Harry Trott (1866–1917) was an Australian cricketer who played 24 Test matches as an all-rounder between 1888 and 1898. Trott was a versatile batsman, spin bowler and fielder. As a captain, he was assertive, respected by teammates and opponents alike and quick to spot a weakness in opponents. Trott made his Test debut in 1888 and toured England four times; on his last tour, he was elected captain by his team-mates. England won the series and retained The Ashes, but Trott's captaincy was praised by the likes of Ranjitsinhji and Wisden. In the return series in Australia, Trott led his side to victory, regaining The Ashes in a win credited as aiding the federation of the Australian colonies. A mysterious illness in 1898 abruptly ended Trott's Test career. After more than a year in Kew Asylum, he recovered and returned to first-class cricket for nearly 10 years. After retirement from cricket Trott served as a selector for the Victoria cricket team. A good-humoured man, Trott once played a joke on his friends by giving each a cigar butt supposedly smoked by royalty. When he died, well-wishers contributed to a monument over his grave.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

25:

Guangwu claimed the throne as emperor of the Han dynasty after Wang Mang, who had seized the throne himself and proclaimed the Xin dynasty, died when peasant rebels besieged Chang'an. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emperors_of_the_Han_dynasty

1772:

Russia, Prussia and Habsburg Austria began the First Partition of Poland to help restore the regional balance of power in Eastern Europe among those three countries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Partition_of_Poland

1888:

Bertha Benz made the first long-distance automobile trip, going 106 km (66 mi) from Mannheim to Pforzheim, Germany, in a Benz Patent- Motorwagen, returning the next day. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertha_Benz

1916:

First World War: The British Empire's Sinai and Palestine Campaign began with a victory in the Battle of Romani. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Romani

1981:

US President Ronald Reagan fired the 11,345 striking members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization en masse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_Air_Traffic_Controllers_Organization_(1968)

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

only game in town: (idiomatic, almost always preceded by the) The only opportunity, activity, or resource available. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/only_game_in_town

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I do believe in this evolution of consciousness as the only thing which we can embark on, or in fact, willy-nilly, are embarked on; and along with that will go the spiritual discoveries and, I feel, the inexhaustible wonder that one feels, that opens more and more the more you know. It’s simply that this increasing knowledge constantly enlarges your kingdom and the capacity for admiring and loving the universe.   --Conrad Aiken https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Conrad_Aiken