The Senghenydd colliery disaster occurred at the Universal Colliery in Senghenydd, near Caerphilly, Glamorgan, Wales, on 14 October 1913. The explosion, which killed 439 miners and a rescuer, is still the worst mining accident in the United Kingdom. In an earlier disaster in May 1901, three underground explosions at the colliery killed 81 miners. The inquest established that the colliery had high levels of airborne coal dust, which would have exacerbated the explosion and carried it further into the mine workings. The cause of the 1913 explosion may have been a spark from underground signalling equipment. The miners in the east side of the workings were evacuated, but the men in the western section bore the brunt of the explosion, fire and afterdamp—a poisonous mixture of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen left after an explosion. It took several weeks for most of the bodies to be recovered.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senghenydd_colliery_disaster

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1912:

Former U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt was shot in an assassination attempt, but delivered a speech before receiving treatment from preeminent surgeon John Benjamin Murphy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Benjamin_Murphy

1939:

Second World War: The German submarine U-47 torpedoed and sank the Royal Navy battleship HMS Royal Oak while the latter was anchored at Scapa Flow in Orkney, Scotland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Royal_Oak_%2808%29

1944:

Having been linked to a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, German field marshal Erwin Rommel was forced to commit suicide. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erwin_Rommel

1979:

At least 75,000 people attended the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Washington, D.C., to demand equal civil rights for LGBT people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_March_on_Washington_for_Lesbian_and_Gay_Rights

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

Woozle effect: The phenomenon whereby frequent citation of earlier publications leads to a mistaken public belief in something for which there is no evidence, giving rise to an urban myth. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Woozle_effect

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

All of us have heard this term "preventative war" since the earliest days of Hitler. I recall that is about the first time I heard it. In this day and time … I don't believe there is such a thing; and, frankly, I wouldn't even listen to anyone seriously that came in and talked about such a thing.   --Dwight D. Eisenhower https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dwight_D._Eisenhower