[Daily article] July 31: Royal baccarat scandal Published On

The royal baccarat scandal was a British gambling scandal of the late
19th century involving the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII). In
September 1890 he was invited to a house party at Tranby Croft,
Yorkshire, the home of Arthur Wilson and his family. During Edward's
stay, lieutenant colonel Sir William Gordon-Cumming (pictured) was
accused of cheating at baccarat and pressured into signing a document
that stated he would never play cards again, in exchange for the silence
of the guests. The secret was not kept for long, and Gordon-Cumming
demanded a retraction from the Wilson family, who he considered to blame
for divulging the news. They refused and he sued for slander. The
atmosphere at trial in June 1891 was described as being like a theatre.
Edward was called as a witness, the first time the heir to the throne
had been compelled to appear in court since 1411. Despite discrepancies
in the evidence and a strong closing speech by Gordon-Cumming's
barrister, the jury found against him after a summing-up from the judge
that was described by some as biased. Gordon-Cumming was dismissed from
the army and ostracised from society for life, though public opinion was
on his side.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_baccarat_scandal>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

1201:

John Komnenos the Fat briefly seized the throne of the
Byzantine Empire from Alexios III Angelos, but he was soon caught and
executed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Komnenos_the_Fat>

1423:

Hundred Years' War: The English and their Burgundian allies
were victorious over the French at the Battle of Cravant near Auxerre,
France.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cravant>

1948:

New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport was
dedicated as New York International Airport.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy_International_Airport>

1954:

A team of Italian climbers led by Ardito Desio became the first
to reach the summit of K2 (pictured), the world's second-highest
mountain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K2>

2006:

Following intestinal surgery, Fidel Castro provisionally
transferred the duties of the Cuban presidency to his brother Raúl.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006%E2%80%9308_Cuban_transfer_of_presidential_duties>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

coppice:
A grove of small growth; a thicket of brushwood; a wood cut at certain
times for fuel or other purposes, typically managed to promote growth
and ensure a reliable supply of timber.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coppice>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

  It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless
you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all —
in which case, you fail by default.  
--J. K. Rowling
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._K._Rowling>

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[Daily article] July 30: History of Chincoteague, Virginia Published On

The human history of Chincoteague, an island on the Eastern Shore of
Virginia, begins with Native Americans gathering shellfish there. By one
popular tale, chincoteague meant "Beautiful land across the water" in
their tongue. European settlers began to use the island in the 17th
century. It had few residents, and was used primarily for grazing
livestock – probably the origin of the feral Chincoteague ponies,
which used to roam in the wild. The local fishing and seafood resources
began to be systematically exploited in the early 19th century, and
oysters became a major industry after the Civil War. Chincoteague's
relative isolation ended in 1876 when the railroad arrived at Franklin
City, across Chincoteague Bay, and a steamboat service was introduced; a
causeway completed in 1922 allowed automobiles to reach the island. The
Chincoteague Fire Department was established in 1925 and took over the
traditional pony penning to raise funds. The annual carnival, pony swim
(pictured), and subsequent auction now attract tens of thousands of
visitors. The island, which was publicized by the 1947 book Misty of
Chincoteague that became a 1961 film, is a major tourist destination in
the area.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Chincoteague,_Virginia>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

634:

Arab–Byzantine wars: Byzantine forces under Theodore were
defeated by the Rashidun Caliphate near Beit Shemesh in modern Israel.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ajnadayn>

1676:

Virginia colonist Nathaniel Bacon and his makeshift army issued
a Declaration of the People of Virginia, instigating a rebellion against
the rule of Governor William Berkeley.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathaniel_Bacon_(colonist)>

1811:

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (pictured), an early leader of the
Mexican War of Independence, was executed by Spanish authorities.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_Hidalgo_y_Costilla>

1930:

Uruguay defeated Argentina, 4–2, in front of their home crowd
at Estadio Centenario in Montevideo to win the first Football World Cup.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930_FIFA_World_Cup>

2012:

The largest power outage in history occurred across 22 Indian
states, affecting over 620 million people, or about 9% of the world's
population.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_India_blackouts>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

chiropterologist:
Someone who studies bats (the flying mammal).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chiropterologist>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

  We're all alone on the stage tonight. We've been told; we're
not afraid of you. We know all our lines so well, ah-ha, We've said them
so many times: Time and time again, Line and line again.  
--Kate Bush
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kate_Bush>

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[Daily article] July 29: William Calcraft Published On

William Calcraft (1800–1879) was the most famous English hangman of
the 19th century. One of the most prolific British executioners of all
time, it is estimated that he carried out 450 executions during his
45-year career. A cobbler by trade, Calcraft was initially recruited to
flog juvenile offenders after meeting the City of London's hangman, John
Foxton, while selling meat pies near Newgate Prison. He succeeded
Foxton, but his controversial use of the short-drop method of hanging,
in which the victims were strangled rather than had their vertebrae
broken by the fall when the trapdoor on the gallows was released, caused
some to consider him incompetent. Many took several minutes to die, and
to hasten their deaths Calcraft sometimes pulled on their legs, or even
climbed on their shoulders in an attempt to break their necks.
Calcraft's antics may have been intended to entertain the crowds of more
than 30,000 that sometimes attended his executions before a change in
the law in 1868 meant that executions could only take place in prisons.
Among his victims were Marie and Frederick Manning, the first husband
and wife to be hanged together since 1700.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Calcraft>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

1014:

Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: Forces of the Byzantine Empire
defeated troops of the Bulgarian Empire at the Battle of Kleidion in the
Belasica Mountains near present-day Klyuch, Bulgaria.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kleidion>

1836:

The Arc de Triomphe in Paris, commemorating those who fought
and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars,
was formally inaugurated.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc_de_Triomphe>

1862:

American Civil War: Confederate spy Belle Boyd was arrested by
Union troops after her lover turned her in.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Boyd>

1967:

Vietnam War: During preparation for another strike in the Gulf
of Tonkin, the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal was hit by a series of
chain-reaction explosions caused by an unusual electrical anomaly on its
flight deck, killing 134 sailors and injuring 161 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_USS_Forrestal_fire>

2010:

An overloaded passenger ferry capsized on the Kasai River in
Bandundu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, resulting in at
least 80 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasai_River_disaster>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

shipwrecky:
1. Characteristic of a shipwreck.
2. (figuratively) Weak, feeble; shaky.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shipwrecky>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

  Now, the redemption which we as yet await (continued
Imlac), will be that of Kalki, who will come as a Silver Stallion: all
evils and every sort of folly will perish at the coming of this Kalki:
true righteousness will be restored, and the minds of men will be made
as clear as crystal.  
--James Branch Cabell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Branch_Cabell>

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[Daily article] July 28: SMS Goeben Published On

SMS Goeben was the second of two Moltke-class battlecruisers of the
Imperial German Navy, launched in 1911 and named after the German
Franco-Prussian War veteran General August Karl von Goeben. Compared to
their British rivals in the Indefatigable class, Goeben and her sister
ship were significantly larger and better armored. After her
commissioning, Goeben, with the light cruiser Breslau, patrolled the
Mediterranean during the Balkan Wars. After the outbreak of World War I
on 28 July 1914, Goeben and Breslau evaded British naval forces and
reached Constantinople. The two ships were transferred to the Ottoman
Empire on 16 August 1914, and Goeben became the flagship of the Ottoman
Navy as Yavuz Sultan Selim. By bombarding Russian facilities in the
Black Sea, she brought Turkey into World War I on the German side. In
later service, she carried the remains of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk from
Istanbul to İzmit in 1938. She was decommissioned in 1950 and scrapped
in 1973, after the West German government declined to buy her back. She
was the last surviving ship built by the Imperial German Navy, and the
longest-serving battlecruiser or dreadnought-type ship in any navy.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Goeben>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

