Chadderton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in
Greater Manchester, England, historically a part of Lancashire. It lies
along the course of the River Irk and the Rochdale Canal, on undulating
land in the foothills of the Pennines. During the Middle Ages,
Chadderton was chiefly distinguished by its two mansions, Foxdenton Hall
and Chadderton Hall, and by the prestigious families who occupied them.
Its early history is marked by its status as a manorial township, with
its own line of lords and overlords. Farming was the main industry of
the area, with locals supplementing their incomes by hand-loom woollen
weaving in the domestic system. Chadderton's urbanisation and expansion
largely coincided with developments in textile manufacture during the
Industrial Revolution and the Victorian era. A late 19th-century
factory-building boom transformed Chadderton from a rural township into
a major mill town and the second most populous urban district in the
United Kingdom. Although Chadderton's industries declined during the
mid-20th century, the town continued to grow as a result of
suburbanisation and urban renewal. The legacy of the town's industrial
past remains visible in its landscape of red-brick cotton mills, now
used as warehouses or distribution centres.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chadderton>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
455:
Emperor Petronius Maximus of the Western Roman Empire was stoned
to death by an angry mob after only 78 days upon the throne.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petronius_Maximus>
1669:
Citing poor eyesight, English naval administrator and Member of
Parliament Samuel Pepys recorded his last entry in his diary, one of the
most important primary sources for the English Restoration period.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Pepys>
1916:
The German Kaiserliche Marine and British Royal Navy clashed in
the Battle of Jutland, the largest naval battle of the First World War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jutland>
1921:
A large-scale race riot began in Tulsa, Oklahoma, US, in which
the wealthiest African-American community in the United States, the
Greenwood District, was destroyed by fire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_race_riot>
1941:
The United Kingdom completed its re-occupation of Iraq,
returning 'Abd al-Ilah to power as regent for Faisal II (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Iraqi_War>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
omnishambles:
(UK, chiefly politics) A situation that is bad or mismanaged in every
way.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/omnishambles>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Magnifying and applying come I, Outbidding at the start the old cautious
hucksters, Taking myself the exact dimensions of Jehovah, Lithographing
Kronos, Zeus his son, and Hercules his grandson, Buying drafts of
Osiris, Isis, Belus, Brahma, Buddha, In my portfolio placing Manito
loose, Allah on a leaf, the crucifix engraved, With Odin and the
hideous-faced Mexitli and every idol and image, Taking them all for what
they are worth and not a cent more, Admitting they were alive and did
the work of their days, (They bore mites as for unfledg'd birds who have
now to rise and fly and sing for themselves,) Accepting the rough deific
sketches to fill out better in myself, bestowing them freely on each man
and woman I see… in
--Song of Myself
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Leaves_of_Grass#Song_of_Myself_.281855.3B_188…>
Louis Slotin (1910–1946) was a Canadian physicist and chemist who took
part in the Manhattan Project, the secret U.S. program during World
War II that developed the atomic bomb. As part of the Manhattan
Project, Slotin performed experiments with uranium and plutonium cores
to determine their critical mass values. During World War II, Slotin
continued his research at Los Alamos National Laboratory. On 21 May
1946, Slotin accidentally began a fission reaction, which released a
burst of hard radiation. He was rushed to a hospital, and died of
radiation sickness nine days later on 30 May, the second victim of a
criticality accident in history. Slotin was hailed as a hero by the
United States government for reacting quickly enough to prevent the
deaths of his colleagues due to the accident he caused. The accident and
its aftermath have been dramatized in fictional accounts.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Slotin>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1814:
The War of the Sixth Coalition ended with the signing of the
Treaty of Paris, which deposed Napoleon and restored Louis XVIII to the
French throne.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Paris_(1814)>
1899:
Female Old West outlaw Pearl Hart performed one of the last
recorded stagecoach robberies 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Globe,
Arizona.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Hart>
1925:
Shanghai Municipal Police officers opened fire on Chinese
protesters in the city's International Settlement, giving rise to a
major labor and anti-imperialist movement.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Thirtieth_Movement>
1959:
The Auckland Harbour Bridge, joining St Marys Bay in Auckland
with Northcote in the former North Shore City, New Zealand, was
officially opened.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auckland_Harbour_Bridge>
1972:
Members of the Japanese Red Army carried out the Lod Airport
massacre in Tel Aviv, Israel, on behalf of the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine, killing over 20 people and injuring almost 80
others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lod_Airport_massacre>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
have Van Gogh's ear for music:
(humorous) To be tone-deaf.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/have_Van_Gogh%27s_ear_for_music>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Even the most wretched individual of our present society could not exist
and develop without the cumulative social efforts of countless
generations. Thus the individual, his freedom and reason, are the
products of society, and not vice versa: society is not the product of
individuals comprising it; and the higher, the more fully the individual
is developed, the greater his freedom — and the more he is the product
of society, the more does he receive from society and the greater his
debt to it.
