Mu'awiya I (c. 600 – 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, serving from 661 until his death. He acceded less than thirty years after the Islamic prophet Muhammad's death and shortly after the four Rashidun caliphs. He embraced Islam after Muhammad's conquest of Mecca in 630. Afterward, Mu'awiya became one of his scribes and, by the 640s, the governor of Syria. After Caliph Uthman was assassinated in 656, Mu'awiya opposed his successor, Ali. They fought to a stalemate during the First Muslim Civil War. When Ali was assassinated in 661, Mu'awiya compelled Ali's son Hasan to abdicate. As caliph, Mu'awiya relied on his Syrian supporters and conferred autonomy to the provinces. He fought the Byzantines throughout his reign, and renewed the Muslim conquests. His controversial appointment of his son Yazid I as successor introduced dynastic rule to Islamic politics. Mu'awiya is honored by Sunni Muslims as a companion of Muhammad, but reviled by Shia Muslims for opposing Ali.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu%27awiya_I

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1777:

Mission Santa Clara de Asís, a Spanish mission in California that formed the basis of both the city of Santa Clara and Santa Clara University, was established by the Franciscans. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Santa_Clara_de_As%C3%ADs

1918:

An underground explosion at a coal mine in Staffordshire, England, killed 155 men and boys. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnie_Pit_Disaster

1964:

Rebels led by John Okello overthrew Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah, ending 200 years of Arab dominance in Zanzibar. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zanzibar_Revolution

2010:

Iranian physicist Massoud Ali-Mohammadi was assassinated while leaving home for the University of Tehran, where he was a professor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massoud_Ali-Mohammadi

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

charlotte russe: A dessert of custard or whipped cream enclosed in sponge cake, often in the form of ladyfingers. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/charlotte_russe

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Where can we go to find God if we cannot see Him in our own hearts and in every living being?   --Swami Vivekananda https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Swami_Vivekananda