Phan Dinh Phung (1847–1896) was a Vietnamese revolutionary who led
rebel armies against French colonial forces in Vietnam. He was the most
prominent of the Confucian court scholars involved in anti-French
military campaigns in the 19th century and was cited after his death by
20th-century nationalists as a national hero. Born into a family of
mandarins, Phan quickly rose through the ranks under Emperor Tu Duc,
gaining a reputation for his integrity and uncompromising stance
against corruption. Upon Tu Duc's death, the regent Ton That Thuyet
disregarded Tu Duc's will of succession, and three emperors were
deposed and killed in just over a year. Along with Thuyet, Phan
organised rebel armies as part of the Can Vuong movement, which sought
to expel the French. This campaign continued for three years until
1888, when the French captured Ham Nghi and exiled him to Algeria. Phan
and his military assistant Cao Thang continued their guerrilla
campaign, building a network of spies, bases and small weapons
factories. However, Cao Thang was killed in a campaign in late 1893.
The decade-long campaign eventually wore Phan down, and he died from
dysentery as the French surrounded his forces.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phan_Dinh_Phung>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1348:
King Charles of Bohemia issued a Golden Bull to establish Charles
University in Prague, the first university in Central Europe.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_University_in_Prague>
1862:
American Civil War: Union forces defeated Confederates at the Battle of
Shiloh in Hardin County, Tennessee.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shiloh>
1896:
An Arctic expedition led by Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen reached
86°13.6'N, almost three degrees beyond the previous Farthest North
mark.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fridtjof_Nansen>
1940:
Educator Booker T. Washington became the first African American to be
featured on a U.S. postage stamp .
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker_T._Washington>
1995:
First Chechen War: Russian paramilitary troops begin a massacre of at
least 250 civilians in Samashki, Chechnya.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samashki_massacre>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
infelicitous (adj):
1. Unhappy or unfortunate.
2. Inappropriate or awkward; not well said, expressed, or done
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/infelicitous>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
There are seasons, in human affairs, of inward and outward revolution,
when new depths seem to be broken up in the soul, when new wants are
unfolded in multitudes, and a new and undefined good is thirsted for.
There are periods when...to dare, is the highest wisdom.
--William Ellery Channing
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Ellery_Channing>
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