SS Dakotan was a cargo ship built in 1912 by the Maryland Steel Company
as one of eight sister ships for the American-Hawaiian Steamship
Company. The ship was employed in inter-coastal service via the Isthmus
of Tehuantepec and the Panama Canal after it opened, and then served as
a transport ship under the United States Army during World War I. As
USAT Dakotan, she carried cargo and animals to France. She was in the
first American convoy to sail to France after the United States entered
the war in April 1917. Near the end of the war, she was transferred to
the United States Navy and commissioned as USS Dakotan. The ship
continued to carry cargo to France, and returned over 8,800 American
troops after the Armistice. After her Navy service ended in 1919, she
was returned to her original owners and resumed relatively uneventful
cargo service over the next twenty years. Dakotan ran aground off the
coast of Mexico in 1923 but was freed and towed to port for repairs.
Early in World War II, the ship was requisitioned by the War Shipping
Administration and transferred to the Soviet Union under the terms of
Lend-Lease in December 1942. Sailing as SS Zyrianin, the ship remained
a part of the Soviet merchant fleet before being scrapped in the late
1960s.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Dakotan>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
284:
Diocletian became Roman Emperor, eventually establishing reforms that
brought an end to the Crisis of the Third Century.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocletian>
1695:
Zumbi, the last of the leaders of Quilombo dos Palmares in early
Brazil, was executed.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zumbi>
1820:
The American whaleship Essex sank 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km) west
of the western coast of South America after it was attacked by a sperm
whale.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex_%28whaleship%29>
1902:
While discussing how to promote the newspaper L'Auto during a lunch
meeting in Paris, sports journalists Henri Desgrange and Géo Lefèvre
came up with the idea of holding a cycling race that later became known
as the Tour de France.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour_de_France>
1979:
A group of armed insurgents attacked and took over the Masjid al-Haram
in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, declaring that one of their leaders, Muhammad
bin abd Allah al-Qahtani, was the Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer of
Islam.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Mosque_Seizure>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
hallows (n):
(archaic, plural) The relics or remains of a saint, or the shrines in
which they are kept
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hallows>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
My life seemed to be a series of events and accidents. Yet when I look
back I see a pattern.
--Benoît Mandelbrot
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Beno%C3%AEt_Mandelbrot>
"City of Blinding Lights" is a song by rock band U2. It is the fifth
track on their 2004 album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and was
released as the album's fourth single on 6 June 2005. The song was a
top-ten hit in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and several other
countries. The music video was shot in Vancouver, British Columbia. The
earliest incarnation of the song was developed during sessions for the
band's 1997 album Pop. The lyrics were partially inspired by lead
singer Bono's memory of his first trip to London, and by the band's
experience of playing New York City in the aftermath of the
September 11 attacks. Other lyrics refer to Bono's relationship with
his wife. The song's underlying theme reflects lost innocence and was
inspired by an image Bono saw of himself from the early 1980s. The
track's sound has been compared to the tone of U2's 1984 album The
Unforgettable Fire and their 1987 single "Where the Streets Have No
Name". "City of Blinding Lights" was well-received by critics and won a
Grammy Award for Best Rock Song in 2006. The song made its live debut
on the group's 2005 Vertigo Tour and has been performed at every U2
concert since. It has been used in episodes of The Simpsons and
Entourage, and in the film The Devil Wears Prada. Barack Obama used it
at campaign events during the 2008 US presidential election and listed
it as one of his favourite songs.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Blinding_Lights>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1493:
Christopher Columbus became the first European to land on Puerto Rico,
naming it San Juan Bautista after John the Baptist.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico>
1863:
American Civil War: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered the
Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery
in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Address>
1941:
World War II: The Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney and the German
auxiliary cruiser HSK Kormoran destroyed each other off the coast of
Western Australia in the Indian Ocean.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_between_HMAS_Sydney_and_German_auxiliar…>
1942:
World War II: Soviet troops under General Georgy Zhukov launched
Operation Uranus at the Battle of Stalingrad, with the goal of
encircling Axis forces, turning the tide of the battle in the Soviet
Union's favor.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Uranus>
1969:
Playing for Santos against Vasco da Gama at Estádio do Maracanã in Rio
de Janeiro, Brazilian football player Pelé scored his 1000th goal on a
penalty kick.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pel%C3%A9>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
allusive (adj):
Containing or making use of indirect references or hints
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/allusive>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
We should not mourn for men of high ideals. Rather we should rejoice
that we had the privilege of having had them with us, to inspire us by
their radiant personalities.
