Kenneth Walker (1898–1943) was a United States Army aviator and an Army Air Forces general who had a significant influence on the development of airpower doctrine. Walker graduated from the Air Corps Tactical School in 1929, then served as an instructor there. He supported the creation of a separate air organization, not subordinate to other military branches, and was a forceful advocate of the efficacy of strategic bombardment. He published articles on the subject, and became part of a clique known as the "Bomber Mafia" which argued for the primacy of bombardment over other forms of military aviation. He advanced the notion that fighters could not prevent a bombing attack, and helped develop the doctrine of industrial web theory, which called for precision attacks against carefully selected critical industrial targets. In 1942, during World War II, Walker was promoted to brigadier general and transferred to the Southwest Pacific. He frequently flew combat missions over New Guinea, for which he received the Silver Star. On 5 January 1943, he was shot down and killed while leading a daylight bombing raid over Rabaul, for which he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1757:

Louis XV of France survived an assassination attempt by Robert- François Damiens, who later became the last person to be executed in the country by drawing and quartering. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert-Fran%C3%A7ois_Damiens

1925:

Nellie Tayloe Ross was inaugurated as Governor of Wyoming, the first woman to serve as governor of a U.S. state. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellie_Tayloe_Ross

1968:

Alexander Dubček came to power in Czechoslovakia, beginning a period of political liberalization known as the Prague Spring that still enabled the Communist Party to maintain real power. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Spring

1975:

The Tasman Bridge (pictured), crossing the Derwent River in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, was struck by the bulk carrier Lake Illawarra, killing seven of the ship's crewmen and five motorists on the bridge. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tasman_Bridge_disaster

2003:

London police arrested six people in conjunction with an alleged terrorist plot to release ricin on the London Underground, although only one was eventually convicted. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_Green_ricin_plot

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

Twelfth cake: A decorative cake distributed among friends or visitors on the festival of Twelfth Night (which is either the evening of January 5th or of January 6th, depending on interpretation). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Twelfth_cake

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Learning does not consist only of knowing what we must or we can do, but also of knowing what we could do and perhaps should not do. --Umberto Eco https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Umberto_Eco