Historical Events, Birthdays And Quotations

This Day in History

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 05:00:00 GMT

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 05:00:00 GMT

The Night Attack was a battle fought between the forces of Wallachian Prince Vlad III, known as Vlad the Impaler, and the forces of Mehmed II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire. After Vlad raided Bulgaria and killed more than 20,000 Turks and Bulgarians, Mehmed marched on Wallachia, and the two powers fought a series of skirmishes. In the Night Attack, Vlad attacked the Turkish camp in an attempt to assassinate Mehmed. The attempt failed, but Mehmed retreated anyway. Why? Discuss

Sun, 16 Jun 2019 05:00:00 GMT

Tereshkova was a Soviet cosmonaut who became the first woman to fly in space. In 1963, she was the solo pilot of a three-day flight aboard Vostok 6, orbiting the Earth 48 times. Her flight was her only experience in space, and she left the Soviet space program soon after and married cosmonaut Andriyan Nikolayev. Their daughter, Elena, born a year later, was the first child of parents who had both been in space. What was Tereshkova's job before she was recruited as a cosmonaut?

Sat, 15 Jun 2019 05:00:00 GMT

The Magna Carta—Latin for "Great Charter"—was signed by King John under pressure from his barons. Resentful of high taxes and aware of the king's waning power, the barons demanded a solemn grant of their rights. Among the charter's provisions were clauses reforming law and controlling the behavior of royal officials. Though it reflects the feudal order rather than democracy, the Magna Carta is traditionally considered the foundation of British constitutionalism. How many times was it reissued?

In the News

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 05:00:00 GMT

Thu, 13 Dec 2018 05:00:00 GMT

The news feed is no longer available.

Today's Birthdays

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 05:00:00 GMT

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 05:00:00 GMT

Born in China to missionary parents, Hersey worked as a journalist in East Asia, Italy, and the Soviet Union from 1937 to 1946, including as a war correspondent during WWII. In 1944, he won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel A Bell for Adano, which depicts the Allied occupation of a Sicilian town. He later combined fact and fiction in his most famous work, Hiroshima, about the experiences of atomic-blast survivors. How did Hersey inspire Dr. Seuss to write The Cat in the Hat? Discuss

Sun, 16 Jun 2019 05:00:00 GMT

Simpson, an American paleontologist, helped develop the modern biological theory of evolution, drawing on paleontology, genetics, ecology, and natural selection. His contributions to evolutionary theory include a detailed classification of mammals, which is still the standard, and the discovery of the migratory and evolutionary patterns of the prehistoric fauna of the Americas, from which he deduced that species reached adaptive peaks and suffered accidental dispersal. What word did he coin?

Sat, 15 Jun 2019 05:00:00 GMT

The eldest son of King Edward III, Edward was the prince of Wales. Joining his father as a commander in the campaigns of the Hundred Years War, he established a reputation for valor. However, his rule as the prince of Aquitaine from 1362 to 1372 was a failure, and he returned sick and broken to England and formally surrendered his principality to his father. Though the heir apparent, he never became king, dying one year before his father. Edward was the first in England to be granted what title?

Article of the Day

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 05:00:00 GMT

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 05:00:00 GMT

Known as ichnites or ichnolites, fossilized footprints or tracks of once-living organisms are studied by the branch of paleontology known as ichnology or ichnolithology. As well as providing information about foot structure and stride, ichnites provide important clues about the behavior of the animals that made them. For example, multiple ichnites of a single species found close together may suggest herd or pack behavior. What prehistoric creature is known exclusively by its footprints? Discuss

Sun, 16 Jun 2019 05:00:00 GMT

About 5,400 species of often brightly colored marine worms are included in the annelid class Polychaeta. Worms of this class have a head with short sensory projections and tentacles and a segmented body covered with many setae, or bristles. They range in length from less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) to approximately 10 ft (3 m) long. Found worldwide, polychaetes perform the important function of turning over sediment on the ocean floor. What is the deepest point at which polychaetes have been observed?

Sat, 15 Jun 2019 05:00:00 GMT

Known by the medical term cerumen, earwax is the waxy secretion of the ceruminous glands and hair follicles of the external auditory canal. Earwax protects the ears by trapping dust, microorganisms, and foreign particles and preventing them from entering and damaging the ear. However, excess or impacted cerumen can impair hearing, and a number of methods exist to alleviate earwax impaction. One method considered dangerous and ineffective by doctors is ear candling, which is what?

Quotations of the Day

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 05:00:00 GMT

Mon, 17 Jun 2019 05:00:00 GMT

How easy it is for one benevolent being to diffuse pleasure around him; and how truly is a kind heart a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity to freshen into smiles! Discuss

Sun, 16 Jun 2019 05:00:00 GMT

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.

Sat, 15 Jun 2019 05:00:00 GMT

Scarcely one person in a thousand is capable of tasting the happiness of others.

Twitter Messages