The Shakespeare authorship question is the argument that someone other than William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon wrote the works traditionally attributed to him. Proponents (called "anti-Stratfordians") say that Shakespeare was a front to shield the identity of the real author or authors, who for some reason did not want or could not accept public credit. Although the idea has attracted much public interest, all but a few Shakespeare scholars and literary historians consider it a fringe belief, and for the most part disregard it except to rebut or disparage the claims. Despite the scholarly consensus, the controversy has spawned a vast body of literature, and more than 70 authorship candidates have been proposed, including Francis Bacon, the 6th Earl of Derby, Christopher Marlowe, and the 17th Earl of Oxford. In 2010 James S. Shapiro surveyed the topic in Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare?, in which he criticised academia for ignoring the issue and effectively surrendering the field to anti-Stratfordians, marking the first time a recognised Shakespeare scholar has devoted a book to the topic. Filmmaker Roland Emmerich's next movie, Anonymous, starring Rhys Ifans and Vanessa Redgrave, portrays Oxford as the real author.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare_authorship_question

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1348:

The first-ever appointments of the Order of the Garter, an order of chivalry, founded by King Edward III of England, that is presently bestowed on recipients in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms, were announced. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Garter

1661:

Charles II was crowned King of England, Ireland, and Scotland at Westminster Abbey. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II_of_England

1942:

World War II: In retaliation for the Royal Air Force bombing of Lübeck several weeks prior, the Luftwaffe began a series of bombing raids in England, starting with Exeter. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baedeker_Blitz

1961:

In the midst of the Algerian War, President Charles de Gaulle delivered a televised speech calling on the military personnel and civilians of France to oppose the Algiers putsch, a coup d'état attempt against him. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algiers_putsch_of_1961

2010:

Governor of Arizona Jan Brewer signed the controversial anti-illegal immigration bill SB 1070 into law. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_SB_1070

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

fuliginous (adj): Pertaining to soot; sooty http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fuliginous

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it. --Max Planck http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Max_Planck