120px|Rova of Antananarivo

The Rova of Antananarivo is a royal palace complex in the central highlands of Madagascar. It served as the former residence of the sovereigns of the Kingdom of Imerina from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The Rova occupies the peak of Analamanga hill in the capital city of Antananarivo. Merina king Andrianjaka (ruled 1610 to 1630) is believed to have captured the hill from a Vazimba king and erected the site's first fortified royal structure. Successive Merina sovereigns continued to rule from the Rova until the fall of the monarchy in 1896. The largest palace within the complex, called Manjakamiadana, was built from 1839 to 1841 for Queen Ranavalona I. A fire on the night of 6 November 1995 destroyed or damaged all the structures within the Rova complex shortly before it was due to be inscribed on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Reconstruction of the Manjakamiadana exterior is scheduled for completion in 2011. (more...)

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1856:

English author George Eliot's first work, Scenes of Clerical Life, was submitted for publication. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scenes_of_Clerical_Life

1869:

In the first official American football game, Rutgers College defeated the College of New Jersey, 6–4, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_American_football

1917:

World War I: Canadian forces captured Passendale, Belgium, after three months of fighting against the Germans at the Third Battle of Ypres. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Passchendaele

1935:

Before the Institute of Radio Engineers in New York, American electrical engineer and inventor Edwin Howard Armstrong presented his study on using frequency modulation for radio broadcasting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/frequency_modulation

1995:

Madagascar's Rova of Antananarivo, which served as the royal palace from the 17th to 19th centuries, was destroyed by fire . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rova_of_Antananarivo

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

antipodean (adj): 1. diametrically opposed 2. relating to the antipodes, or situated at opposite sides of the Earth http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/antipodean

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The appearance of a single great genius is more than equivalent to the birth of a hundred mediocrities. --Cesare Lombroso http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cesare_Lombroso