Elizabeth II (born 1926) is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign
states known as the Commonwealth realms, head of the 54-member
Commonwealth of Nations, and head of state of the Crown Dependencies and
British Overseas Territories. Her father, George VI, acceded to the
throne in 1936 on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII. She began
public duties during the Second World War, in which she served in the
Auxiliary Territorial Service. On George VI's death in 1952, she became
Head of the Commonwealth and Queen of seven independent Commonwealth
countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South
Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon. Her coronation service in 1953 was the
first to be televised. Since her accession, the number of her realms has
varied as territories gained independence and some realms became
republics. In 1947 she married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with
whom she has four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward. Her reign
of 60 years is the second-longest for a British monarch; only Queen
Victoria has reigned longer. Elizabeth's Silver and Golden Jubilees were
celebrated in 1977 and 2002; her Diamond Jubilee is being celebrated
during 2012.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_II>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1848:
As part of the Pan-Slavism movement, the Prague Slavic Congress
began in Prague, one of the few times that voices from all Slav
populations of Europe were heard in one place.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Slavic_Congress,_1848>
1866:
Fenian raids: The Battle of Ridgeway, the first to be fought
only by Canadian troops and led exclusively by Canadian officers, took
place in Ontario.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ridgeway>
1886:
Grover Cleveland became the only U.S. President to marry in the
White House when he wed Frances Folsom (wedding pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Folsom_Cleveland_Preston>
1967:
German university student Benno Ohnesorg was killed during a
protest in West Berlin against the visit of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah
of Iran, sparking the formation of the militant group Movement 2 June.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movement_2_June>
2010:
A lone gunman went on a shooting spree in Cumbria, England,
killing 12 and injuring 11 others before committing suicide.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbria_shootings>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
superannuate:
1. (transitive) To retire or put out of use due to age.
2. (intransitive) To become obsolete or antiquated.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/superannuate>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
When Nature gives a gorgeous rose, Or yields the simplest fern, She
writes this motto on the leaves, — "To whom it may concern!" And so it
is the poet comes And revels in her bowers, And, — though another hold
the land, Is owner of the flowers.
--John Godfrey Saxe
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Godfrey_Saxe>
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