The Ole Miss riot of 1962 was a violent disturbance at the University of Mississippi (commonly called Ole Miss) in Oxford, Mississippi, as segregationist rioters sought to prevent the enrollment of James Meredith, an African-American. In the wake of the Supreme Court's 1954 decision Brown v. Board of Education, Meredith applied to Ole Miss in 1961. His admission was delayed and obstructed, including by Mississippi governor Ross Barnett, who even had him temporarily jailed. Meredith's multiple attempts to enroll, accompanied by federal officials, were physically blocked. A riot erupted on campus when a mob assaulted reporters and federal officers, burned and looted property, and hijacked vehicles. Two civilians were murdered and 160 marshals were injured, including 28 who received gunshot wounds. U.S. President John F. Kennedy invoked the Insurrection Act of 1807 and mobilized more than 30,000 troops, quelling the riot. A statue of Meredith on campus commemorates the event.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ole_Miss_riot_of_1962

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1791:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera The Magic Flute, composed shortly before his death, premiered at Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magic_Flute

1920:

Times Square Theater opened on Broadway with a production of The Mirage, a play written by its owner, Edgar Selwyn. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square_Theater

1939:

NBC broadcast the first televised American football game, between the Fordham Rams and the Waynesburg Yellow Jackets. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939_Waynesburg_vs._Fordham_football_game

2000:

Twelve-year-old Muhammad al-Durrah was shot dead in the Gaza Strip; the Israel Defense Forces initially accepted responsibility but retracted it five years later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Muhammad_al-Durrah

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

grimdark: 1. (fandom slang) Of a film, television programme, video game, written work, etc.: having a gloomy, dystopian atmosphere. 2. (literature) The literary genre of speculative fiction that is amoral, dystopian, or violent. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/grimdark

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

You were born with wings. Why prefer to crawl through life?   --Rumi https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Rumi