1821:

Peruvian War of Independence: Argentine general José de San
Martín declared the independence of Peru from Spain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_de_San_Mart%C3%ADn>

1866:

At the age of 18, Vinnie Ream became the first and youngest
female artist to receive a commission from the United States government
for a statue—that of Abraham Lincoln in the U.S. Capitol rotunda.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinnie_Ream>

1914:

Austria-Hungary declared war after rejecting Serbia's
conditional acceptance of only part of the July Ultimatum following the
assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, starting World
War I.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I>

1976:

An earthquake measuring at least 8.2 on the Richter scale, one
of the deadliest in history, flattened Tangshan, China, killing at least
240,000 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_Tangshan_earthquake>

1996:

The remains of the prehistoric Kennewick Man were discovered on
a bank of the Columbia River near Kennewick, Washington, US.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennewick_Man>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

doula:
A support person, usually female, who may not have medical or midwifery
training, who provides emotional assistance to a mother or pregnant
couple before, during or after childbirth.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/doula>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

   A rationalist is simply someone for whom it is more important
to learn than to be proved right; someone who is willing to learn from
others — not by simply taking over another's opinions, but by gladly
allowing others to criticize his ideas and by gladly criticizing the
ideas of others. The emphasis here is on the idea of criticism or, to be
more precise, critical discussion. The genuine rationalist does not
think that he or anyone else is in possession of the truth; nor does he
think that mere criticism as such helps us achieve new ideas. But he
does think that, in the sphere of ideas, only critical discussion can
help us sort the wheat from the chaff. He is well aware that acceptance
or rejection of an idea is never a purely rational matter; but he thinks
that only critical discussion can give us the maturity to see an idea
from more and more sides and to make a correct judgement of it.  
--Karl Popper
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Karl_Popper>

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[Daily article] July 27: Manta ray Published On

Manta rays are large eagle rays belonging to the genus Manta. The larger
species, M. birostris, reaches 7 m (23 ft) in width while the smaller,
M. alfredi (pictured), reaches 5.5 m (18 ft). Both have triangular
pectoral fins, horn-shaped cephalic fins and large, forward-facing
mouths. Mantas can be found in temperate, subtropical and tropical
waters. M. birostris migrates across open oceans, singly or in groups,
while M. alfredi tends to be resident and coastal. They are filter
feeders and eat large quantities of zooplankton, which they swallow with
their open mouths as they swim. Gestation lasts over a year, producing
live pups. Mantas may visit cleaning stations for the removal of
parasites. Like whales, they breach, for unknown reasons. Both species
are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of
Nature. Threats include pollution, entanglement in fishing nets, and
direct harvesting for their gill rakers for use in Chinese medicine, and
their slow reproductive rate exacerbates these threats. Only a few
aquariums are large enough to house them. In general, these large fish
are seldom seen and difficult to study.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manta_ray>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

1302:

Byzantine–Ottoman Wars: The Ottoman sultanate scored its
first major victory against the Byzantine Empire in the Battle of
Bapheus in Bithynia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bapheus>

1789:

The U.S. State Department, then known as the Department of
Foreign Affairs, became the first federal agency created under the U.S.
Constitution.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_State>

1794:

The National Convention ordered the arrest and execution of
Reign of Terror leader Maximilien Robespierre after he encouraged the
execution of more than 17,000 "enemies of the French Revolution".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermidorian_Reaction>

1914:

Felix Manalo established the modern-day Iglesia ni Cristo
religion, an independent, nontrinitarian Christian church, in the
Philippines (Iglesia ni Cristo Central Temple pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iglesia_ni_Cristo>

1940:

Bugs Bunny debuted in the animated cartoon A Wild Hare.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugs_Bunny>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

portend:
1. (transitive) To serve as a warning or omen.
2. (transitive) To signify; to denote.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/portend>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

   Triumphal arch, that fill'st the sky When storms prepare
to part, I ask not proud Philosophy To teach me what thou art. — Still
seem, as to my childhood's sight, A midway station given, For happy
spirits to alight, Betwixt the earth and heaven.  
--Thomas Campbell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Campbell_(poet)>

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[Daily article] July 26: The Simpsons Movie Published On

The Simpsons Movie is a 2007 American animated comedy film based on the
television series The Simpsons. Directed by David Silverman, it stars
the regular cast of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright,
Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, Tress MacNeille, and Pamela
Hayden. It features Albert Brooks as Russ Cargill, the evil head of the
Environmental Protection Agency who intends to destroy Springfield after
Homer pollutes the lake. As the townspeople exile him and eventually his
family abandons him, Homer works to redeem his folly by stopping
Cargill's scheme. Previous attempts to create a film version of The
Simpsons failed due to the lack of a script of appropriate length and
production crew members. Eventually, producers and writers banded
together and conceived numerous narrative concepts, one of which was
selected for development. The script was re-written over a hundred
times, and this creativity continued after animation had begun in 2006.
The film premiered in Springfield, Vermont (theater sign pictured),
which had won the right to hold it in a competition. It was a box office
success, grossing over $527 million, and received critical acclaim.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons_Movie>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

1509:

Krishnadevaraya, who would become the most powerful of all the
Hindu rulers of India, ascended to the throne of the Vijayanagara
Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishnadevaraya>

1882:

Boer mercenaries declared their independence from the Transvaal
Republic and established the Republic of Stellaland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellaland>

1936:

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial (pictured), a memorial site
near Vimy, Pas-de-Calais, France, dedicated to the memory of Canadian
Expeditionary Force members killed during the First World War, was
unveiled.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_National_Vimy_Memorial>

1990:

U.S. President George H. W. Bush signed into law the Americans
with Disabilities Act, a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits,
under certain circumstances, discrimination based on disability.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans_with_Disabilities_Act_of_1990>

2009:

The militant Islamist sect Boko Haram launched an attack on a
Nigeria Police Force station, sparking violence across several states in
northeastern Nigeria, leaving over 1,000 people dead.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Boko_Haram_Uprising>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

lethargy:
A condition of extreme drowsiness or apathy.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lethargy>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

  There's something in the human personality which resents
things that are clear, and conversely, something which is attracted to
puzzles, enigmas, and allegories.  
--Stanley Kubrick
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stanley_Kubrick>

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[Daily article] July 25: St James' Church, Sydney Published On