--Mikhail Bakunin
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mikhail_Bakunin>
The Timor Leste Defence Force (F-FDTL) is the military body responsible
for the defence of East Timor. The F-FDTL was established in February
2001 and currently comprises two small infantry battalions, a small
Naval Component and several supporting units. The F-FDTL's primary role
is to protect East Timor from external threats. It also has an internal
security role, which overlaps with that of the Policia Nacional de Timor
Leste. This has led to tensions between the services, which have been
exacerbated by poor morale and indiscipline within the F-FDTL. The
F-FDTL's problems came to a head in 2006 when almost half the force was
dismissed following protests over discrimination and poor conditions.
The dismissal contributed to a general collapse of both the F-FDTL and
PNTL in May, and forced the government to request foreign peacekeepers
to restore security. The F-FDTL is currently being rebuilt with foreign
assistance and has drawn up a long-term force development plan.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timor_Leste_Defence_Force>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1867:
By the Austro-Hungarian Compromise, signed by Franz Joseph I
of Austria and a Hungarian delegation led by Ferenc Deák, the Dual
Monarchy of Austria-Hungary was established.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austro-Hungarian_Compromise_of_1867>
1914:
The ocean liner RMS Empress of Ireland sank in the Saint
Lawrence River after colliding with the Storstad, killing 1,012 on
board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Empress_of_Ireland>
1942:
Bing Crosby recorded his version of the song "White Christmas",
which went on to become the best-selling single of all time, with over
50 million copies sold.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Christmas>
1954:
The first annual Bilderberg Group meeting of leaders from
European countries and the United States took place in Oosterbeek,
Netherlands.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilderberg_Group>
1985:
A wall at Brussels' Heysel Stadium collapsed under the pressure
of football fans escaping a riot before the European Cup Final between
Liverpool and Juventus, killing 39 people and injuring over 600 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heysel_Stadium_disaster>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
apothegm:
A short, witty, instructive saying; an aphorism or maxim.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/apothegm>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have investigated the dust-heaps of humanity, and found a treasure in
all of them. I have found that humanity is not incidentally engaged, but
eternally and systematically engaged, in throwing gold into the gutter
and diamonds into the sea.
--G. K. Chesterton
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/G._K._Chesterton>
"The Last Temptation of Krust" is the 15th episode of The Simpsons'
ninth season, and first aired on February 22, 1998. Bart convinces
Krusty the Clown to appear at a comedy festival organized by Jay Leno
(pictured), but Krusty's old material does not go over well with the
audience, and he receives bad reviews. After Krusty goes on a drinking
binge, Bart and Jay Leno bathe him in the Simpsons' house, and Krusty
decides to announce his retirement. At Krusty's retirement press
conference, the audience finds his tirade against modern comedy
hysterical, and he returns to comedy with a new style where he complains
about commercialism. He later agrees to a deal with marketing executives
in return for a new "Canyonero" – a spoof on sport utility vehicles,
and markets products during his next comedy appearance. The episode ends
with an extended Canyonero sequence, with a background song sung by Hank
Williams, Jr. The writing staff initially had trouble getting Krusty's
offensive bad jokes through network censors, but convinced them this was
simply a way to emphasize his old and dated comedic material. The
episode was highlighted by USA Today in a review of the season's
episodes, and received positive reviews in The Washington Times, the
Evening Herald, and in books on The Simpsons.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Temptation_of_Krust>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1644:
English Civil War: Royalist troops allegedly slaughtered up to
1,600 people during their storm and capture of the Town of Bolton.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolton_Massacre>
1892:
Aided by a group of professors from the University of
California, Berkeley and Stanford University, preservationist John Muir
founded the environmental organization Sierra Club in San Francisco.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Muir>
1975:
Sixteen West African countries signed the Treaty of Lagos,
establishing the Economic Community of West African States to promote
economic integration.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_Community_of_West_African_States>
1987:
West German aviator Mathias Rust flew his Cessna 172 through
the supposedly impregnable Soviet air defense system and landed in Red
Square, Moscow.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathias_Rust>
2003:
As a result of criticism of his conduct, Peter Hollingworth
resigned from his post as Governor-General of Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Hollingworth>
2010:
A train derailment and collision in the Paschim Medinipur
district of West Bengal, India, caused the deaths of at least 141
passengers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jnaneswari_Express_train_derailment>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
crown molding:
(finish carpentry, interior decorating) A molding at the edge of a room
between ceiling and wall.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/crown_molding>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Why is it that one can look at a lion or a planet or an owl or at
someone’s finger as long as one pleases, but looking into the eyes of
another person is, if prolonged past a second, a perilous affair?
