On 16 October 1834 a massive fire largely destroyed the Palace of Westminster, the medieval royal palace used as the home of the British parliament. The conflagration was caused by the burning of small wooden tally sticks that had been used as part of the accounting procedures of the Exchequer until 1826, which were being disposed of carelessly in the two furnaces under the House of Lords. The blaze caused a chimney fire, initially under the floor of the Lords' chamber, then up through the walls before spreading rapidly throughout the complex. The fire lasted for most of the night and developed into the biggest conflagration to occur in London between the Great Fire of 1666 and the Blitz of the Second World War; massive crowds were attracted to the spectacle. By the following morning a large part of the palace had been destroyed, although the actions of the London Fire Engine Establishment ensured that Westminster Hall and a few other parts of the old Houses of Parliament survived. In 1836 a design competition for a new palace was won by Charles Barry who, in collaboration with Augustus Pugin, incorporated the surviving buildings into the new complex.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1590:

Italian composer Carlo Gesualdo caught his wife having an extramarital affair with Duke Fabrizio Carafa of Andria and killed them both on the spot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlo_Gesualdo

1793:

War of the First Coalition: Despite leading French forces to victory in the Battle of Wattignies, Jean-Baptiste Jourdan was later forcibly discharged from the army due to interference from Lazare Carnot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wattignies

1945:

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations was founded in Quebec City, Canada, to lead international efforts to defeat hunger. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_and_Agriculture_Organization_of_the_United_Nations

1975:

Five journalists for Australian television networks based in the town of Balibo were killed by Indonesian special force soldiers prior to their invasion of East Timor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balibo_Five

1995:

Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam convened the Million Man March in Washington, D.C., in an effort to unite in self-help and self- defense against economic and social ills plaguing the African American community. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Million_Man_March

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

aureate: 1. Golden in color or shine. 2. Of language: characterized by the use of (excessively) ornamental or grandiose terms, often of Latin or French origin. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aureate

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.   --The Picture of Dorian Gray https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Picture_of_Dorian_Gray