Francis Marrash (1836–1873) was a Syrian writer and poet of the Nahda movement—the Arabic renaissance—and a physician. Most of his works revolve around science, history and religion, analysed under an epistemological light. He travelled through the Middle East and France in his youth, and after some medical training and a year of practice in his native Aleppo, during which he wrote several works, he enrolled in a medical school in Paris. Declining health and growing blindness forced his return to Aleppo, where he produced more literary works until his early death. Middle Eastern historian Matti Moosa considered Marrash to be the first truly cosmopolitan Arab intellectual and writer of modern times. Marrash adhered to the principles of the French Revolution and defended them in his own works, implicitly criticising Ottoman rule in the Middle East. He was also influential in introducing French romanticism in the Arab world, especially through his use of poetic prose and prose poetry, of which his writings were the first examples in modern Arabic literature. He has had a lasting influence on contemporary Arab thought and on the Mahjari poets.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Marrash
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1580:
War of the Portuguese Succession: The army of the pretender to the Portuguese throne, António, Prior of Crato, was routed in the Battle of Alcântara, ending his short-lived reign. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Alc%C3%A2ntara_(1580)
1825:
The Thirty-Three Orientals, a revolutionary group led by Juan Antonio Lavalleja, declared Uruguayan independence from the Empire of Brazil. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uruguay
1920:
Polish forces under Józef Piłsudski successfully forced the Russians to withdraw from Warsaw at the Battle of Warsaw, the decisive battle of the Polish–Soviet War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Warsaw_(1920)
1942:
Second World War: Japanese forces attacked the Australian base at Milne Bay on the eastern tip of New Guinea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Milne_Bay
1989:
The Voyager 2 spacecraft made its closest approach to Neptune and provided definitive proof of the existence of the planet's rings (pictured). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rings_of_Neptune
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
draculin: (organic chemistry) A glycoprotein with anticoagulant properties, found in the saliva of vampire bats. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/draculin
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Is there any good reason why we cannot extend our multi- cultural generosity to include another dimension? That of time. The past, too, is another country. Its ghosts may look strange and frightening and slightly misshapen in body and mind, but all the more reason then, to welcome them to our shores. --Martin Amis https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martin_Amis
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