80px|Sherman Minton

Sherman Minton (1890–1965) was a Democratic United States Senator from Indiana and an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He served as a captain in World War I, then launched a legal and political career. In 1934, Minton won election to the United States Senate. As part of the New Deal Coalition, he championed President Franklin D. Roosevelt's unsuccessful court packing plans in the Senate and became one of his top Senate allies. After Minton failed in his 1940 Senate re-election bid, Roosevelt appointed him as a judge to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. After Roosevelt's death, President Harry Truman, who had developed a close friendship with Minton during their time together in the Senate, nominated him to the Supreme Court, where he served for seven years. An advocate of judicial restraint, Minton was a regular supporter of the majority opinions during his early years on the Court; he became a regular dissenter after President Dwight Eisenhower's appointees altered the Bench's composition. In 1956, poor health forced Minton's retirement, after which he traveled and lectured until his death in 1965. (more...)

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1810:

Miguel Hidalgo, the parish priest in Dolores, Guanajuato, delivered the Grito de Dolores to his congregation, instigating the Mexican War of Independence against Spain. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grito_de_Dolores

1920:

A bomb in a horse wagon exploded in front of the J. P. Morgan building in New York City, killing 38 people and injuring 400 others. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_bombing

1943:

World War II: Heinrich von Vietinghoff, commander of the German 10th Army, decided to withdraw his troops from Salerno, concluding the Allied invasion of Italy. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied_invasion_of_Italy

1990:

Construction of the Northern Xinjiang Railway was completed between Ürümqi and Alashankou, linking the railway lines of China and Kazakhstan, and adding a sizable portion to the Eurasian Land Bridge. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Land_Bridge

1992:

The British pound was forced out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism on Black Wednesday, and suffered a major devaluation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Wednesday

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

festoon (v): To hang ornaments, such as garlands or chains, which hang loosely from two tacked spots http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/festoon

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Thou whose deep ways are in the sea,

Whose footsteps are not known, To-night a world that turned from Thee

Is waiting — at Thy Throne. The towering Babels that we raised

Where scoffing sophists brawl,

The little Antichrists we praised — The night is on them all. --Alfred Noyes http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alfred_Noyes