Johnny Owen (1956–1980) was a Welsh professional boxer. He won his first title, the bantamweight title for the Welsh Area, in March 1977, seven months after turning professional. Later in 1977, Owen defeated Paddy Maguire for the British bantamweight title, becoming the first Welshman in more than 60 years to hold the belt. He defeated Paul Ferreri for the Commonwealth bantamweight title but was controversially beaten by Juan Francisco Rodríguez for the European title. He later defeated Rodríguez in a rematch. Owen challenged World Boxing Council (WBC) champion Lupe Pintor for his world bantamweight title on 19 September 1980, losing in a twelfth-round knockout, leaving the ring on a stretcher. He never regained consciousness, dying seven weeks later at age 24. Owen possessed a professional career record of 25 wins (11 by knockout), 1 draw and 2 defeats. A statue (pictured) commemorating his life and career stands in his home town of Merthyr Tydfil.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1832:

The June Rebellion (depicted), an anti-monarchist uprising, broke out in Paris. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Rebellion

1941:

Second Sino-Japanese War: About 4,000 people died of asphyxiation in Chongqing when the tunnel in which they were hiding became blocked during a raid in the five-year bombing campaign. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Chongqing

1981:

The first clinical cases of AIDS were published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV/AIDS

2001:

Tropical Storm Allison, the costliest Atlantic tropical cyclone that was never a hurricane, made landfall in Texas, causing approximately $8.5 billion in damage. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Allison

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

rubbish: 1. (chiefly Australia, New Zealand, Britain) Garbage, junk, refuse, trash, waste. 2. (by extension, chiefly Australia, New Zealand, Britain) An item, or items, of low quality. 3. (by extension, chiefly Australia, New Zealand, Britain) Nonsense. 4. (archaic) Debris or ruins of buildings. […] 5. (transitive, chiefly Australia, New Zealand, Britain, colloquial) To criticize, to denigrate, to denounce, to disparage. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rubbish

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

My ultimate intuitive clue in philosophy is that "God is love" and that the idea of God is definable as that of the being worthy to be loved with all one’s heart, mind, soul, and entire being.   --Charles Hartshorne https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Hartshorne