Today in History (June 10th):
1652: Silversmith John Hull, in defiance of English colonial law, established the first mint in America.
1692: In Salem Village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Bridget Bishop was the first colonist tried in the Salem witch trials, was hanged after being found guilty of the practice of witchcraft.
1898: U.S. Marines invaded Cuba in the Spanish-American War.
1901: Birthdays: Broadway composer Frederick Loewe.
1915: Birthdays: Nobel literature laureate Saul Bellow.
1921: Birthdays: Britain’s Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II.
1922: Birthdays: Hollywood icon Judy Garland.
1928: Birthdays: Children’s author and illustrator Maurice Sendak.
1933: Birthdays: Attorney F. Lee Bailey.
1935: Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in Akron, Ohio.
1942: The German Gestapo burned the tiny Czech village of Lidice after shooting 173 men and shipping the women and children to concentration camps.
1943: Hungarian Laszlo Biro invented the ballpoint pen.
1951: Birthdays: Football Hall of Fame member Dan Fouts.
1955: Birthdays: Actor Andrew Stevens.
1965: Birthdays: Model/actor Elizabeth Hurley.
1971: Birthdays: Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.
1982: Birthdays: Olympic figure skater Tara Lipinski.
1983: Birthdays: Actor Leelee Sobieski.
1994: U.S. President Bill Clinton froze most financial transactions between the United States and Haiti and suspended commercial flights to the Caribbean nation.
1995: Cuba announced the arrest of U.S. financier-turned-fugitive Robert Vesco on spying charges. Vesco had fled the United States in 1972 ahead of embezzlement charges.
1998: A jury in Jacksonville, Fla., found the Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corp. liable in the lung-cancer death of a smoker. The jury awarded his family $950,000, including $450,000 in punitive damages — the first such assessment in a smoking-related lawsuit.
2000: Syrian President Hafez Assad died from a heart attack at age 69. He had ruled the country since 1970.
2003: A three-member Ontario Court of Appeal in Canada ordered that full marriage rights be extended to same-sex couples.
2004: Ray Charles, a 12-time Grammy-winning singer-pianist who pioneered the blending of country and R&B, died at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. He was 73.
2006: Three detainees at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, hanged themselves in the first reported deaths at the facility.
2009: Chrysler, one of America’s Big 3 automakers, climbed out of bankruptcy with a reconstruction plan that included a partnership deal with Italian carmaker Fiat.
2012: Wildfires burned numerous structures and forced evacuations in Colorado and New Mexico but no serious injuries were reported.
1895: Birthdays: Actor Hattie McDaniel, the first African-American to win an Oscar (Best Supporting Actress in 1939 for Gone with the Wind).
Quotes
“Some stories are true that never happened.” – Elie Wiesel, writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1928)
“For hope is but the dream of those that wake.” – Matthew Prior, 1664-1721
“First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.” – Epictetus, 55 AD – 135 AD
“The greatest results in life are usually attained by simple means and the exercise of ordinary qualities. These may for the most part be summed in these two: common-sense and perseverance.” – Owen Feltham, 1602-1668
“Children need models more than they need critics.” – Joseph Joubert
“To profess to be doing God’s will is a form of megalomania.” – Joseph Prescott, aphorist (1913-2001)
“He who postpones the hour of living is like the rustic who waits for the river to run out before he crosses.” – Horace, poet and satirist (65-8 BCE)
Saul Bellow (1915-2005) Canadian writer:
“A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep.”
“A novel is balanced between a few true impressions and the multitude of false ones that make up most of what we call life.”
“All a writer has to do to get a woman is to say he’s a writer. It’s an aphrodisiac.”
“Any artist should be grateful for a nanve grace which puts him beyond the need to reason elaborately.”
In addition to improving erectile function, tadalafil 20mg españa the analysis showed that treatment with sildenafil also improves the orgasm and satisfaction of sexual intercourse. However, abuse of antibiotics may result in dysbacteria and bacterial resistance within the body, bring harm to human health as they have some mentioned adversarial results such cialis viagra as extreme heart palpitation, high blood pressure, reverse results and some other side results. Psychological Factors such as Stress has discount viagra from canada a negative effect on maintaining an erection. It contains levitra sale “icarriin” which acts as PDE-5 inhibitor, and increase nitric oxide level resulting in erections. “California is like an artificial limb the rest of the country doesn’t really need. You can quote me on that.”
