Archie Jackson (1909–1933) was an Australian cricketer who played eight Test matches as a specialist batsman between 1929 and 1931. His Test and first-class cricket career coincided with the early playing years of Don Bradman, to whom he was often compared. A teenage prodigy, he played first grade cricket at only 15 years of age and was selected for New South Wales at 17. In 1929, aged 19, Jackson made his Test début against England, scoring 164 in the first innings to become the youngest player to score a Test century. Renowned for his elegant batting style, he played in a manner similar to the great Australian batsmen Victor Trumper, and Alan Kippax, Jackson's friend and mentor. Jackson's career was dogged by poor health; early in the 1931–32 season, Jackson coughed blood and collapsed before the start of play in a Sheffield Shield match against Queensland. Subsequently admitted to a sanatorium in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, Jackson was diagnosed with tuberculosis. In an attempt to improve his health and to be closer to his girlfriend, Jackson moved to Brisbane. Ignoring medical advice, Jackson returned to cricket with a local team; however, his health continued to deteriorate and he died at the age of just 23.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1774:

In response to the British Parliament enacting the Intolerable Acts, representatives from twelve of Britain's North American colonies convened the First Continental Congress at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Continental_Congress

1905:

Under the mediation of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt , the Russo-Japanese War officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Portsmouth

1914:

World War I: The First Battle of the Marne began with French forces engaging the advancing German army at the Marne River near Paris. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_the_Marne

1945:

Cold War: Soviet cipher clerk Igor Gouzenko defected to Canada with over 100 documents on Soviet espionage activities and sleeper agents. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Gouzenko

1972:

A Palestinian terrorist group called "Black September" took hostage eleven Israeli athletes and coaches at the Olympic Summer Games in Munich, West Germany; all of the hostages were killed less than 24 hours later. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_massacre

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

myriad (adj): Great in number; innumerable http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/myriad

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

A planet is the cradle of mind, but one cannot live in a cradle forever. --Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Konstantin_Eduardovich_Tsiolkovsky