St James' Church is an Anglican parish church in Sydney, Australia.
Named in honour of St James the Great, it is the oldest extant church
building in the city's inner region and has been in continuous service
since it was consecrated in February 1824. Its original ministry was to
the early convict population of Sydney as well as to the administrative
élite. In succeeding centuries, the church has maintained a special
role in the city's religious, civic and musical life as well as close
associations with the legal and medical professions. The church building
was designed in the style of a Georgian town church by the transported
convict architect Francis Greenway. Worship is in a style commonly found
in the High Church and moderate Anglo-Catholic traditions of
Anglicanism, in contrast to the majority of churches in its diocese
where services are generally in the style associated with Low Church.
The teaching at St James' has a more liberal perspective than most
churches in the diocese on issues of gender and the ordination of women.
Part of a historical precinct, it is listed on the Register of the
National Estate and has been described as one of the world's 80 greatest
man-made treasures.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_James%27_Church,_Sydney>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

1261:

Alexios Strategopoulos led the Nicaean forces of Michael VIII
Palaiologos to recapture Constantinople, re-establish the Byzantine
Empire, and end the Latin Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexios_Strategopoulos>

1814:

War of 1812: In present-day Niagara Falls, Ontario, the United
States and Great Britain engaged in Battle of Lundy's Lane, one of the
deadliest ever fought on Canadian soil.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lundy%27s_Lane>

1909:

French aviator Louis Blériot crossed the English Channel in a
heavier-than-air flying machine, flying from near Calais, France, to
Dover, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Bl%C3%A9riot>

1978:

Louise Brown, the world's first baby conceived through in vitro
fertilisation, was born in Oldham, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vitro_fertilisation>

2010:

WikiLeaks published 75,000 classified documents about the War
in Afghanistan, one of the largest leaks in U.S. military history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_War_documents_leak>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

eviscerate:
1. (transitive) To disembowel, to remove the viscera.
2. (transitive) To destroy or make ineffectual or meaningless.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/eviscerate>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

   What counts most is holding on. The growth of a train of
thought is not a direct forward flow. There is a succession of spurts
separated by intervals of stagnation, frustration, and discouragement.
If you hold on, there is bound to come a certain clarification. The
unessential components drop off and a coherent, lucid whole begins to
take shape.  
--Eric Hoffer
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Eric_Hoffer>

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[Daily article] July 24: Prince William, Duke of Gloucester Published On

Prince William, Duke of Gloucester (1689–1700), was the son of
Princess Anne (later Queen of Great Britain) and her husband, Prince
George, Duke of Cumberland. William was their only child to survive
infancy. Styled Duke of Gloucester, he was viewed as a Protestant
champion because his birth seemed to cement the Protestant succession
established in the "Glorious Revolution" that had deposed his Catholic
grandfather James II the previous year. Anne was estranged from her
brother-in-law, William III, and her sister, Mary II, but supported the
links that developed between them and her son. Prince William befriended
his Welsh body-servant at his nursery in Campden House, Kensington; his
memoir of the Duke is an important source for historians. William's
precarious health was a constant source of worry to his mother. His
death at the age of eleven precipitated a succession crisis as his
mother was the only individual remaining in the Protestant line of
succession established by the Bill of Rights 1689. To avoid the throne
passing to a Catholic, the Act of Settlement 1701 settled the throne on
Electress Sophia of Hanover, a cousin of King James, and her Protestant
heirs.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_William,_Duke_of_Gloucester>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

1701:

French explorer Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac established Fort
Pontchartrain du Détroit, which later grew into the city of Detroit
(pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit>

1783:

The Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti and the Russian Empire signed the
Treaty of Georgievsk, establishing Georgia as a protectorate of Russia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Georgievsk>

1923:

The Treaty of Lausanne was signed to settle the Anatolian part
of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire, establishing the boundaries
of modern Turkey.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Lausanne>

1967:

During a speech in Montreal, French President Charles de Gaulle
declared "Long live free Quebec!", a statement that was interpreted as
support for Quebec independence from Canada.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vive_le_Qu%C3%A9bec_libre>

2002:

Having been convicted of accepting bribes, income tax evasion,
and racketeering, James Traficant was expelled from the United States
House of Representatives.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Traficant>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

sagacity:
The quality of being sage, wise, or able to make good decisions; wisdom.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sagacity>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

  When a dream is born in you With a sudden clamorous pain, When
you know the dream is true And lovely, with no flaw nor stain, O then,
be careful, or with sudden clutch You'll hurt the delicate thing you
prize so much.  
--Robert Graves
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Graves>

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[Daily article] July 23: Alaska-class cruiser Published On

The Alaska-class cruisers were a class of six cruisers ordered prior to
World War II for the U.S. Navy. They were officially classed as large
cruisers (CB), but others have regarded them as battlecruisers. Their
intermediate status is reflected in the naming of the ships after US
territories and insular areas, rather than states (battleships) or
cities (cruisers). The idea for a large cruiser class originated in the
early 1930s when the Navy sought to counter German Deutschland-class
"pocket battleships". Planning of what became the Alaska class began in
the later 1930s after the deployment of Germany's Scharnhorst-class
battleships and rumors that Japan was constructing a new battlecruiser
class. To serve as "cruiser-killers" capable of seeking out and
destroying such ships, the Alaska class was given large guns, limited
armor protection against 12-inch shells, and machinery capable of speeds
of about 31–33 knots (36–38 mph, 58–61 km/h). Of the six
planned, two were completed and a third was cancelled during
construction. Alaska and Guam (pictured) served for the last year of
World War II as bombardment ships and fast carrier escorts, and were
decommissioned in 1947.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska-class_cruiser>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

1829:

William Austin Burt was awarded a patent for the typographer
(replica pictured), the first practical typewriting machine.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typographer_(typewriter)>

1914:

Austria-Hungary presented Serbia with an ultimatum to allow
them to investigate the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, that
Serbia would ultimately reject, leading to World War I.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_Crisis>

1927:

Wilfred Rhodes of England and Yorkshire became the only person
to play in 1,000 first-class cricket matches.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfred_Rhodes>

1942:

The Holocaust: The gas chambers at Treblinka extermination camp
began operation, killing 6,500 Jews who had been transported from the
Warsaw Ghetto the day before.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treblinka_extermination_camp>

1984:

Vanessa Williams, the first African-American Miss America,
resigned in scandal after Penthouse magazine published nude photos of
her that were taken two years prior.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanessa_L._Williams>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

levity:
1. Lightness of manner or speech, frivolity.
2. The state or quality of being light, buoyancy.
3. (countable) A lighthearted or frivolous act.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/levity>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

   Leadership does not mean domination. The world is always well
supplied with people who wish to rule and dominate others. The true
leader is a different sort; he seeks effective activity which has a
truly beneficient purpose. He inspires others to follow in his wake, and
holding aloft the torch of wisdom, leads the way for society to realize
its genuinely great aspirations.  
--Haile Selassie
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Haile_Selassie>

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[Daily article] July 22: Chat Moss Published On

Chat Moss is a large area of peat bog that makes up 30 per cent of the
City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. North of the River
Irwell, 5 miles (8 km) to the west of Manchester, it occupies an area
of about 10.6 square miles (27.5 km2). Peat development seems to have
begun there at the end of the last ice age, about 10,000 years ago, and
the depth of peat ranges from 24 to 30 feet (7 to 9 m). A great deal of
reclamation work has been carried out, but a large network of drainage
channels is required to keep it from reverting to bog. In 1958 peat
extractors discovered the severed head of what is believed to be a
Romano-British Celt, possibly a sacrificial victim. Much of Chat Moss is
now prime agricultural land, although farming in the area is in decline.
A 228-acre (92 ha) area of Chat Moss, notified as Astley and Bedford
Mosses, has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Chat
Moss threatened the completion of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway,
until George Stephenson succeeded in constructing a railway line through
it in 1829; his solution was to "float" the line on a bed of bound
heather and branches topped with tar and covered with rubble stone.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chat_Moss>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