“Everybody knows there is no fineness or accuracy of suppression; if you hold down one thing, you hold down the adjoining.”
“Everybody needs his memories. They keep the wolf of insignificance from the door.”
“Goodness is achieved not in a vacuum, but in the company of other men, attended by love.”
threnody
PRONUNCIATION: (THREN-uh-dee)
MEANING: (noun), A song of lamentation for the dead.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek threnoidia, from threnos (lament) + oide (song). Ultimately from Indo-European root wed- (to speak) that is also the forefather of such words as ode, tragedy, comedy, parody, melody, and rhapsody.
USAGE: “In his latest novel, the author tied several elements together in what amounts to a threnody of grief for the American dream.”
prosaic
PRONUNCIATION: (pro-ZAY-ik)
http://wordsmith.org/words/prosaic.mp3
MEANING: (adjective)
1. Dull; unimaginative.
2. Everyday; straightforward; ordinary.
3. Having the character of prose as compared to the feeling of poetry.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin prosa (prose), from prosa oratio (straightforward speech), from provertere (to turn forward). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wer- (to turn or bend), also the source of wring, weird, writhe, revert, universe, wroth, verso , conversazione, versicolor, and animadvert. Earliest documented use: 1589.
USAGE: “On a throne ornate to the point of gaudiness, the queen reads out the legislative agenda of ‘her’ government, written on goatskin vellum. The content of that speech is usually more prosaic.” – Britain: The Vision Thing; The Economist (London, UK); Nov 10, 2007.
Explore “prosaic” in the Visual Thesaurus.
http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=prosaic
ratiocinate
PRONUNCIATION: (rash-ee-OS-uh-nayt, rat-ee-)
http://wordsmith.org/words/ratiocinate.mp3
MEANING: (verb intr.) To reason, especially in a methodical manner.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin ratiocinari (to reckon), from ratio (reason, calculation). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ar- (to fit together), which also gave us army, harmony, article, order, read, adorn, arithmetic, and rhyme. Earliest documented use: 1643.
USAGE: “But we’re here to see Downey [playing Sherlock Holmes] ratiocinate his way in and around the movie.” – Ty Burr; Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes; The Boston Globe; Dec 25, 2009.
Explore “ratiocinate” in the Visual Thesaurus.
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kudos
PRONUNCIATION: (KOO-doz, -dos, KYOO-)
http://wordsmith.org/words/kudos.mp3
MEANING: (noun), Praise, honor, or credit.
ETYMOLOGY: From Greek kydos (praise, renown).
NOTES: The word kudos is a relatively recent addition to the English language. It entered the language as university slang in Britain, in the early 19th century. It’s a singular word, in Greek and in English, but its plural-like appearance prompted some to coin a singular form by dropping the letter s. Many dictionaries (including the OED) now list the word kudo, though marked with an “erroneous” stamp. If the current trends are any indication, chances are over time kudo will drop the black mark on its reputation and become a well-respected word in the language, just as no one today objects to using the word pea (instead of pease) or cherry (instead of cherise).
USAGE: “The Indian economy continues to grow at a healthy 8%. You and your team deserves kudos for that.” – Raj Chengappa; Dear Dr Manmohan Singh; The Tribune (Chandigarh, India); May 21, 2010.
Explore “kudos” in the Visual Thesaurus.
http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=kudos
mausoleum
PRONUNCIATION: (maw-suh-LEE-uhm, -zuh-)
http://wordsmith.org/words/mausoleum.mp3
MEANING: A large tomb, usually an ornate stone building.
ETYMOLOGY: After Mausolus, a Persian governor in 4th century BCE. His monumental tomb was considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, after which any grand tomb is now called a mausoleum. Also see columbarium.
USAGE: “Wu is leading a delegation to attend the 80th anniversary of the burial of Sun Yat-sen at a mausoleum in Nanjing.” – Flora Wang and Mo Yan-chih; Chen Chu Praised For Saying President; Taipei Times (Taiwan); May 23, 2009.