A Waterloo Medal was designed by sculptor Benedetto Pistrucci. Commemorating the Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815), the medal was commissioned by the British Government in 1819 on the instructions of George IV while Prince Regent; copies were to be presented to the victorious generals and to leaders of Britain's allies. The Prince Regent and William Wellesley-Pole, Master of the Mint, had been impressed by Pistrucci's models, and gave him the commission. Pistrucci fell from grace at the Royal Mint in 1823 by insisting on his own designs and refusing to copy another designer's work, and he likely concluded he would be sacked when the medal was finished. He delayed completion until 1849, when he submitted the matrices to the Mint. As most of the intended recipients had died by then, and relations with France had improved, the medals were never struck, though modern-day editions have been made for sale to collectors. Pistrucci's designs have been greatly praised by numismatic writers. Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterloo_Medal_(Pistrucci)> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 618: Li Yuan declared himself to be emperor of a new Chinese dynasty known as Tang, which lasted for three centuries. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tang_dynasty> 1178: Five Canterbury monks observed what was possibly the formation of the Giordano Bruno crater, a small lunar impact crater on the far side of the Moon. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giordano_Bruno_(crater)> 1812: The United States declared war against the United Kingdom for a combination of various reasons, officially beginning the War of 1812. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_1812> 1954: Carlos Castillo Armas led a CIA-sponsored invasion force across the Guatemalan border, setting in motion the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1954_Guatemalan_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat> 1994: The Troubles: Ulster Volunteer Force members attacked a crowded bar in Loughinisland, Northern Ireland, with assault rifles, killing six. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loughinisland_massacre> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: zongzi: <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/zongzi> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:   Raised as a Roman Catholic, I internalized the social values of that faith and still hold most of them, even though its theology no longer persuades me. I have no quarrel with what anyone else subscribes to; everyone deals with these things in his own way, and I have no truths to impart. All I require of a religion is that it be tolerant of those who do not agree with it. I know a priest whose eyes twinkle when he says, “You go about God’s work in your way, and I’ll go about it in His.”   --Roger Ebert <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roger_Ebert>