The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of independent sovereign states, most of which were once governed by the United Kingdom and are its former colonies. It was formerly known as the British Commonwealth and many still call it by that name, either for historical reasons or to distinguish it from the many other commonwealths around the world. The Commonwealth is largely an organisation where countries with diverse economic backgrounds have an opportunity for close and equal interaction. The primary activities of the Commonwealth are to create an atmosphere of economic cooperation between member nations, as well as the promotion of democracy and good governance in them.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1249: Louis IX of France dispatched Andrew of Longjumeau as his ambassador to the Mongols. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_of_Longjumeau)

1804: Lt. Stephen Decatur led a raid to destroy the captured USS Philadelphia in Tripoli of the Barbary States, denying her use to the enemy in the First Barbary War. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Decatur)

1857: Gallaudet University, the world’s only university for hearing-impaired students, was established in Washington, D.C.. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallaudet_University)

1923: The burial chamber of Tutankhamun, a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, was unsealed by Howard Carter. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Carter)

1978: The first computer bulletin board system, CBBS, was created by Ward Christensen during a blizzard in Chicago, Illinois. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBBS)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." -- Henry Adams (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Henry_Adams)