William Daniel Leahy (6 May 1875 – 20 July 1959) was the most senior United States military officer on active duty during World War II, and the first to hold a five-star rank in the U.S. Armed Forces. An 1897 graduate of Annapolis, Leahy saw active service in the Spanish–American War, the Philippine–American War, the Boxer Rebellion in China, the Banana Wars in Central America, and World War I, and was Chief of Naval Operations from 1937 to 1939. After retiring from the Navy, he was appointed the governor of Puerto Rico. In his most controversial role, he served as the ambassador to France from 1940 to 1942. He was recalled to active duty as Chief of Staff to the President in 1942, and served in that capacity for the rest of the war. As the de facto first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he presided over the American delegation to the Combined Chiefs of Staff. He was a major decision-maker during the war and was second only to the president in authority and influence.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_D._Leahy

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1782:

Construction began on the Grand Palace in Bangkok, the official residence of the king of Thailand. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Palace

1915:

Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition: SY Aurora, anchored in McMurdo Sound, broke loose during a gale, beginning a 312-day ordeal in the Ross Sea and Southern Ocean for her 18-man crew. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SY_Aurora%27s_drift

2004:

The final episode of the television sitcom Friends was aired. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friends

2013:

Amanda Berry escaped from the Cleveland, Ohio, home of her captor, Ariel Castro, having been held there with two other women for ten years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel_Castro_kidnappings

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

imperturbable: Not capable of being, or not easily, perturbed, excited, or upset; calm and collected, even under pressure. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/imperturbable

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

There's a light that is shining in the heart of a man, it's the light that was shining when the world began. There's a light that is shining in the Turk and the Jew and a light that is shining, friend, in me and in you.   --Sydney Carter https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sydney_Carter