The history of Sheffield, a city in South Yorkshire, England, can be
traced back to the founding of a settlement beside the River Sheaf in
the second half of the 1st millennium AD, although the area has seen
human occupation since the last ice age. Following the Norman conquest
of England, Sheffield developed into a small town. By the 14th century
it was noted for the production of knives, and by 1600 it had become the
second main centre of cutlery production in England after London. In the
1740s the crucible steel process was improved by Sheffield resident
Benjamin Huntsman, allowing a much better production quality. At about
the same time, Sheffield plate, a form of silver plating, was invented,
and the associated industries caused Sheffield to grow rapidly. It
remained a major industrial city throughout the first half of the 20th
century, but the downturn in world trade following the 1973 oil crisis
and international rationalisation in steel production led to the closure
of many of the steelworks from the early 1970s onward. Since the late
1980s, urban and economic regeneration schemes (including the Sheffield
Winter Garden, pictured) have transformed the city, but the city centre
remains blighted by empty shops and improvements have been halted by the
recession.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Sheffield>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1689:
The Act of Toleration became law, granting freedom of worship
to Nonconformists under certain circumstances, but deliberately
excluding Catholics.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Toleration_1689>
1830:
The nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb" was first published
as an original poem by Sarah Josepha Hale.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Had_a_Little_Lamb>
1883:
New York City opened the Brooklyn Bridge (pictured) – the
longest suspension bridge in the world at the time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Bridge>
1948:
Arab–Israeli War: After five days of fighting, Egyptian
forces finally captured the Israeli community of Yad Mordechai after the
defenders had abandoned it.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Yad_Mordechai>
1999:
Former President of Serbia Slobodan Milošević was indicted
for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slobodan_Milo%C5%A1evi%C4%87>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
shylock:
(intransitive, US) To lend money at exorbitant rates of interest.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/shylock>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The fact that astronomies change while the stars abide is a true
analogy of every realm of human life and thought, religion not least of
all. No existent theology can be a final formulation of spiritual truth.
--Harry Emerson Fosdick
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Emerson_Fosdick>