Vipava, Slovenia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodosius_I>
1955:
An overwhelming Turkish mob attacked ethnic Greeks in Istanbul, killing
over 13 people, wounding over thirty others, and damaging over 5,000
Greek-owned homes and businesses.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul_Pogrom>
1963:
The Krulak Mendenhall mission, led by U.S. Marine Corps Major General
Victor Krulak and U.S. Foreign Service Officer Joseph Mendenhall, was
launched by the Kennedy administration to assess the progress of the
Vietnam War.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krulak_Mendenhall_mission>
1970:
Members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine hijacked
four jet aircraft en route from Europe to New York City, landing two of
them at Dawson's Field in Zerqa, Jordan, and one plane in Beirut,
Lebanon. The fourth hijacking was successfully foiled.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawson%27s_Field_hijackings>
2000:
The Millennium Summit, a meeting of world leaders to discuss the role
of the United Nations in the turn of the 21st century, opened.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Summit>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
pastiche (n):
1. A work of drama, literature, music, or architecture that imitates
the work of a previous artist, often satirically.
2. A musical medley, typically quoting other works.
3. An incongruous
mixture; a hodgepodge
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pastiche>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
When a shepherd goes to kill a wolf, and takes his dog to see the
sport, he should take care to avoid mistakes. The dog has certain
relationships to the wolf the shepherd may have forgotten.
--Robert M. Pirsig
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_M._Pirsig>
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