George Mason (December 11, 1725 – October 7, 1792) was a Virginia planter, politician, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of three men who refused to sign. He served in the pro- independence Fourth Virginia Convention of 1775 and the Fifth Virginia Convention of 1776, during which he wrote much of the Virginia Declaration of Rights; this later served as a basis for the Bill of Rights, of which he has been deemed the father. Named one of his state's delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, Mason traveled to Philadelphia, his only lengthy trip outside Virginia, and was active in the convention for months before deciding he could not sign the final draft. Although he lost his fight to add a bill of rights there, and again at the Virginia Ratifying Convention of 1788, his efforts led his fellow Virginian James Madison to introduce one during the First Congress in 1789, and it was ratified in 1791, a year before Mason died. Long obscure, Mason is today recognized for his contributions to the founding texts of Virginia and the United States.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

220:

Emperor Xian abdicated the throne and the Han dynasty broke apart, beginning the Three Kingdoms period in China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Kingdoms

1899:

Second Boer War: In the Battle of Magersfontein, Boers defeated the forces of the British Empire trying to relieve the Siege of Kimberley. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Magersfontein

1905:

In support of the December Uprising in Moscow, the Council of Workers' Deputies of Kiev stage a mass uprising, establishing the Shuliavka Republic (monument pictured) in the city. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuliavka_Republic

1980:

The United States Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act to protect people, families, communities and others from heavily contaminated toxic waste sites that have been abandoned. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfund

2006:

The first action in the Mexican Drug War took place as President Felipe Calderón ordered Mexican military and Federal Police units into the state of Michoacán. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Drug_War

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

hedge sermon: (Christianity, historical) An open-air religious service held by Calvinists in the Low Countries during the Reformation, typically in rural areas beyond the reach of civic authorities. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hedge_sermon

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments.   --George Mason https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Mason