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Khalid ibn al-Walid (died 642) was a commander under the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the first two caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar. Before his conversion to Islam, Khalid helped defeat the Muslims at the Battle of Uhud in 625. After Khalid converted, Muhammad bestowed on him the title Sayf Allah ('the Sword of God'). In 632, Khalid was appointed by Abu Bakr to suppress or subjugate the tribes of central Arabia opposed to the nascent Muslim state in the Ridda wars. He led the initial campaigns in Sasanian Iraq in 633–634, before being deployed to lead the Muslim conquest of Byzantine Syria. He reached Syria after a famed desert march and led the decisive Muslim victory over the Byzantines at the Battle of Yarmouk. Umar demoted Khalid around 636, but he continued military service in Syria for about two more years. Though the Islamic tradition lauds his command of the early conquests, Khalid's military fame disturbed some early Muslims, including Umar, who feared it could develop into a personality cult. (Full article...)

Did you know ...

Chrysina limbata
Chrysina limbata
  • ... that Chrysina limbata (pictured) has a reflective silver color because of layers of chirped chitin coating?
  • ... that two slaves belonging to Don Carlos were trained by the Italian medallist Jacopo da Trezzo in his workshop in 1550s Madrid?
  • ... that a Florida resident was arrested after posting on RateMyCop.com?
  • ... that in 2007, Arthur Gray's £2 Kangaroo and Map stamp sold for a world record price for a single Australian stamp?
  • ... that the RoadRunner, a laptop from 1983, loaded and stored data from cartridges?
  • ... that in 2021, Wishma Sandamali, who was detained for overstaying her visa after seeking police protection for domestic abuse, became the 17th person to die in Japanese immigration detention since 2007?
  • ... that roughly 15,000 copies of the anonymously published essay "Queers Read This" were distributed at the June 1990 New York Gay Pride Parade?
  • ... that people with woolly hair may also have tooth decay?

In the news

Webb's First Deep Field
Webb's First Deep Field

On this day

July 18: Marine Day in Japan (2022)

Coronation of Pedro II of Brazil
Coronation of Pedro II of Brazil
More anniversaries:
Rick Monday
Rick Monday

There have been 58 first overall draft picks in Major League Baseball (MLB) since Rick Monday (pictured) was selected by the Kansas City Athletics in 1965. The first-year player draft, also known as the Rule 4 Draft, is MLB's primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is solely determined by the previous season's standings; the team that possesses the worst record receives the first pick. No first overall pick was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame until 2016, when Ken Griffey Jr. was inducted with a record 99.3 percent of votes cast. Griffey has since been joined by two other top picks, with Chipper Jones, inducted in 2018; and Harold Baines, elected in December 2018 and inducted in July 2019. Jackson Holliday is the most recent first overall pick; he was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in 2022. (Full list...)

Noisy friarbird

The noisy friarbird (Philemon corniculatus) is a passerine bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to southern New Guinea and eastern Australia. It is one of several species known as friarbirds whose heads are bare of feathers. The species is brown-grey in colour, with a prominent knob on its bare black-skinned head. It feeds on insects and nectar. This noisy friarbird was photographed in Glen Davis, New South Wales.

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Photograph credit: John Harrison

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