838:

Arab–Byzantine wars: The forces of the Abbasid Caliphate
defeated Byzantine Empire troops, led by Emperor Theophilos himself, at
the Battle of Anzen near present-day Dazman, Turkey.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Anzen>

1864:

American Civil War: Confederate forces unsuccessfully attacked
Union troops at the Battle of Atlanta.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Atlanta>

1933:

Wiley Post became the first pilot to fly solo around the world,
landing after a seven-day, nineteen-hour flight at Floyd Bennett Field
in Brooklyn, New York City.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiley_Post>

1992:

Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar escaped from his luxurious
private prison and spent the next 17 months on the run.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Escobar>

2011:

Two sequential terrorist attacks in Oslo and Utøya claimed the
lives of 77 people, in the deadliest attack in Norway since World
War II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Norway_attacks>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

roundelay:
(music) A poem or song having a line or phrase repeated at regular
intervals.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/roundelay>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

   I've lived most of my entire adult life outside the law, and
never have I compromised with authority. But neither have I gone out and
picked fights with authority. That's stupid. They're waiting for that;
they invite it; it helps keep them powerful. Authority is to be
ridiculed, outwitted and avoided. And it's fairly easy to do all three.
If you believe in peace, act peacefully; if you believe in love, acting
lovingly; if you believe every which way, then act every which way,
that's perfectly valid — but don't go out trying to sell your beliefs
to the system. You end up contradicting what you profess to believe in,
and you set a bum example. If you want to change the world, change
yourself.  
--Tom Robbins
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tom_Robbins>

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[Daily article] July 21: Leo Minor Published On

Leo Minor is a small and faint constellation in the northern celestial
hemisphere. Its name is Latin for "the smaller lion", in contrast to
Leo, the larger lion (19th-century illustration of both pictured). It
lies between the larger and more recognizable Ursa Major to the north
and Leo to the south. Leo Minor was not regarded as a separate
constellation by classical astronomers; it was designated by Johannes
Hevelius in 1687. There are 37 stars brighter than apparent
magnitude 6.5 in the constellation; three are brighter than
magnitude 4.5. 46 Leonis Minoris, an orange giant of magnitude 3.8,
is located some 95 light-years from Earth. At magnitude 4.4, Beta
Leonis Minoris is the second brightest star and the only one in the
constellation with a Bayer designation. It is a binary star, the
brighter component of which is an orange giant and the fainter a yellow-
white main sequence star. The third brightest star is 21 Leonis
Minoris, a rapidly rotating white main-sequence star of average
magnitude 4.5. The constellation also includes two stars with planetary
systems, two pairs of interacting galaxies, and the unique deep-sky
object Hanny's Voorwerp.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Minor>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

230:

Pope Pontian began his pontificate, succeeding Urban I.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pontian>

1645:

Qing dynasty regent Dorgon issued an edict ordering all Han
Chinese men to shave their forehead and braid the rest of their hair
into a queue identical to those of the Manchus.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queue_(hairstyle)>

1774:

The Russo-Turkish War officially ended after the Russian and
Ottoman Empires signed the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, with the latter
ceding parts of the Yedisan region to the former.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Turkish_War_(1768%E2%80%9374)>

1944:

World War II: American troops landed on Guam to liberate it
from Japanese control.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Guam_(1944)>

1970:

The Aswan High Dam in Egypt was completed after 11 years of
construction.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aswan_Dam>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

mither:
1. (intransitive, Northern England) To make an unnecessary fuss, moan,
bother.
2. (transitive) To pester or irritate someone. Usually directed at
children.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mither>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

  Complexity is looking at interacting elements and asking how
they form patterns and how the patterns unfold. It's important to
point out that the patterns may never be finished. They're open-ended.
In standard science this hit some things that most scientists have a
negative reaction to. Science doesn't like perpetual novelty.
 
--W. Brian Arthur
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/W._Brian_Arthur>

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[Daily article] July 20: Australian contribution to the Battle of Normandy Published On

The Australian contribution to the Battle of Normandy involved more than
3,000 military personnel serving under British command, the majority
from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) (Australian members of No.
196 Squadron pictured). Others served with the Royal Navy and British
Army. After participating in the Allied landings on 6 June 1944,
Australian air force and army personnel fought in the subsequent Battle
of Normandy between June and August 1944, and an RAAF fighter squadron
operated from airfields in Normandy. Throughout the campaign, Australian
airmen provided direct support to the Allied ground forces by attacking
German military units and their supply lines, as well as forming part of
the force which defended the beachhead from air attack. Australians also
indirectly contributed to the campaign by attacking German submarines
and ships which posed a threat to the invasion force. Australia's
contribution to the fighting in Normandy is commemorated in memorials
and cemeteries in London and Normandy.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_contribution_to_the_Battle_of_Normandy>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

1779:

Tekle Giyorgis I began the first of his six reigns as Emperor
of Ethiopia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tekle_Giyorgis_I>

1807:

French brothers Claude and Nicéphore Niépce received a patent
for their Pyréolophore (diagram pictured), one of the world's first
internal combustion engines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyr%C3%A9olophore>

1922:

The German protectorate of Togoland was divided into the League
of Nations mandates of French Togoland and British Togoland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Togoland>

1940:

The Arroyo Seco Parkway, one of the first freeways built in the
United States, opened to traffic, connecting downtown Los Angeles with
Pasadena, California.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arroyo_Seco_Parkway>

1999:

The Chinese government began a persecution campaign against
Falun Gong, arresting thousands nationwide.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Falun_Gong>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

punctilious:
1. Strictly attentive to detail; meticulous or fastidious, particularly to
codes or conventions.
2. Precise or scrupulous; finicky or nitpicky.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/punctilious>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

   Five enemies of peace inhabit with us — avarice, ambition,
envy, anger, and pride; if these were to be banished, we should
infallibly enjoy perpetual peace.  
--Petrarch
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Petrarch>

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[Daily article] July 19: McDonald's Cycle Center Published On

McDonald's Cycle Center is an indoor bike station in Millennium Park in
the Loop community area of Chicago. The city built the center and opened
it July 2004. Since June 2006, it has been sponsored by McDonald's and
other partners, including city departments and bicycle advocacy
organizations. The bike station, which serves bicycle commuters and
utility cyclists, provides lockers, showers, a snack bar with outdoor
summer seating, bike repair, bike rental and 300 bicycle parking spaces.
The Cycle Center is accessible by membership and day pass. It also
accommodates runners and inline skaters, and provides space for a
Chicago Police Department Bike Patrol Group. Planning for the Cycle
Center was part of the larger "Bike 2010 Plan", in which the city aimed
to make itself more accommodating to bicycle commuters. Chicago Mayor
Richard M. Daley was an advocate of the plan. Suburban Chicago-based
McDonald's controversially claimed that their sponsorship of the Cycle
Center fit with their efforts to promote health. Environmentalists,
urban planners and cycling enthusiasts around the world have expressed
interest in the Cycle Center, and want to match its urban planning and
transit-oriented development success story.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald%27s_Cycle_Center>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