--Indira Gandhi
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Indira_Gandhi>
Dick Turpin (bap. 1705 – 1739) was an English highwayman whose exploits
were romanticised following his execution in York for horse theft.
Turpin may have followed his father's profession as a butcher early in
life, but by the early 1730s he had joined a gang of deer thieves, and
later became a poacher, burglar, horse thief, and murderer. He is best
known for his fictional 200-mile (320 km) overnight ride from London to
York on his steed Black Bess, a story that was made famous by the
Victorian novelist William Harrison Ainsworth almost 100 years after
Turpin's death. His involvement in the crime for which he is most
closely associated—highway robbery—followed the arrest of the other
members of his gang in 1735. He then disappeared from public view
towards the end of that year, only to resurface in 1737 with two new
accomplices. Later that year he moved to Yorkshire and assumed the
alias of John Palmer. While he was staying at an inn local magistrates
became suspicious of "Palmer", and made enquiries as to how he funded
his lifestyle. Suspected of being a horse thief, "Palmer" was
imprisoned in York Castle, to be tried at the next assizes. Turpin's
true identity was revealed by a letter he wrote to his brother-in-law
from his prison cell, which fell into the hands of the authorities. On
22 March 1739 he was found guilty on two charges of horse theft and
sentenced to death; he was executed on 7 April 1739. He became the
subject of legend after his execution, romanticised as dashing and
heroic in English ballads popular theatre, film and television.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Turpin>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1978:
Jim Jones led more than 900 members of the Peoples Temple to mass
murder/suicide in Jonestown, Guyana, hours after some of its members
assassinated U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown>
1985:
Calvin and Hobbes, a comic strip by Bill Watterson featuring six-year
old Calvin and his stuffed tiger Hobbes, was first published.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_and_Hobbes>
1991:
Croatian War of Independence: Yugoslav People's Army forces captured
the Croatian city of Vukovar, ending an 87-day siege.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vukovar>
1999:
Texas A&M University's Aggie Bonfire collapsed, killing 12 and injuring
27, and causing the university to officially declare a hiatus on the
90-year-old annual event.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aggie_Bonfire>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
foreknow (v):
To have foreknowledge of, to precognise
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/foreknow>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
A lot of being a poet consists of willed ignorance. If you woke up from
your trance and realized the nature of the life-threatening and
dignity-destroying precipice you were walking along, you would switch
into actuarial sciences immediately.
--Margaret Atwood
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Margaret_Atwood>
Ozzie Smith (born 1954) is a retired American professional baseball
player who was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002. Nicknamed
"The Wizard," Smith played shortstop for the San Diego Padres and St.
Louis Cardinals in Major League Baseball, winning the National League
Gold Glove Award for play at shortstop for 13 consecutive seasons. A
15-time All-Star, Smith accumulated 2,460 hits and 580 stolen bases
during his career, and won the National League Silver Slugger Award as
the best hitter at shortstop in 1987. Smith continued to earn Gold
Gloves and All Star appearances on an annual basis until 1993, and
later missed nearly three months of the 1995 season after undergoing
shoulder surgery. After tension between Smith and his new manager Tony
La Russa developed in 1996, Smith decided to retire at season's end,
and subsequently had his uniform number (# 1) retired by the Cardinals.
Smith served as host of the television show This Week in Baseball from
1997 to 1999, and continues to be an entrepreneur in a variety of
business ventures.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozzie_Smith>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1558:
Elizabeth I became Queen of England and Ireland, marking the beginning
of the Elizabethan era.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_of_England>
1796:
French Revolutionary Wars: French forces defeated the Austrians at the
Battle of the Bridge of Arcole in a maneuver to cut the latter's line
of retreat.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Bridge_of_Arcole>
1855:
Explorer David Livingstone became the first European to see Victoria
Falls, one of the largest waterfalls in the world, on what is now the
Zambia–Zimbabwe border.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Falls>
1869:
The Suez Canal , which allows water transportation between Europe and
Asia by linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, opened to
shipping.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Canal>
1950:
Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, was enthroned as Tibet's head of
state at the age of fifteen.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_Dalai_Lama>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Demiurge (n):
1. (Platonism) The subordinate being that fashions the perceptible
world in the light of eternal ideas.
2. (Gnosticism) A prideful, inferior being that creates the material
world
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Demiurge>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
What I say is, that the real non-resistants can believe in direct
action only, never in political action. For the basis of all political
action is coercion; even when the State does good things, it finally
rests on a club, a gun, or a prison, for its power to carry them
through.
--Voltairine de Cleyre
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Voltairine_de_Cleyre>
The Hoxne Hoard is the largest hoard of late Roman silver and gold
discovered in Britain. Found by a metal detectorist in the village of
Hoxne in Suffolk, England, on 16 November 1992, the hoard consists of
14,865 Roman gold, silver and bronze coins from the late fourth and
early fifth centuries, and approximately 200 silver tableware and gold
jewellery items. The hoard is now on permanent display in the British
Museum and is valued at £2.66 million. The coins of the hoard date it
after 407 AD, which coincides with the end of Britain as a Roman
province. The Hoxne Hoard contains several rare and important objects,
including a gold body-chain and silver-gilt pepper-pots. The Hoxne
Hoard is also of particular archaeological significance because it was
excavated by professional archaeologists with the items largely
undisturbed and intact. The find has helped to improve the relationship
between metal detectorists and archaeologists, and influenced a change
in English law regarding finds of treasure.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoxne_Hoard>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1532:
Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire: Spanish Conquistador Francisco
Pizarro orchestrated a surprise attack in Cajamarca, Peru, capturing
Sapa Inca Atahualpa.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cajamarca>
1885:
After a five-day trial following the North-West Rebellion, Louis Riel,
Canadian rebel leader of the Métis and "Father of Manitoba", was
executed by hanging for high treason.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Riel>
1907:
Two years after the failed attempt by the Five Civilized Tribes in the
Indian Territory to achieve U.S. statehood, they joined with the
Oklahoma Territory to become the 46th U.S. state to enter the union.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma>
1938:
Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann first synthesized the psychedelic drug LSD
at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, Switzerland.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Hofmann>
1973:
U.S. President Richard Nixon signed the Trans-Alaska Pipeline
Authorization Act, authorizing the construction of the Alaska Pipeline,
an oil pipeline connecting the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Alaska.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Alaska_Pipeline_System>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
vapid (adj):
1. Lifeless, dull, or banal.
2. Tasteless, bland, or insipid
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vapid>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
There is plenty of room at the top because very few people care to
travel beyond the average route. And so most of us seem satisfied to
remain within the confines of mediocrity.
--Nnamdi Azikiwe
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nnamdi_Azikiwe>
Chetwynd is a small town in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in
northeastern British Columbia, Canada. Situated on an ancient
floodplain, it is the first town encountered after emerging from the
Rockies along Highway 97 and acts as the gateway to the Peace River
Country. The town developed during the construction of infrastructure
through the Rocky Mountains in the 1950s, and was used as a
transshipment point during the construction of hydroelectric dams in
the 1960s and 1970s and the new town of Tumbler Ridge in the early
1980s. Home to approximately 2,600 residents, the population has
increased little in the last 25 years but is significantly younger than
the provincial average. Chetwynd has dozens of chainsaw carvings
displayed throughout town as public art and is home to the weekly
newspaper, the Chetwynd Echo, and a Northern Lights College campus.
Nearby, there are four provincial parks, two lakes, and several
recreational trails. Highways 29 and 97 intersect in town with Highway
97 connecting it to Prince George and Dawson Creek and Highway 29 to
Tumbler Ridge and Hudson's Hope. Its economy is dominated by the
primary industries of forestry, fossil fuel extraction, and
transportation.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chetwynd%2C_British_Columbia>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
655:
Penda of Mercia was defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria at the Battle of
the Winwaed in modern-day Yorkshire, England.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penda_of_Mercia>
1864:
American Civil War: Union Army General William Tecumseh Sherman began
his "March to the Sea", inflicting significant damage to property and
infrastructure on his way from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tecumseh_Sherman>
1889:
Emperor Pedro II of Brazil was overthrown in a coup led by Deodoro da
Fonseca.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_II_of_Brazil>
1920:
The first general assembly of the League of Nations was held in Geneva,
Switzerland, with 41 founding members.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Nations>
1935:
The Commonwealth of the Philippines was officially established, with
Manuel L. Quezon inaugurated as its president.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_the_Philippines>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
clemency (n):
1. The moderation of the severity of a punishment.
2. Forgiveness or compassion
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/clemency>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Mortal danger is an effective antidote for fixed ideas.
--Erwin Rommel
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Erwin_Rommel>
90377 Sedna is a trans-Neptunian object currently about three times as
far from the Sun as Neptune. For the majority of its orbit it is the
most distant known object in the Solar System other than long-period
comets. Roughly two-thirds the size of Pluto, Sedna is hypothetically
large enough to be rounded by its own gravity, and thus would qualify
as a dwarf planet under current definitions. However, its distance
makes determining its shape difficult. Spectroscopy has revealed that
Sedna's surface composition is similar to that of some other
trans-Neptunian objects, being largely a mixture of water, methane, and
nitrogen ices with tholins. Its surface is one of the reddest in the
Solar System. Its exceptionally long and elongated orbit, taking
approximately 12,000 years to complete, and distant point of closest
approach to the Sun have led to much speculation as to its origin.
Astronomer Mike Brown, who co-discovered Sedna in 2003, believes it to
be the most scientifically important trans-Neptunian object found to
date, as understanding its peculiar orbit is likely to yield valuable
information about the origin and early evolution of the Solar System.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/90377_Sedna>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1910:
Aviator Eugene Burton Ely performed the first takeoff from a ship,
flying from a makeshift deck on the USS Birmingham in Hampton Roads,
Virginia, US.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Burton_Ely>
1940:
World War II: Coventry Cathedral and much of the city centre of
Coventry, England, were destroyed by the German Luftwaffe during the
Coventry Blitz.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventry_Blitz>
1971:
NASA's Mariner 9 reached Mars, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit
another planet.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariner_9>
1984:
Cesar Climaco, mayor of Zamboanga City, the Philippines, was
assassinated.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesar_Climaco>
1990:
Germany and Poland signed the German–Polish Border Treaty, confirming
their border at the Oder-Neisse line, which was originally defined by
the Potsdam Agreement in 1945.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oder-Neisse_line>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
legato (adv):
(music) Smoothly; in a connected manner
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/legato>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Call me Ishmael. Some years ago — never mind how long precisely —
having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to
interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the
watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen
and regulating the circulation.
--Herman Melville
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Herman_Melville>
The Armero tragedy was the major consequence of the November 13, 1985,
eruption of Nevado del Ruiz in Tolima, Colombia. After 69 years of
dormancy the eruption caught nearby towns unaware, even though the
government had received warnings to evacuate the area from multiple
volcanological organizations when volcanic activity had been detected
in September 1985. As pyroclastic flows erupted from the volcano's
crater, they melted the mountain's glaciers, sending four enormous
lahars (volcanically induced mudslides, landslides, and debris flows)
down its slopes at 60 kilometers (37 mi) per hour. The lahars picked up
speed in gullies and coursed into the six major rivers at the base of
the volcano; they engulfed the town of Armero, killing more than 20,000
of its almost 29,000 inhabitants. Photographs of the lahars and the
impact of the disaster captured attention worldwide and led to
controversy over the degree to which the Colombian government was
responsible for the disaster.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armero_tragedy>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1002:
St. Brice's Day massacre: King Ethelred II ordered the massacre of all
Danes in England.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethelred_the_Unready>
1927:
The Holland Tunnel, connecting New York City's Manhattan with Jersey
City, New Jersey, under the Hudson River, opened.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holland_Tunnel>
1970:
The Bhola tropical cyclone hit the densely populated Ganges Delta in
East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), killing an estimated 500,000 people.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970_Bhola_cyclone>
1985:
The volcano Nevado del Ruiz erupted, causing a volcanic mudslide that
buried Armero, Colombia, and killed approximately 23,000 people.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevado_del_Ruiz>
1992:
The High Court of Australia ruled in Dietrich v The Queen that although
there is no absolute right to have publicly funded counsel, in most
circumstances a judge should grant any request for an adjournment or
stay when an accused is unrepresented.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_v_The_Queen>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
postiche (n):
Any item of false hair worn on the head or face, such as a false beard
or wig
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/postiche>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is better to be a fool than to be dead. It is better to emit a
scream in the shape of a theory than to be entirely insensible to the
jars and incongruities of life and take everything as it comes in a
forlorn stupidity. Some people swallow the universe like a pill; they
travel on through the world, like smiling images pushed from behind.
For God's sake give me the young man who has brains enough to make a
fool of himself!
--Robert Louis Stevenson
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Louis_Stevenson>
The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga occurred on May 10, 1775, when a small
force of Green Mountain Boys led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict
Arnold overcame a small British garrison at the fort and looted the
personal belongings of the garrison. Cannons and other armaments from
the fort were transported to Boston and used to fortify Dorchester
Heights and break the stalemate at the Siege of Boston. After seizing
Ticonderoga, a small detachment captured the nearby Fort Crown Point on
May 11. On May 18, Arnold and 50 men boldly raided Fort Saint-Jean on
the Richelieu River in southern Quebec, seizing military supplies,
cannons, and the largest military vessel on Lake Champlain. Although
the scope of this military action was relatively minor, it had
significant strategic importance. It impeded communication between
northern and southern units of the British Army, and gave the nascent
Continental Army a staging ground for the invasion of Quebec later in
1775. It also involved two larger-than-life personalities in Allen and
Arnold, each of whom sought to gain as much credit and honor as
possible for these events.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_Fort_Ticonderoga>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1893:
Mortimer Durand, Foreign Secretary of British India, and Abdur Rahman
Khan, Amir of Afghanistan, signed the Durand Line Agreement,
establishing what is now the international border between Afghanistan
and Pakistan.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durand_Line>
1942:
World War II: The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal , the decisive engagement
in a series of naval battles between Allied and Japanese forces during
the months-long Guadalcanal campaign in the Solomon Islands, began.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Battle_of_Guadalcanal>
1970:
The Oregon Highway Division attempted to destroy a rotting beached
sperm whale near Florence, Oregon, with explosives, leading to the
exploding whale incident.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/exploding_whale>
1991:
In Dili, East Timor, Indonesian forces opened fire on student
demonstrators protesting the Indonesian occupation of East Timor,
killing at least 250 people.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Cruz_massacre>
2006:
Although the Georgian government declared it illegal, South Ossetia
held a referendum on independence, with about 99 percent of voters
supporting to preserve the region's status as a de facto independent
state.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Ossetian_independence_referendum%2C_2006>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
enchorial (adj):
1. Indigenous, native.
2. Of, relating to, or written in the vulgar form of ancient Egyptian
hieratic writing
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/enchorial>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but
rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country
and mankind its citizens.
--Bahá'u'lláh
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%27u%27ll%C3%A1h>
The Saint-Gaudens double eagle is a twenty dollar gold coin, or double
eagle, produced by the United States Mint from 1907 to 1933. The coin
is named after Augustus Saint-Gaudens, who designed the obverse and
reverse. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt sought to beautify
American coinage, and proposed Saint-Gaudens as an artist capable of
the task. Although the sculptor had poor experiences with the Mint and
its chief engraver, Charles E. Barber, Saint-Gaudens accepted
Roosevelt's call. The work was subject to considerable delays, due to
technical difficulties as well as Saint-Gaudens's declining health.
Saint-Gaudens died in 1907, after designing the eagle and double eagle,
but before the designs were finalized for production. After several
versions of the design for the double eagle proved too difficult to
strike, Barber modified Saint-Gaudens's design, lowering the relief so
the coin could be struck with only one blow. When the coins were
finally released, they proved controversial as they lacked the words
"In God We Trust", and Congress intervened to require the motto's use.
The coin was minted, primarily for use in international trade, until
1933. The 1933 double eagle is among the most valuable of U.S. coins,
with the sole example presently known to be in private hands selling in
2002 for $7,590,020.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Gaudens_double_eagle>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1918:
End of World War I: Canadian soldier George Lawrence Price was killed
in action minutes before the armistice treaty signed by Germany and the
Allies came into effect.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lawrence_Price>
1960:
A coup attempt by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam against President
Ngo Dinh Diem was crushed after Diem falsely promised reform, allowing
loyalists to rescue him.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_South_Vietnamese_coup_attempt>
1965:
Southern Rhodesia, led by Prime Minister Ian Smith, unilaterally
declared independence from the United Kingdom to become Rhodesia.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Smith>
1975:
During a constitutional crisis in Australia, Governor-General John Kerr
dismissed the government of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam and dissolved
Parliament for a double dissolution election.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_Australian_constitutional_crisis>
1999:
The House of Lords Act was given Royal Assent, restricting membership
of the British House of Lords by virtue of a hereditary peerage.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Lords_Act_1999>
2004:
Yasser Arafat , the first President of the Palestinian National
Authority, died in a military hospital near Paris.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Arafat>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
bell the cat (v):
To undertake a dangerous action in the service of a group
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bell_the_cat>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Men reject their prophets and slay them, but they love their martyrs
and honor those they have slain.
--Fyodor Dostoevsky
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Fyodor_Dostoevsky>