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[edit]On this Day
[edit]- 1367 – Swa Saw Ke was crowned the ruler of the Kingdom of Ava in Upper Myanmar.
- 1816 – Facing rising discontent in France, Louis XVIII was forced to dissolve the Chambre introuvable, the legislature dominated by Ultra-royalists.
- 1887 – A fire that killed 186 people broke out at the Theatre Royal, Exeter.
- 1964 – Hurricane Cleo dissipated after causing 156 deaths, mainly in Haiti, and causing roughly US$187 million in damages across the Caribbean and southeastern United States.
- 1975 – Squeaky Fromme (pictured), a devotee of Charles Manson, attempted to assassinate U.S. president Gerald Ford in Sacramento, California.
- Katharina Zell (d. 1562)
- James Innes (d. 1759)
- Archie Jackson (b. 1909)
- Jean-Chrysostome Weregemere (b. 1919)
Featured Article of the Day
[edit]Titanis is a genus of Phorusrhacidae, or "terror birds". The extinct family of large, predatory birds originated in South America and inhabited parts of the present-day United States during the Pliocene. Like all phorusrhacids, Titanis had elongated hind limbs, a thin pelvis, proportionally small wings, and a large skull with a hooked beak. Estimates placed Titanis at 1.4 to 2 meters (4.6 to 6.6 ft) in height and over 300 kilograms (660 lb) in body mass. Phorusrhacids are thought to have been ground predators or scavengers, apex predators that dominated Cenozoic South America. They may have swallowed small prey whole or targeted larger prey with repeated strikes of the beak. Titanis likely preyed on mammals such as the extinct armadillo relatives Holmesina and Glyptotherium, equids, tapirs, capybaras, and other Pliocene herbivores. Titanis is unique among phorusrhacids in that it is the only one known from North America, crossing over from South America during the Great American Interchange. (Full article...)
In the News
[edit]- The Summer Paralympics open (ceremony pictured) in Paris, France.
- More than four hundred people are killed in an Islamist militant attack in Barsalogho Department, Burkina Faso.
- The Islamic State claims responsibility for a mass stabbing that killed three people at a festival in Solingen, Germany.
- In cycling, Katarzyna Niewiadoma wins the Tour de France Femmes.
Did you Know?
[edit]- ... that upon independence from Portugal, the flags of São Tomé and Príncipe (pictured), Cape Verde, and Guinea-Bissau all featured the colours green, yellow and red, as well as black stars?
- ... that cinematographer Alfredo Gandolfi also had a career as a singer that included more than 300 performances at the Metropolitan Opera?
- ... that the demolition of the Iloilo Central Market was criticized as being unlawful?
- ... that Swedish naval officer Henrik Johan Nauckhoff fought against the British in the American Revolutionary War?
- ... that nine-year-old children were sometimes employed to help teach younger children in infant schools in the 1840s?
- ... that the Zbrojovka Z 4 was the first Czechoslovak mass-produced car with front-wheel drive?
- ... that "Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche", a 1983 song by Mike Ejeagha, went viral in 2024?
- ... that despite being an independent candidate, Leanne Mohamad came within 528 votes of defeating shadow health secretary Wes Streeting in the 2024 UK general election?
- ... that German officials exiled the Samoan king from his own kingdom in 1887?