--Walker Percy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walker_Percy>
The Draped Bust dollar is a United States dollar coin minted from 1795
to 1803, and again throughout the 19th century. The designer is
unknown, though the distinction is usually credited to artist Gilbert
Stuart. The model is also unknown, though Ann Willing Bingham has been
suggested. In October 1795, newly appointed Mint Director Elias Boudinot
ordered that the legal fineness of .892 (89.2%) silver be used for the
dollar rather than the unauthorized fineness of .900 (90%) silver that
had been used since the denomination was first minted in 1794. Due
largely to a decrease in the amount of silver deposited at the
Philadelphia Mint, coinage of silver dollars declined throughout the end
of the 18th century. In 1804, coinage of silver dollars was halted, and
officially ended in 1806 by order of Secretary of State James Madison.
In 1834, silver dollar production was temporarily restarted to supply a
diplomatic mission to Asia with a special set of proof coins. Officials
mistakenly believed that dollars had last been minted with the date
1804, prompting them to use that date rather than the date in which the
coins were actually struck. A limited number of 1804 dollars were struck
by the Mint in later years, and they remain rare and valuable.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draped_Bust_dollar>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
946:
King Edmund I of England was murdered by a thief whom he
personally attacked while celebrating St Augustine's Mass Day.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_I>
1637:
Pequot War: An allied Puritan and Mohegan force attacked a
fortified Pequot village in the Connecticut Colony, killing 500.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystic_massacre>
1822:
The deadliest fire in Norwegian history took place at a church
in Grue, Norway, with at least 113 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grue_Church_fire>
1828:
Kaspar Hauser (pictured), a foundling with suspected ties to
the Royal House of Baden, first appeared in the streets of Nuremberg,
Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaspar_Hauser>
2008:
Severe flooding began in eastern and southern China that
ultimately caused 148 deaths and forced the evacuation of 1.3 million
people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_South_China_floods>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
eyrie:
1. A bird of prey's nest.
2. Any high and remote but commanding place.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/eyrie>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Why is it the Mongols of this world always tell us they're defending us
against the Mongols?
--Edward Whittemore
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edward_Whittemore>
Hurricane John was the eleventh named storm, seventh hurricane, and
fifth major hurricane of the 2006 Pacific hurricane season. Hurricane
John developed on August 28 from a tropical wave to the south of Mexico.
Favorable conditions allowed the storm to intensify quickly, and it
attained peak winds of 135 mph (215 km/h) on August 30. Eyewall
replacement cycles and land interaction with western Mexico weakened the
hurricane, and John made landfall on southeastern Baja California Sur
with winds of 110 mph (180 km/h) on September 1. It slowly weakened as
it moved northwestward through the Baja California peninsula, and
dissipated on September 4. The hurricane threatened large portions of
the western coastline of Mexico, resulting in the evacuation of tens of
thousands of people. In coastal portions of western Mexico, strong winds
downed trees, while heavy rain resulted in mudslides. Hurricane John
caused moderate damage on the Baja California peninsula, including the
destruction of more than 200 houses and thousands of flimsy shacks. The
hurricane killed five people in Mexico, and damage totaled $663 million
(2006 MXN, $60.8 million 2006 USD).
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_John_(2006)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1878:
Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore (poster
featured) opened at the Opera Comique in London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.M.S._Pinafore>
1946:
Abdullah bin Husayn, Emir of the Emirate of Transjordan, was
proclaimed King of the renamed "Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_I_of_Jordan>
1962:
The Baltimore Steam Packet Company, the last overnight
steamboat service in the United States, went out of business.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_Steam_Packet_Company>
1979:
Six-year-old Etan Patz disappeared on his way to school, and
later became the first missing child to have his picture featured on
milk cartons.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Etan_Patz>
2009:
North Korea conducted a nuclear test and several other missile
tests that were widely condemned by the international community and led
to sanctions from the United Nations Security Council.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_North_Korean_nuclear_test>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
masterly inactivity:
A policy of deliberate inactivity.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/masterly_inactivity>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The less government we have, the better, — the fewer laws, and the
less confided power. The antidote to this abuse of formal Government,
is, the influence of private character, the growth of the Individual.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ralph_Waldo_Emerson>
Miss Meyers (1949 – March 1963) was a chestnut-colored American
Quarter Horse racehorse and broodmare. Her sire was American Quarter
Horse Association (AQHA) Hall of Fame member Leo, and her dam was Star's
Lou. Miss Meyers raced from 1952 until 1955 and started 59 times. She
was also the 1953 World Champion Quarter Running Horse. In her career
she won $28,725 (equivalent to about $249,000 as of 2012) on the
racetrack as well as 17 races. As a broodmare, she produced the first
AQHA Supreme Champion, Kid Meyers, with AQHA Hall of Fame member Three
Bars, a Thoroughbred. Miss Myers was the mother of three other foals and
was inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame in 2009.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Meyers>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1883:
New York City opened the Brooklyn Bridge – the longest
suspension bridge in the world at the time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Bridge>
1930:
English aviatrix Amy Johnson landed in Darwin, Northern
Territory, becoming the first woman to successfully fly from England to
Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Johnson>
1941:
Second World War: The German battleship Bismarck sank the
British battlecruiser HMS Hood in eleven minutes at the Battle of the
Denmark Strait.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Denmark_Strait>
1962:
Project Mercury: American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbited the
Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Carpenter>
2006:
An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary film about former United
States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about
global warming, was released.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Inconvenient_Truth>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
shylock:
(intransitive, US) To lend money at exorbitant rates of interest.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shylock>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Life consists not simply in what heredity and environment do to us but
in what we make out of what they do to us.
--Harry Emerson Fosdick
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Emerson_Fosdick>
Teresa Cristina (1822–1889) was the Empress consort of Emperor
Dom Pedro II of Brazil, who reigned from 1831 to 1889. Born a Princess
of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, she was the daughter of King
Don Francesco I of the Italian branch of the House of Bourbon and his
wife Maria Isabel. The Princess was married by proxy to Pedro II in
1843. Despite a cold beginning, the couple's relationship improved as
time passed, due primarily to Teresa Cristina's patience, kindness,
generosity and simplicity. These traits also helped her win the hearts
of the Brazilian people, and her distance from political controversies
shielded her from criticism. Of her four children, two boys died in
infancy and a daughter of typhoid fever at the early age of 24. She,
along with the remaining members of the Imperial Family, was sent into
exile after a coup d'état staged by a clique of army officers in 1889.
Being cast from her beloved adopted land had a devastating effect on
Teresa Cristina's spirit and health. Grieving and ill, she died of
respiratory failure little more than a month after the monarchy's
collapse. She was greatly loved by her subjects, both during her
lifetime and afterwards. Teresa Cristina is well regarded by historians
not only for her character and irreproachable behavior, but also for her
sponsorship of Brazilian culture.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teresa_Cristina_of_the_Two_Sicilies>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1430:
Hundred Years' War: Joan of Arc was captured at the Siege of
Compiègne.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Compi%C3%A8gne>
1706:
War of the Spanish Succession: Led by the Duke of Marlborough,
the allied forces of England, the Dutch Republic, and Denmark defeated
the Franco-Bavarian army in Ramillies, present-day Belgium.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ramillies>
1873:
The North West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police, was established to bring law and order to and
assert Canadian sovereignty over the Northwest Territories.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Canadian_Mounted_Police>
1895:
Representatives of the Astor Library and Lenox Library agreed
to merge and form the New York Public Library (pictured under
construction in 1908), now the second-largest public library in the
United States.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Public_Library>
1951:
Delegates of the 14th Dalai Lama and the government of the
newly established People's Republic of China signed the Seventeen Point
Agreement for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet, affirming Chinese
sovereignty over Tibet.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventeen_Point_Agreement_for_the_Peaceful_Li…>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
thagomizer:
(anatomy) An arrangement of spikes found on the tails of various
stegosaurs.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/thagomizer>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
The better part of wisdom is a sublime prudence, a pure and patient
truth that will receive nothing it is not sure it can permanently lay to
heart.
--Margaret Fuller
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Margaret_Fuller>
1
0
May 22: Ahalya
by English Wikipedia Article of the Day
22 May '12
22 May '12
Ahalya is the wife of the sage Gautama Maharishi in Hindu mythology.
Many Hindu scriptures say that she was seduced by Indra, cursed by her
husband for infidelity, and liberated from the curse by Rama (an avatar
of the god Vishnu). Created by the god Brahma as the most beautiful
woman, Ahalya was married to the much older Gautama. In the earliest
full narrative, when Indra comes disguised as her husband, Ahalya sees
through his disguise but nevertheless accepts his advances. Ahalya and
her lover (or rapist) Indra are cursed by Gautama. Although early texts
describe how Ahalya must atone by undergoing severe penance while
remaining invisible to the world and how she is purified by offering
Rama hospitality, in the popular retelling developed over time, Ahalya
is cursed to become a stone and regains her human form after she is
brushed by Rama's foot. Medieval story-tellers often focus on Ahalya's
deliverance by Rama, which is seen as proof of the saving grace of God.
Her story has been retold numerous times in the scriptures and lives on
in modern-age poetry and short stories, as well as in dance and drama.
Ahalya is extolled as the first of the panchakanya ("five virgins"),
archetypes of female chastity whose names are believed to dispel sin
when recited. While some praise her loyalty to her husband and her
undaunted acceptance of the curse and gender norms, others condemn her
adultery.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahalya>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
853:
Byzantine–Arab Wars: The Byzantine navy sacked and plundered
the port city of Damietta on the Nile Delta, whose garrison was absent
at the time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Damietta_(853)>
1629:
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Danish King Christian IV
signed the Treaty of Lübeck to end the Danish intervention in the
Thirty Years' War.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_L%C3%BCbeck>
1816:
A riot broke out in Littleport, Cambridgeshire, England, over
high unemployment and rising grain costs, spreading to Ely the next day.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ely_and_Littleport_riots_1816>
1863:
American Civil War: Union forces began to lay siege to the
Confederate-controlled town of Port Hudson, Louisiana.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Port_Hudson>
1960:
A magnitude 9.5 earthquake devastated Valdivia, Chile, and
generated destructive tsunamis that reached Hawaii the following day.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Valdivia_earthquake>
1972:
Ceylon changed its name to Sri Lanka (emblem pictured), adopted
a new constitution, and officially became a republic.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lanka>
1980:
Pac-Man, an arcade game that became an icon of 1980s popular
culture, made its debut in Japan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pac-Man>
2002:
Washington, D.C., police announced that the skeletal remains of
missing Federal Bureau of Prisons intern Chandra Levy were found in Rock
Creek Park.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandra_Levy>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
sangfroid:
Composure, self-possession or imperturbability especially when in a
dangerous situation.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sangfroid>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I will make my meaning more clear when I say that I think right and
wrong are both tools which are being wielded by those great hands which
are shaping the destinies of the universe, that both are making for
improvement; but that the action of the one is immediate, and that of
the other more slow, but none the less certain. Our own distinction of
right and wrong is founded too much upon the immediate convenience of
the community, and does not inquire sufficiently deeply into the
ultimate effect.
--Arthur Conan Doyle
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Arthur_Conan_Doyle>
Mary Anning (1799–1847) was a British fossil collector, dealer and
palaeontologist who became known around the world for important finds
she made in the Jurassic marine fossil beds at Lyme Regis where she
lived. Her work contributed to fundamental changes in scientific
thinking about prehistoric life and the history of the earth. Her
discoveries included the first ichthyosaur skeleton to be correctly
identified, found when she was just twelve years old; the first two
plesiosaur skeletons ever found; the first pterosaur skeleton located
outside Germany; and important fish fossils. Her observations were
critical to the discovery that coprolites were fossilised faeces. Her
gender and social class prevented her from fully participating in the
scientific community of 19th-century Britain and she struggled
financially for much of her life. As a woman she was not eligible to
join the Geological Society of London, and she did not always receive
full credit for her scientific contributions. After her death her
unusual life story attracted increasing interest. In 2010 the Royal
Society included Anning in a list of the ten British women who have most
influenced the history of science.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Anning>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1856:
A crowd of about 800 pro-slavery Americans ransacked the town
of Lawrence, Kansas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacking_of_Lawrence>
1904:
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, the
international sport governing body of association football, was founded
in Paris.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA>
1927:
Aboard the Spirit of St. Louis, American aviator Charles
Lindbergh completed the first solo non-stop transatlantic flight, flying
from Roosevelt Field near New York City to Paris – Le Bourget Airport.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lindbergh>
1981:
The Italian government released the membership list of
Propaganda Due, an illegal pseudo-Masonic lodge that had been implicated
in numerous Italian crimes and mysteries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_Due>
1996:
Algerian Civil War: The remains of seven French Trappist monks
who had been kidnapped in Algeria nearly two months earlier were found.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_the_monks_of_Tibhirine>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
cloudburst:
A sudden heavy rainstorm.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cloudburst>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Trust not your self; but your Defects to know, Make use of ev'ry Friend
— and ev'ry Foe.
--Alexander Pope
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexander_Pope>