Omayra Sánchez Garzón (1972–85) was a 13-year-old Colombian girl killed in Armero, Colombia, by the 1985 eruption of Nevado del Ruiz. Volcanic debris mixed with ice to form massive lahars (volcanically induced mudslides, landslides, and debris flows) that rushed into the river valleys below the mountain, killing nearly 25,000 people and destroying Armero and 13 other villages. After a lahar demolished her home, Omayra was trapped beneath the debris of her house for three days. Her plight was documented as she descended from calmness into agony. Her courage and dignity touched journalists and relief workers. After 60 hours of struggling, she died, likely due to exposure. Her death highlighted the failure of officials to respond promptly to the threat of the volcano and the efforts of volunteer rescue workers despite a dearth of supplies and equipment. Omayra became internationally famous through a photograph of her taken shortly before her death by the photojournalist Frank Fournier, which was designated the World Press Photo of the Year for 1985. She has remained a lasting figure in popular culture, remembered through music, literature, and commemorative articles.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omayra_S%C3%A1nchez

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1640:

Bishops' Wars: Scottish Covenanter forces led by Alexander Leslie defeated the English army near Newburn, England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Newburn

1850:

German composer Richard Wagner's romantic opera Lohengrin, containing the Bridal Chorus, was first performed under the direction of Franz Liszt in Weimar, present-day Germany. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lohengrin_(opera)

1937:

Toyota Motors, now Japan's largest automobile manufacturer, was spun off from Toyota Industries as an independent company. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota

1963:

During a large political rally in Washington, D.C., Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, describing his desire for a future where blacks and whites would coexist harmoniously as equals. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_a_Dream

1973:

Swedish police used gas bombs to end a seven-day hostage situation in Stockholm; during the incident the hostages had bonded with their captors, giving rise to the term "Stockholm syndrome". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

battle of the sexes: (game theory) A situation in which two people want to do different things, but do them together. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/battle_of_the_sexes

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

To be apt in quotation is a splendid and dangerous gift. Splendid, because it ornaments a man's speech with other men's jewels; dangerous, for the same reason.   --Robertson Davies https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robertson_Davies