64:

The Great Fire of Rome started among the shops around the Circus
Maximus, eventually destroying three of fourteen Roman districts and
severely damaging seven others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_Rome>

1702:

Great Northern War: A numerically superior Polish–Saxon army
of Augustus II the Strong, operating from an advantageous defensive
position, was defeated by a Swedish army half its size in the Battle of
Klissow.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Klissow>

1848:

The two-day Women's Rights Convention, the first women's rights
and feminist convention held in the United States, opened in Seneca
Falls, New York.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seneca_Falls_Convention>

1981:

French President François Mitterrand privately revealed to
U.S. President Ronald Reagan (both pictured) documents showing that the
Soviets had been stealing American technological research and
development.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farewell_Dossier>

1992:

A car bomb killed anti-Mafia judge Paolo Borsellino and five
policemen in Palermo, Italy, less than two months after the murder of
his friend and colleague Giovanni Falcone.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Via_D%27Amelio>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

reliquary:
A container to hold or display religious relics.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/reliquary>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

  A painting requires a little mystery, some vagueness, and some
fantasy. When you always make your meaning perfectly plain you end up
boring people.  
--Edgar Degas
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edgar_Degas>

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[Daily article] July 18: Today (The Smashing Pumpkins song) Published On

"Today" is a song by American alternative rock band The Smashing
Pumpkins, written by lead vocalist and guitarist Billy Corgan (pictured
in 2010). "Today" was released in September 1993 as the second single
from the band's second album and major label debut, Siamese Dream. The
song, seemingly upbeat, contains dark lyrics. Corgan wrote it about a
day when he had suicidal thoughts, exemplified by the reference to self-
mutilation in the chorus. The contrast between the grim subject matter
of the song and the soft instrumental part during the verses, coupled
with use of irony in the lyrics, left many listeners unaware of the
song's tale of depression and desperation. Although Corgan opted for
"Cherub Rock", the lead single from the album, to be the opening track,
"Today" and its follow-up "Disarm" are credited in AllMusic for
popularizing the band and "sen[ding] [Siamese Dream] into the
stratosphere". "Today" has been generally well received by critics, and
in an article about the song in Blender it was described as having
"achieved a remarkable status as one of the defining songs of its
generation, perfectly mirroring the fractured alienation of American
youth in the 1990s." (Full article...).

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Today_(The_Smashing_Pumpkins_song)>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

1389:

France and England agreed to the Truce of Leulinghem,
establishing a 13-year peace during the Hundred Years' War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truce_of_Leulinghem>

1870:

The First Vatican Council declared that the Pope is infallible
when he solemnly declares a dogmatic teaching on faith as being
contained in divine revelation.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_infallibility>

1976:

At the Olympic Games in Montreal, Nadia Comăneci became the
first person to score a perfect 10 in a modern Olympics gymnastics
event.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadia_Com%C4%83neci>

1984:

A gunman massacred 21 people and injured 15 others at a
McDonald's restaurant in the San Ysidro section of San Diego,
California.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Ysidro_McDonald%27s_massacre>

2012:

A suicide bomber attacked an Israeli tour bus at Burgas
Airport, Bulgaria, which later led the European Union to list the
military branch of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Burgas_bus_bombing>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

disinter:
1. To take out of the grave or tomb; to unbury; to exhume; to dig up.
2. To bring out, as from a grave or hiding place; to bring from obscurity
into view.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/disinter>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

   The law changes and I don't. How I stand vis-à-vis the law
at any given moment depends on the law. The law can change from state to
state, from nation to nation, from city to city. I guess I have to go by
a higher law. How's that? Yeah, I consider myself a road man for the
lords of karma.  
--Hunter S. Thompson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hunter_S._Thompson>

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[Daily article] July 17: Somerset County Cricket Club in 2009 Published On

Somerset County Cricket Club's 2009 season saw the team compete in four
English competitions: the first divisions of the County Championship and
the NatWest Pro40 League, the Friends Provident Trophy, and the Twenty20
Cup. Somerset were in contention to win the County Championship until
the last few weeks of the season, but the batting-friendly pitch at
their home ground meant that they finished with too many draws to claim
their first Championship title. Somerset were unbeaten in the group
stage of the Friends Provident Trophy, but were eliminated in the first
knock-out round, and finished runners-up by one point in the NatWest
Pro40. In the Twenty20 Cup, Somerset finished as losing finalists, thus
qualifying for the international Champions League Twenty20, where they
were eliminated in the second group stage. Overall, Somerset had a
successful season but fell short of winning any competitions, prompting
their Director of Cricket Brian Rose to say "We've had enough of being
cricket's nearly men." Marcus Trescothick (pictured) topped the national
batting tables and was named by the Professional Cricketers' Association
as Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player of the Year.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somerset_County_Cricket_Club_in_2009>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

1453:

The Battle of Castillon, the last conflict of the Hundred
Years' War, ended with the English losing all landholdings in France,
except Calais.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Castillon>

1863:

The New Zealand land wars resumed as British forces in New
Zealand led by General Duncan Cameron began their Invasion of the
Waikato.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_the_Waikato>

1918:

Russian Revolution: Bolsheviks executed Tsar Nicholas II and
his family at Yekaterinburg.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_the_Romanov_family>

1944:

Two ships laden with ammunition for World War II exploded at
the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Port Chicago, California, killing 320
sailors and civilians, and injuring more than 400 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Chicago_disaster>

1992:

Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the Manchester Metrolink,
a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Metrolink>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

disconsolate:
1. Cheerless, dreary.
2. Seemingly beyond consolation; inconsolable.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/disconsolate>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

   We are not powerless. We have tremendous potential for good
or ill. How we choose to use that power is up to us; but first we must
choose to use it. We're told every day, "You can't change the world."
But the world is changing every day. Only question is...who's doing it?
You or somebody else?  
--J. Michael Straczynski
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/J._Michael_Straczynski>

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July 16: Chaplain–Medic massacre Published On

The Chaplain–Medic massacre was a war crime that took place in the
Korean War on July 16, 1950, on a mountain above the village of Tunam,
South Korea. Operating at the Kum River during the Battle of Taejon,
troops of the US Army's 19th Infantry Regiment were cut off from
resupply by a roadblock established by North Korean troops of the NK 3rd
Division. The roadblock proved difficult to break, and forced US troops
to move through nearby mountains to evacuate their wounded. Thirty
unarmed and critically wounded US troops were stranded at the top of a
mountain along with a chaplain (Herman G. Felhoelter, pictured) and a
medic. They were discovered by a North Korean patrol. Though the medic
was able to escape, the North Koreans executed Felhoelter as he prayed
over the wounded, then killed the rest of them. The massacre was one of
several incidents that led US commanders to establish a commission in
July to look into war crimes during the war. The same month, the North
Korean commanders, concerned about the way their soldiers were treating
prisoners of war, laid out stricter guidelines for handling enemy
captives.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaplain%E2%80%93Medic_massacre>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

1782:

Mozart's opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail made its
premiere, after which Emperor Joseph II anecdotally made the comment
that it had "too many notes".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Entf%C3%BChrung_aus_dem_Serail>

1862:

David Farragut became the first person to be promoted to the
rank of rear admiral in the United States Navy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Farragut>

1981:

Mahathir Mohamad was sworn in as Malaysia's fourth prime
minister, a post which he held for 22 years, making him the country's
longest-serving one.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahathir_Mohamad>

1994:

Fragments of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 began hitting the planet
Jupiter, with the first one causing a fireball which reached a peak
temperature of about 24,000 K.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Shoemaker%E2%80%93Levy_9>

2004:

Chicago's Millennium Park (pictured), currently the world's
largest rooftop garden, opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Park>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

quisling:
(pejorative) A traitor who collaborates with the enemy.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/quisling>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

   Creation has the truth written all over it — the age of the
universe, the history of the world — but nine-tenths of mankind either
don't know it or think it's a sham, because it isn't what their book or
their prophet says, and it isn't cozy or manipulable enough.  
--Sheri S. Tepper
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sheri_S._Tepper>

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[Daily article] July 15: Frank Headlam Published On

Frank Headlam (1914–1976) was a senior commander in the Royal
Australian Air Force. He joined as an air cadet in 1934 and specialised
in flying instruction and navigation before the outbreak of World
War II. In April 1941, he became commanding officer of No. 2 Squadron
and saw action against Japanese forces in the South West Pacific. After
returning to Australia, he held staff appointments and training
commands, finishing the war a group captain. Headlam served as Officer
Commanding North-Western Area in 1946, and was Director of Training from
1947 to 1950. In 1950–51, during the Malayan Emergency, he was
stationed at Singapore as commander of No. 90 (Composite) Wing and,
later, RAF Tengah. Promoted air vice-marshal, he successively held the
positions of Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Operational Command, AOC
No. 224 Group RAF during the Indonesia–Malaysia Konfrontasi, Deputy
Chief of the Air Staff, and AOC Support Command. He was appointed a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1958 and Companion of
the Order of the Bath in 1965, and retired in 1971 following a posting
to London as Head of the Australian Joint Services Staff.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Headlam>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

1410:

The Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeated
the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights in the Battle of Grunwald,
the decisive engagement of the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Grunwald>

1799:

French soldiers uncovered the Rosetta Stone in Fort Julien,
near the Egyptian port city of Rashid.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta_Stone>

1910:

In his book Clinical Psychiatry, Emil Kraepelin gave a name to
Alzheimer's disease, naming it after his colleague Alois Alzheimer.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alzheimer%27s_disease>

1966:

Vietnam War: The United States and South Vietnam began
Operation Hastings to push the North Vietnamese out of the Vietnamese
Demilitarized Zone.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Hastings>

1997:

American spree killer Andrew Cunanan gunned down fashion
designer Gianni Versace in Miami, Florida.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gianni_Versace>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

effluvium:
A gaseous or vaporous emission, especially a foul-smelling one.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/effluvium>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

   Only a thoughtless observer can deny that correspondences
come into play between the world of modern technology and the archaic
symbol-world of mythology.  
--Walter Benjamin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walter_Benjamin>

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[Daily article] July 14: Broad-billed parrot Published On

The broad-billed parrot is a large extinct parrot in the family
Psittaculidae that was endemic to the island of Mauritius in the Indian
Ocean. It has been classified as a member of the tribe Psittaculini, and
may have been closely related to the Rodrigues parrot. The broad-billed
parrot had a large head in proportion to its body, a distinct crest of
feathers on the front of the head, and a very large beak that would have
enabled it to crack hard seeds. Subfossil bones indicate that the
species exhibited greater sexual dimorphism in overall size and head
size than any living parrot. A contemporary description indicates that
it had a blue head, a greyish or blackish body, and perhaps a red beak.
The broad-billed parrot was first referred to as the "Indian raven" in
Dutch ships' journals from 1598 onwards. It was first scientifically
described from a subfossil mandible in 1866, but this was not linked to
the few brief contemporary descriptions until the rediscovery of a
detailed 1601 sketch (pictured). The bird became extinct in the 17th
century owing to a combination of deforestation, predation by introduced
invasive species, and probably also because of hunting.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad-billed_parrot>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

756:

Emperor Xuanzong fled the Tang capital Chang'an as An Lushan's
forces advance toward the city during the An Lushan Rebellion.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Xuanzong_of_Tang>

1791:

The Priestley Riots began, in which Joseph Priestley and other
religious Dissenters were driven out of Birmingham, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priestley_Riots>

1865:

A seven-man team made the first ascent of the Matterhorn,
marking the end of the golden age of alpinism.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_ascent_of_the_Matterhorn>

1960:

English primatologist Jane Goodall arrived in Gombe Stream
Chimpanzee Reserve, Tanganyika, to begin her groundbreaking study of the
social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Goodall>

1987:

Over 100 mm (3.9 in) of rain fell in a two-and-a-half-hour
period in Montreal, causing severe flooding and over CA$220 million in
damages.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Flood_of_1987>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

hapless:
Very unlucky; ill-fated.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hapless>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

  Regardless of my own beliefs and my own doubts, which are
unimportant in this connection, it is my opinion that art lost its basic
creative drive the moment it was separated from worship. It severed an
umbilical cord and now lives its own sterile life, generating and
degenerating itself. In former days the artist remained unknown and his
work was to the glory of God... The ability to create was a gift. In
such a world flourished invulnerable assurance and natural humility.
 
--Ingmar Bergman
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ingmar_Bergman>

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[Daily article] July 13: Joel Brand Published On

Joel Brand (1906–1964) was a rescue worker, born in Transylvania and
raised in Germany, who became known during the Holocaust for his efforts
to save Hungary's Jews from deportation to Auschwitz. A leading member
of Budapest's Aid and Rescue Committee, which smuggled Jews out of
occupied Europe, Brand was approached in April 1944 by Adolf Eichmann,
the German SS officer in charge of the deportations. He proposed that
Brand broker a deal between the SS and the United States or Britain, in
which the Nazis would exchange one million Jews for 10,000 trucks for
the Eastern front and large quantities of other goods. Historians
believe the SS intended the deal as cover for peace talks that would
exclude the Soviet Union. Whatever its purpose, the proposal was
thwarted when the British arrested Brand in Turkey and alerted the
media. The failure of the negotiations, and the wider issue of why the
Allies were unable to save the 435,000 Hungarian Jews sent to Auschwitz,
was bitterly debated for decades. Brand said shortly before his death:
"An accident of life placed the fate of one million human beings on my
shoulders. I eat and sleep and think only of them." (Full article...).

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Brand>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

1260:

The Livonian Order suffered its greatest defeat in the 13th
century in the Battle of Durbe against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Durbe>

1814:

The Carabinieri (modern Carabiniere pictured), the national
military police of Italy, was founded by Victor Emmanuel I as the
police force of the Kingdom of Sardinia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carabinieri>

1878:

At the conclusion of the Congress of Berlin, the major powers
in Europe signed the Treaty of Berlin, redrawing the map of the Balkans.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Berlin_(1878)>

1962:

In an unprecedented action, British Prime Minister Harold
Macmillan dismissed seven members of his Cabinet.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Long_Knives_(1962)>

2008:

War in Afghanistan: Taliban guerrillas attacked NATO troops
near the village of Wanat in the Waygal district in Afghanistan's far
eastern province of Nuristan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wanat>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

tardigrade:
Sluggish; moving slowly.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tardigrade>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

  Energy is eternal delight; and from the earliest times human
beings have tried to imprison it in some durable hieroglyphic. It is
perhaps the first of all the subjects of art.  
--Kenneth Clark
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kenneth_Clark>

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[Daily article] July 12: M-185 (Michigan highway) Published On

M-185 is a state trunkline highway in the US state of Michigan that
circles Mackinac Island, a popular tourist destination. A narrow paved
road of 8.004 miles (12.881 km), it offers scenic views of the Straits
of Mackinac dividing the Upper and the Lower peninsulas of Michigan,
Lake Huron, and Lake Michigan. It has no connection to any other state
highways and is accessible only by passenger ferry. M-185 passes several
key sites within Mackinac Island State Park, including Fort Mackinac,
Arch Rock, British Landing, and Devil's Kitchen. Outside of the downtown
area, it runs between the water's edge and woodlands. Traffic on is by
foot, on horse, by horse-drawn vehicle, or by bicycle; motorized
vehicles have been banned since the 1890s, and only a few vehicles have
been permitted on the island other than emergency vehicles. It is the
only state highway in the US where cars cannot drive. The highway was
built during the first decade of the 20th century by the state and
designated as a state highway in 1933. It was paved in the 1950s, and
portions were rebuilt to deal with shoreline erosion in the 1980s. Until
2005, it was the only state highway without any automobile accidents.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-185_(Michigan_highway)>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

1561:

Saint Basil's Cathedral (pictured), located at the geographic
center of Moscow, was consecrated.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Basil%27s_Cathedral>

1789:

French Revolution: Journalist Camille Desmoulins gave an
impassioned speech protesting the dismissal of finance minister Jacques
Necker the day before, inspiring listeners to storm the Bastille two
days later.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camille_Desmoulins>

1918:

An explosion in the ammunition magazine of the Japanese
battleship Kawachi resulted in the loss of over 600 officers and
crewmen.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Kawachi>

1962:

British rock band The Rolling Stones played their first concert
at the Marquee Club in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rolling_Stones>

1986:

The Homosexual Law Reform Act became law in New Zealand,
decriminalising consensual homosexual sex.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexual_Law_Reform_Act_1986>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

inveterate:
1. Old; firmly established by long continuance; of long standing;
obstinately deep-rooted; as, an inveterate disease; an inveterate habit.
2. (of a person) Having habits fixed by long continuance; confirmed;
habitual; as, an inveterate idler or smoker.
3. Malignant; virulent; spiteful.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/inveterate>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

  Whether it is to be Utopia or Oblivion will be a touch-and-go
relay race right up to the final moment. … Humanity is in "final exam"
as to whether or not it qualifies for continuance in Universe.  
--Buckminster Fuller
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Buckminster_Fuller>

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[Daily article] July 11: Babe Ruth Published On

Babe Ruth (1895–1948) was an American baseball outfielder and pitcher
who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1914 to 1935.
Born in Baltimore, Ruth was sent at age seven to St. Mary's, a
reformatory where he learned baseball skills. In 1914, Ruth was signed
to play minor-league baseball for the Baltimore Orioles. He began his
MLB career as a stellar left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, but
achieved his greatest fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York
Yankees. Ruth established many MLB batting (and some pitching) records,
including 714 career home runs. In his fifteen years with the Yankees,
Ruth helped them win seven American League pennants and four World
Series championships. His big swing led to escalating home run totals
that boosted baseball's popularity and made home runs a major factor in
the sport. Ruth's unprecedented power and carousing lifestyle made him a
larger-than-life figure in the "Roaring Twenties". One of the first five
inductees into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Ruth is regarded as
one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture, and is considered
by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babe_Ruth>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

1405:

Marking the start of Ming China's treasure voyages, Admiral
Zheng He's expeditionary fleet set sail towards foreign regions on the
South China Sea and Indian Ocean.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_voyages>

1848:

London Waterloo station, Britain's busiest railway station by
passenger usage, was opened by the London and South Western Railway.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Waterloo_station>

1864:

American Civil War: Confederate forces under Jubal Early began
an unsuccessful attempt to capture Washington, D.C..
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Stevens>

1914:

USS Nevada, the United States Navy's first "super-
dreadnought", was launched.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nevada_(BB-36)>

1957:

Prince Karīm al-Hussaynī succeeded Sultan Mahommed Shah as
the Aga Khan, becoming the 49th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aga_Khan_IV>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

gaggle:
1. A group of geese when they are on the ground or on the water.
2. Any group or gathering of related things; bunch.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gaggle>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

   Humor can be dissected, as a frog can, but the thing dies
in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the pure
scientific mind.  
--E. B. White
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/E._B._White>

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[Daily article] July 10: Jane Cobden Published On

Jane Cobden (1851–1947) was a British Liberal politician and radical
activist. An early proponent of women's rights, she was one of two women
elected to the inaugural London County Council in 1889, although legal
challenges prevented her from being a councillor. Throughout her life
she sought to protect and develop the legacy of her father, the
Victorian reformer Richard Cobden, in particular the causes of land
reform, peace, social justice and women's suffrage. She was also a
consistent advocate for Irish independence. In the 1890s she extended
her interests to advancing the rights of the indigenous populations
within colonial territories. She opposed the Boer War of 1899–1902,
and after the establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1910 she
attacked its segregationist policies. Before the First World War she
spoke out against Joseph Chamberlain's tariff reform crusade on the
grounds of her father's free trade principles, and was prominent in the
Liberal Party's revival of the land reform issue. In 1928 she presented
the old Cobden family residence, Dunford House, to the Cobden Memorial
Association as a centre dedicated to the issues and causes that had
defined "Cobdenism".

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Cobden>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

1519:

Zhu Chenhao declared the Ming Dynasty emperor Zhengde a
usurper, beginning the Prince of Ning rebellion, and led his army north
in an attempt to capture Nanjing.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Ning_rebellion>

1553:

Four days after the death of her predecessor, Edward VI, Lady
Jane Grey was officially proclaimed Queen of England, beginning her
reign as "The Nine Days' Queen".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Jane_Grey>

1806:

Indian sepoys mutinied against the East India Company when they
broke into Vellore Fort and killed or injured 200 British troops.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vellore_Mutiny>

1940:

The German Luftwaffe began attacks on British convoys in the
English Channel to start the Battle of Britain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Britain>

1966:

Martin Luther King, Jr. led a rally in support of the Chicago
Freedom Movement, one of the most ambitious civil rights campaigns in
the northern United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Freedom_Movement>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

badinage:
Playful raillery; banter.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/badinage>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

   Since the beginning of time, children have not liked to
study. They would much rather play, and if you have their interests at
heart, you will let them learn while they play; they will find that what
they have mastered is child's play.  
--Carl Orff
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Carl_Orff>

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[Daily article] July 9: Banksia dentata Published On

Banksia dentata, commonly known as the tropical banksia, is a species of
tree in the genus Banksia. It occurs across northern Australia, southern
New Guinea and the Aru Islands. Growing as a gnarled tree to 7 m
(23 ft) high, it has large green leaves up to 22 cm (8.7 in) long
with toothed margins. The cylindrical yellow flower spikes, up to 13 cm
(5 in) high, appear over the cooler months, attracting honeyeaters,
sunbirds, the sugar glider and a variety of insects. Flowers fall off
the ageing spikes, which swell and develop follicles containing up to
two viable seeds each. Banksia dentata is one of the four original
Banksia species collected by Sir Joseph Banks in 1770 (1773 depiction
shown), and one of four species published in 1782 as part of Carolus
Linnaeus the Younger's original description of Banksia. Within the
genus, it is classified in the series Salicinae, a group of species from
Australia's eastern states. Genetic studies show it is an early offshoot
within the group. Banksia dentata is found in tropical grassland known
as savanna, associated with Pandanus and Melaleuca. It regenerates from
bushfire by regrowing from its woody base, known as a lignotuber.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksia_dentata>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

1745:

War of the Austrian Succession: The French victory in the
Battle of Melle made their subsequent capture of Ghent possible.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Melle>

1877:

The inaugural Wimbledon Championship, the oldest tennis
tournament in the world, opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1877_Wimbledon_Championship>

1896:

Politician William Jennings Bryan made his Cross of Gold speech
advocating bimetallism, considered one of the greatest political
speeches in American history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_of_Gold_speech>

1958:

A 516 m (1,693 ft) high megatsunami, the highest ever
recorded, struck Lituya Bay, Alaska, US.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958_Lituya_Bay_megatsunami>

1995:

Sri Lankan Civil War: After having advised civilians to take
shelter in places of worship, the Sri Lanka Air Force bombed a church in
Navaly, killing at least 125 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navaly_church_bombing>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

penitent:
1. Feeling pain or sorrow on account of sins or offenses; repentant;
contrite; sincerely affected by a sense of guilt, and resolved on
amendment of life.
2. Doing penance.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/penitent>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

   Truth shall be firmly established, while aught else besides
it is sure to perish.  
--The Báb
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/B%C3%A1b>

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[Daily article] July 8: Alexander Cameron Rutherford Published On

Alexander Cameron Rutherford (1857–1941) was a Canadian lawyer and
politician who served as the first Premier of Alberta from 1905 to 1910.
He began his political career in the Legislative Assembly of the
Northwest Territories. When the province of Alberta was created,
Rutherford was asked to form its first government, and then won the 1905
election. The apparatus of provincial government was established under
Rutherford, and Edmonton was controversially selected as Alberta's
capital over Calgary. The government faced labour unrest in the coal
mining industry, and established a commission to examine the problem. It
also tried to encourage the development of new railways. Early in 1910,
William Henry Cushing's resignation as Minister of Public Works
precipitated the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway scandal, which
turned many of Rutherford's Liberals against his government. He was
forced to resign. He later became chancellor of the University of
Alberta, whose earlier founding had been a personal project. A
University of Alberta library, an Edmonton elementary school, and Mount
Rutherford are named in his honour. His home, Rutherford House, is now a
museum.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Cameron_Rutherford>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

1579:

Our Lady of Kazan (pictured), a holy icon of the Russian
Orthodox Church, was discovered underground in Kazan, present-day
Tatarstan, Russia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Kazan>

1709:

Great Northern War: Peter I of Russia defeated Charles XII of
Sweden in Poltava, effectively ending Sweden's role as a major power in
Europe.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Poltava>

1889:

The first issue of The Wall Street Journal, the world's most
circulated business daily newspaper, was published.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wall_Street_Journal>

1947:

After various news agencies reported the capture of a "flying
disc" by U.S. Army Air Force personnel in Roswell, New Mexico, the
military stated that what was actually recovered was debris from an
experimental high-altitude surveillance weather balloon.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roswell_UFO_incident>

1994:

Upon the death of Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il became the Supreme
Leader of North Korea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

maw:
1. The upper digestive tract (where food enters the body), especially the
mouth and jaws of a ravenous creature.
2. Any great, insatiable or perilous opening.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/maw>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

   Come to the bridal chamber, Death, Come to the mother's,
when she feels, For the first time, her first born's breath; Come, when
the blessed seals That close the pestilence are broke, And crowded
cities wail its stroke: Come in consumption's ghastly form, The
earthquake shock, the ocean storm; Come when the heart beats high and
warm With banquet song and dance and wine; And thou art terrible: —
the tear, The groan, the knell, the pall, the bier, And all we know, or
dream, or fear, Of agony, are thine. But to the hero, when his sword Has
won the battle for the free, Thy voice sounds like a prophet's word, And
in its hollow tones are heard The thanks of millions yet to be.  
--Fitz-Greene Halleck
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fitz-Greene_Halleck>

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[Daily article] July 7: No. 34 Squadron RAAF Published On

No. 34 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) squadron,
responsible for the transport of VIPs, including members of the
Australian government, the Governor-General, and visiting dignitaries.
The squadron has a secondary role providing emergency transport during
humanitarian operations. It operates Boeing 737 Business Jets and
Bombardier Challenger 604s (example pictured) from Defence
Establishment Fairbairn in Canberra. The squadron was formed in February
1942 for standard transport duties during World War II, initially
flying de Havilland DH.84 Dragons. In 1943 it operated Douglas
C-47 Dakotas in New Guinea and the Dutch East Indies prior to
disbanding in 1946. The unit was re-established in 1948 as No. 34
(Communications) Squadron at RAAF Station Mallala, South Australia,
where it supported activities at the Woomera Rocket Range before
disbanding in 1955. It was re-raised the following year, and since the
1960s it has at various times operated Dakotas, Convair Metropolitans,
Vickers Viscounts, Dassault Falcon-Mysteres, Hawker Siddeley HS 748s,
BAC 1-11s, and Dassault Falcon 900s. The squadron took its present name
in 1963, and began using the 737 and Challenger in 2002.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._34_Squadron_RAAF>

_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:

1456:

Twenty-five years after her death, Joan of Arc was declared
innocent of heresy in a posthumous retrial.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrial_of_Joan_of_Arc>

1846:

Mexican–American War: American forces led by Commodore John
D. Sloat occupied Monterey, beginning the annexation of California.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Monterey>

1963:

The police of Ngô Đình Nhu, brother and chief political
adviser of President of South Vietnam Ngô Đình Diệm, attacked a
group of American journalists who were covering a protest during the
Buddhist crisis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_Seven_Day_scuffle>

1997:

Iraqi Kurdish Civil War: The Turkish Armed Forces concluded
Operation Hammer, having successfully destroyed Kurdistan Workers' Party
units in Northern Iraq.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Hammer_(1997)>

2012:

The equivalent of five months of rain fell overnight in
Krasnodar Krai, Russia, causing flash floods, killing 171 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Krasnodar_Krai_floods>

_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:

sanguinary:
1. Attended with bloodshed.
2. Eager to shed blood; bloodthirsty.
3. Consisting of, covered with or similar in appearance to blood.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sanguinary>

___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:

   A properly balanced sword is the most versatile weapon for
close quarters ever devised. Pistols and guns are all offense, no
defense; close on him fast and a man with a gun can't shoot, he has to
stop you before you reach him. Close on a man carrying a blade and
you'll be spitted like a roast pigeon — unless you have a blade and
can use it better than he can. A sword never jams, never has to be
reloaded, is always ready. Its worst shortcoming is that it takes great
skill and patient, loving practice to gain that skill; it can't be
taught to raw recruits in weeks, nor even months.  
--Robert A. Heinlein
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_A._Heinlein>

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