Anno Domini (Latin for "In the Year of the Lord"; commonly abbreviated AD) refers to the conventional numbering of years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It defines an epoch based on the traditionally reckoned year of the birth of Jesus. Years before the epoch were denoted a.C.n. (for Ante Christum Natum, Latin for "before the birth of Christ"), although BC (Before Christ) is now usually used in English. The Anno Domini era is the only system in everyday use in the Western hemisphere, and the main system for commercial and scientific use in the rest of the world. Some non-Christians or secular persons, however, object to a system based upon an event in the Christian faith; for this reason, the same epoch is also referred to as the Common Era, abbreviated CE.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anno_Domini

Today's selected anniversaries:

* 1666 - The Great Fire of London ended after burning for three days. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_London)

* 1793 - In France, the French National Convention voted to implement terror measures to repress French Revolutionary activities. The ensuing "Reign of Terror" lasted until the spring of 1794 and killed 35,000-40,000 people. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign_of_Terror)

* 1836 - Sam Houston was elected as the first president of the Republic of Texas. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Houston)

* 1877 - Oglala Sioux chief Crazy Horse is bayoneted by a United States soldier after resisting confinement in a guardhouse at Fort Robinson in Nebraska. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_Horse_%28person%29)

* 1977 - At 12:56 (UTC), Voyager 1 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida on a mission to leave the solar system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_1)

Wikiquote of the day:

"The silence often of pure innocence persuades when speaking fails." -- William Shakespeare in The Winter's Tale

(http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare)