Tropical Storm Keith, the eleventh tropical storm of the 1988 season,
was the latest North Atlantic tropical cyclone in the calendar year to
strike the Continental United States since the 1925 season. Keith
developed out of a tropical wave in the Caribbean Sea on November 17
and reached a peak intensity of 70 mph (110 km/h) shortly before
striking the northeastern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula. It turned
northeastward in the Gulf of Mexico, and made landfall near Sarasota,
Florida, on November 23. Keith became extratropical near Bermuda on
November 24. The extratropical remnant persisted for two more days.
Keith produced moderate to heavy rainfall in Honduras, Jamaica, and
Cuba. Minimal damage was reported in Mexico. The last of four named
North Atlantic hurricanes to hit the United States during the season,
Keith produced moderate rainfall, rough storm surge, and gusty winds
across central Florida. Overall damage was fairly minor but widespread,
totaling $7.3 million. Near the coast of Florida, damage occurred
mainly from storm surge and beach erosion. Further inland there were
floods, downed trees and power lines. No fatalities were reported.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Keith_(1988)>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
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, an event which inspired Herman Melville's novel Moby-
Dick.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essex_(whaleship)>
1945:
The Nuremberg Trials of 24 leading Nazis involved in the
Holocaust and various war crimes during World War II began in
Nuremberg, Germany.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Trials>
1980:
An oil platform drilling accident caused Lake Peigneur in the
U.S. state of Louisiana to drain into a salt mine underneath, creating a
whirlpool that sucked down the lake's entire contents.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Peigneur>
1991:
Nagorno-Karabakh War: An Azerbaijani military helicopter
carrying a peacekeeping mission team was shot down in Nagorno-Karabakh,
Azerbaijan, disrupting the ongoing peace talks.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Azerbaijani_Mil_Mi-8_shootdown>
1998:
The assembly of the International Space Station began when
Zarya, its first module, was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome,
Kazakhstan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Space_Station>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
spoiler:
1. One who spoils; a plunderer, pillager, despoiler.
2. A document, review or comment that discloses the ending or some key
surprise or twist in a story.
3. (automotive) A device to reduce lift and increase downforce.
4. (US, chiefly politics, sports) An individual, unable to win themselves,
who spoils the chances of another's victory.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/spoiler>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that
human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts
to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends
forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million
different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current
which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.
--Robert F. Kennedy
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_F._Kennedy>
Lambeosaurus is a genus of hadrosaurid dinosaur that lived about 76 to
75 million years ago, in the Late Cretaceous period (Campanian) of
North America. This bipedal/quadrupedal, herbivorous dinosaur is known
for its distinctive hollow cranial crest, which in the best-known
species resembled a hatchet. Several possible species have been named in
Canada, the US, and Mexico, but only the two Canadian species are
currently recognized as valid. The various skulls assigned to the type
species L. lambei are interpreted as showing age differences and sexual
dimorphism, including some juvenile fossils previously thought to belong
to a genus of dwarf hadrosaur. Lambeosaurus was closely related to the
better known Corythosaurus, which is found in slightly older rocks, as
well as the less well-known dinosaurs Hypacrosaurus and Olorotitan. All
had unusual crests, which are now generally assumed to have served
social functions like noisemaking and recognition. Lambeosaurus was
belatedly described in 1923 by William Parks, over twenty years after
the first material was studied by Lawrence Lambe, after whom the
dinosaur is named.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambeosaurus>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1794:
The United States and Great Britain concluded the Jay Treaty,
the basis for ten years of peaceful trade between the two nations.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Treaty>
1863:
American Civil War: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered
the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers' National
Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Address>
1943:
The Holocaust: Inmates at the Janowska concentration camp near
modern Lviv, Ukraine, staged a failed uprising, after which the SS
liquidated the camp, resulting in at least 6,000 deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janowska_concentration_camp>
1977:
TAP Portugal Flight 425 crashed while attempting to land at
Madeira Airport in Funchal, Madeira, killing over 130 people on board.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TAP_Portugal_Flight_425>
2010:
The first of four explosions occurred at the Pike River Mine in
the West Coast Region of New Zealand in the nation's worst mining
disaster in nearly a century.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pike_River_Mine_disaster>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
omega:
1. The final letter of the Greek alphabet.
2. (idiomatic) The end; the final, last or ultimate in a series.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/omega>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on
this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a
great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived
and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of
that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final
resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might
live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But,
in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can
not hallow, this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled
here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.
The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it
can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to
be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have
thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to
the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we
take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full
measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead
shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have
a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the
people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
--Abraham Lincoln
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln>
Volubilis is a partly excavated Roman city in Morocco near Meknes. Built
in a fertile agricultural area, it developed from the 3rd century BC
onwards as a Phoenician/Carthaginian settlement and grew rapidly under
Roman rule from the 1st century AD onwards. Public buildings included a
basilica, temple and triumphal arch (pictured). Its prosperity, derived
principally from olive growing, prompted the construction of many fine
town-houses with large mosaic floors. The town fell to local tribesmen
around 285 and was never retaken by Rome due to its remoteness. In the
late 8th century it became the seat of Idris ibn Abdallah, the founder
of the state of Morocco. Volubilis was abandoned by the 11th century.
Its ruins remained substantially intact until an earthquake in the mid-
18th century and subsequent use of the stones for building Meknes.
During and after the period of French rule over Morocco, about half of
the site was excavated and some of the more prominent buildings were
restored or reconstructed. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site,
listed for being "an exceptionally well preserved example of a large
Roman colonial town on the fringes of the Empire".
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volubilis>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1210:
Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor was excommunicated by Pope
Innocent III after he commanded the Pope to annul the Concordat of
Worms.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_IV,_Holy_Roman_Emperor>
1812:
Napoleonic Wars: During Napoleon's invasion of Russia, Marshal
Michel Ney's leadership in the Battle of Krasnoi earned him the nickname
"the bravest of the brave" despite the overwhelming French defeat.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Krasnoi>
1943:
Second World War: The Royal Air Force began its bombing
campaign against Berlin (ruins of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church
pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Berlin_(RAF_campaign)>
1963:
The first push-button telephone was made available to AT&T;
customers.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Push-button_telephone>
2003:
With its ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health,
the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court made the state the first in the
U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodridge_v._Department_of_Public_Health>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
full circle:
1. Through a rotation or revolution that ends at the starting point.
2. (idiomatic) Through a cycle of transition, returning to where one
started after gaining experience or exploring other things.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/full_circle>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
So... all of time and space, everything that ever happened or
ever will — where do you want to start?
--Steven Moffat
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Steven_Moffat>
The Heidi Game was an American football game played on November 17,
1968, in which the Oakland Raiders came from behind to defeat the New
York Jets 43–32, scoring two touchdowns in the final minute to win. It
obtained its nickname because the National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
controversially broke away from the game with the Jets still winning to
air the television film Heidi at 7 p.m. in the Eastern Time Zone. A
high-scoring contest, together with a number of injuries and penalties
for the two bitter American Football League rivals, caused the game to
run long. NBC executives had ordered that Heidi must begin on time, but
given the exciting game, they decided to postpone the start of the film.
Many members of the public called NBC to inquire about the schedule, to
complain or opine, jamming the network's switchboards. As NBC executives
were trying to call the same switchboards to implement their decision,
the change could not be communicated, and Heidi began as scheduled. The
movie preempted the final moments of the game in the eastern half of the
country, to the outrage of viewers. In 1997, the Heidi Game was voted
the most memorable regular season game in pro football history.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_Game>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1405 - The Sultanate of Sulu was established on the Sulu Archipelago off
the coast of Mindanao in the Philippines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultanate_of_Sulu>
1869:
The Suez Canal opened, allowing shipping to travel between
Europe and Asia via the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Canal>
1970:
American inventor Douglas Engelbart received the patent for the
first computer mouse (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouse_(computing)>
1993:
General Sani Abacha ousted Ernest Shonekan to become chairman
of the Provisional Ruling Council of Nigeria.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sani_Abacha>
2005:
"Il Canto degli Italiani" officially became the national anthem
of Italy almost sixty years after it was provisionally chosen following
the birth of the Italian Republic.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il_Canto_degli_Italiani>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
rory:
1. (obsolete) Covered by dew.
2. (obsolete) Of gaudy, tasteless, or unsubtle colors.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rory>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I would have men invest themselves with the dignity of an aim
higher than the chase for wealth; choose a thing to do in life outside
of the making of things, and keep it in mind, — not for a day, nor a
year, but for a life-time.
--Voltairine de Cleyre
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Voltairine_de_Cleyre>
Walter de Coutances was a medieval Anglo-Norman Bishop of Lincoln and
Archbishop of Rouen. He began his royal service in the government of
Henry II, serving as a vice-chancellor. He also accumulated a number of
ecclesiastical offices, becoming successively canon of Rouen Cathedral
(pictured), treasurer of Rouen, and Archdeacon of Oxford. King Henry
sent him on a number of diplomatic missions, and finally rewarded him
with the Bishopric of Lincoln in 1183. He did not remain there long, for
he was translated to the archbishopric of Rouen in late 1184. When
Richard I, King Henry's son, became king in 1189, Coutances absolved
Richard for his rebellion against his father and invested him as Duke of
Normandy. He then accompanied Richard to Sicily as the king began the
Third Crusade, but events in England prompted Richard to send the
archbishop back to England to mediate between William Longchamp, the
justiciar whom Richard had left in charge of the kingdom, and Prince
John, Richard's younger brother. Coutances succeeded in securing a peace
between Longchamp and John, but further actions by Longchamp led to the
justiciar's expulsion from England. Coutances died in November 1207 and
was buried in his cathedral.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_de_Coutances>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1491:
Several Jews and conversos were executed in Toledo, Spain, for
the alleged ritual murder of an infant, who was later revered as the
Holy Child of La Guardia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Child_of_La_Guardia>
1920:
Qantas, Australia's national airline, was founded as Queensland
and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Qantas>
1938:
Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann first synthesized the psychedelic
drug LSD (3D representation of molecule pictured) at the Sandoz
Laboratories in Basel, Switzerland.
<https://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
to transport oil from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Alaska.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Alaska_Pipeline_System>
2002:
The first case of the respiratory disease Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was recorded in Guangdong, China.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome_(SARS)>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
kraal:
1. In Central and Southern Africa, a rural village of huts surrounded by a
stockade.
2. An enclosure for livestock.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kraal>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Besides the conversation of women, it is dreams that keep the
world in orbit. But dreams also form a diadem of moons, therefore the
sky is that splendour inside a man's head, if his head is not, in fact,
his own unique sky.
--José Saramago
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Saramago>
The Jefferson nickel has been the five-cent coin struck by the United
States Mint since 1938, when it replaced the Buffalo nickel. Since 2006,
the copper-nickel coin's obverse has featured a forward-facing portrayal
of early U.S. President Thomas Jefferson by Jamie Franki. The coin's
reverse is the original by Felix Schlag; in 2004 and 2005, the piece
bore commemorative designs. The Mint conducted a competition for a new
nickel depicting Jefferson and his home, Monticello, which Schlag won,
but was required to submit an entirely new reverse and make other
changes. The new piece went into production in October 1938 and was
released on November 15. As nickel was a strategic war material during
World War II, nickels coined from 1942 to 1945 were struck in a copper-
silver-manganese alloy which would not require adjustment to vending
machines, and bear a large mint mark above the depiction of Monticello
on the reverse. In 2004 and 2005, the nickel saw new designs as part of
the Westward Journey nickel series, and since 2006 has borne Schlag's
reverse and Franki's obverse.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_nickel>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1315:
A 1,500-strong force from the Swiss Confederacy ambushed a
group of Austrian soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire on the shores of
Lake Ägerisee in Switzerland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Morgarten>
1688:
Prince William of Orange landed at Brixham in Devon, on his way
to depose his father-in-law King James II, the last Catholic monarch of
England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glorious_Revolution>
1889:
Brazilian Emperor Pedro II was overthrown in a coup led by
Deodoro da Fonseca, and Brazil was proclaimed a republic.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_and_fall_of_Pedro_II_of_Brazil>
1943:
The Holocaust: Heinrich Himmler ordered that Romanies were to
be put "on the same level as Jews and placed in concentration camps".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porajmos>
1983:
Turkish Cypriots on the northeastern portion of Cyprus declared
the creation of a new state known as the Turkish Republic of Northern
Cyprus, which currently remains recognised only by Turkey.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Cyprus>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
Easter egg:
1. A dyed or decorated egg, traditionally associated with Easter and
usually hidden for children to find.
2. A chocolate confection in the shape of an egg.
3. (computing) An undocumented function hidden in a program or video game,
typically triggered by a particular input sequence or combination of
keystrokes.
4. Any image, feature, or other content that is hidden on a video disc, in
a movie, trailer, or poster.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Easter_egg>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
I have things in my head that are not like what anyone has taught
me — shapes and ideas so near to me — so natural to my way of being
and thinking that it hasn't occurred to me to put them down. I decided
to start anew, to strip away what I had been taught.
--Georgia O'Keeffe
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Georgia_O%27Keeffe>
Haruna was a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War I
and World War II. Designed by the British naval engineer George
Thurston, she was a battlecruiser of the Kongō class, among the most
heavily armed ships in any navy when built. Named after Mount Haruna,
she was laid down in 1912 and commissioned in 1915. Beginning in 1926,
she was rebuilt as a battleship, strengthening her armor and improving
her speed and power. In 1933, her superstructure was completely rebuilt,
her speed was increased, and she was equipped with launch catapults for
floatplanes. Now fast enough to accompany Japan's growing carrier fleet,
Haruna was reclassified as a fast battleship. During the Second Sino-
Japanese War, Haruna transported Japanese troops to mainland China. On
the eve of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, she sailed as part of
the Southern Force in preparation for the Battle of Singapore. Haruna
fought in almost every major naval action of the Pacific Theater,
including the Battle of Midway, the Guadalcanal Campaign, the Battle of
the Philippine Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. In 1945, Haruna was
transferred to Kure Naval Base, where she was sunk by aircraft of Task
Force 38.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Haruna>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1910:
Aviator Eugene Burton Ely performed the first takeoff from a
ship (pictured), flying from a makeshift deck on the USS Birmingham in
Hampton Roads, Virginia, US.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Burton_Ely>
1940:
Second World War: Coventry Cathedral and much of the city
centre of Coventry, England, were destroyed by the German Luftwaffe
during the Coventry Blitz.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventry_Blitz>
1984:
Cesar Climaco, mayor of Zamboanga City, the Philippines, was
assassinated by an unknown gunman.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesar_Climaco>
2003:
Astronomers Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L.
Rabinowitz discovered the trans-Neptunian object 90377 Sedna.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/90377_Sedna>
2010:
Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel won the Drivers'
Championship after winning the final race of the season to become the
youngest Formula One champion ever.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastian_Vettel>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
minyan:
The minimum number of ten adult Jews required for a communal religious
service.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/minyan>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Most of us seldom take the trouble to think. It is a troublesome
and fatiguing process and often leads to uncomfortable conclusions. But
crises and deadlocks when they occur have at least this advantage, that
they force us to think.
--Jawaharlal Nehru
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jawaharlal_Nehru>
Faith Leech (1941–2013) was an Australian freestyle swimmer who won
gold in the 4 × 100 metres freestyle relay and bronze in the 100 m
freestyle at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. A tall and lean
swimmer known for her elegant technique, Leech started swimming as a
child to build strength after a series of eating disorders. In 1955, she
became the youngest swimmer to win an Australian title, claiming victory
in the 100 yards freestyle, and twice broke the Australian record at
this distance. Illness forced her out of the 1956 Australian
Championships, but she recovered to gain Olympic selection. Leech
produced a late surge to take bronze in the individual event and seal an
Australian trifecta, before swimming the second leg in the relay to help
secure an Australian victory in world record time. She retired from
competitive swimming after the Olympics aged 15, citing anxiety caused
by racing as one of the main factors in her decision. She worked in the
family jewelry business, taught swimming to disabled children, and
continued her involvement with the Olympic movement through volunteer
work. Leech was an inductee of the Path of Champions at Sydney Olympic
Park Aquatic Centre.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_Leech>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1841:
Scottish surgeon James Braid first observed the operation of
animal magnetism, which led to his study of the subject he eventually
called hypnotism.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Braid_(surgeon)>
1966:
The Israeli military conducted a large cross-border assault on
the Jordanian-controlled West Bank village of Samu in response to an al-
Fatah land mine incident two days earlier near the West Bank border.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samu_Incident>
1982:
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in Constitution
Gardens in Washington, D.C.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_Veterans_Memorial>
1989:
Hans-Adam II, reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, took the throne
upon the death of his father.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans-Adam_II,_Prince_of_Liechtenstein>
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.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_v_The_Queen>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
adipose:
1. Containing, composed of, or consisting of fat.
2. Slightly overweight, somewhat fat and hence soft.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/adipose>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
All who have meant good work with their whole hearts, have done
good work, although they may die before they have the time to sign it.
Every heart that has beat strong and cheerfully has left a hopeful
impulse behind it in the world, and bettered the tradition of mankind.
--Robert Louis Stevenson
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Louis_Stevenson>
Fanno Creek is a 15-mile (24 km) tributary of the Tualatin River in the
U.S. state of Oregon. Part of the drainage basin of the Columbia River,
its watershed covers about 32 square miles (83 km2) in Multnomah,
Washington, and Clackamas counties, including about 7 square miles
(18 km2) within the Portland city limits. From its headwaters in the
Tualatin Mountains (West Hills) in southwest Portland, the creek flows
generally west and south through the cities of Portland, Beaverton,
Tigard and Durham, and unincorporated areas of Washington County. It
enters the Tualatin River about 9 miles (14 km) above the Tualatin's
confluence with the Willamette River at West Linn. For thousands of
years, the Atfalati (Tualatin) tribe of the Kalapuya inhabited the
watershed. The first settler of European descent, Augustus Fanno, for
whom the creek is named, arrived in the mid-19th century. Fanno
Farmhouse, the restored family home, is a Century Farm on the National
Register of Historic Places and is one of 14 urban parks in a narrow
corridor along the creek. Although heavily polluted, the creek supports
aquatic life, including cutthroat trout in its upper reaches.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanno_Creek>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1028:
Future Byzantine empress Zoe first took the throne as empress
consort to Romanos III Argyros.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoe_Porphyrogenita>
1330:
Led by voivode Basarab I, Wallachian forces defeated the
Hungarian army in an ambush at the Battle of Posada.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Posada>
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.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durand_Line>
1936:
The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, connecting San
Francisco and Oakland, California across San Francisco Bay, opened to
traffic.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco%E2%80%93Oakland_Bay_Bridge>
1970:
The 1970 Bhola cyclone made landfall on the coast of East
Pakistan (Bangladesh), becoming the deadliest tropical cyclone in
history, with over 300,000 people killed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970_Bhola_cyclone>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
peri:
A sprite or supernatural being in Persian mythology.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/peri>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Justice and equity are twin Guardians that watch over men. From
them are revealed such blessed and perspicuous words as are the cause of
the well-being of the world and the protection of the nations.
--Bahá'u'lláh
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%27u%27ll%C3%A1h>
John Treloar (1894–1952) was an Australian archivist who was the
director for almost 30 years of the Australian War Memorial (AWM), the
country's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and
supporting organisations who have participated in war. Prior to World
War I he worked as a clerk in the Department of Defence and, after
volunteering for the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in 1914,
served in staff roles for most of the war's first years. Treloar was
selected to command the Australian War Records Section in 1917. In this
position, he improved the AIF's records and collected a large number of
artefacts for later display in Australia. Treloar was appointed the
director of what eventually became the AWM in 1920, and was a key figure
in establishing the Memorial and raising funds for its permanent
building in Canberra. He headed the Department of Information during the
first years of World War II, and spent the remainder of the war in
charge of the Australian military's history section. Treloar returned to
the AWM in 1946, and continued as its director until his death.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Treloar_(museum_administrator)>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1675:
German polymath Gottfried Leibniz employed integral calculus
for the first time to find the area under the graph of the function .
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottfried_Wilhelm_Leibniz>
1813:
War of 1812: A British–Canadian force repelled an American
attack in the Battle of Crysler's Farm, forcing the latter to give up
their attempt to capture Montreal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Crysler%27s_Farm>
1918:
Józef Piłsudski was appointed Commander in Chief of Polish
forces by the Regency Council and was entrusted with creating a national
government for the newly independent country.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B3zef_Pi%C5%82sudski>
1940:
World War II: The German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis captured
top secret documents from SS Automedon that would later influence
Japan's decision to enter the war.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_auxiliary_cruiser_Atlantis>
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.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_Australian_constitutional_crisis>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
rumpty:
(New Zealand) Having a quality below standard; in a state of disrepair.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rumpty>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
A great swindle of our time is the assumption that science has
made religion obsolete. All science has damaged is the story of Adam and
Eve and the story of Jonah and the Whale. Everything else holds up
pretty well, particularly lessons about fairness and gentleness. People
who find those lessons irrelevant in the twentieth century are simply
using science as an excuse for greed and harshness. Science has nothing
to do with it, friends.
--Kurt Vonnegut
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kurt_Vonnegut>