Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, October 11, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Article of the Day | |
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 BlackbirdingBlackbirding refers to the recruitment of people through kidnapping and fraud to work on plantations, particularly the sugar cane plantations of Fiji and Queensland, Australia, in the latter half of the 19th century. Those "blackbirded" were kidnapped from the indigenous populations of Australia or nearby Pacific islands. In 1872, the British Parliament passed a law in an attempt to curtail the practice, but it continued until the turn of the century. How did blackbirding get its name? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Second Vatican Council Convenes (1962)Held in four sessions over the course of three years, the Second Vatican Council was a meeting of Catholic Church leaders with the announced purpose of reconsidering the position of the church in the modern world. Among many other changes, the council reformed the liturgy, permitting the use of the vernacular language, rather than Latin. Representatives from non-Catholic churches were invited to observe the sessions. What unexpected event nearly ended the council prematurely? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jerome Robbins (1918)Robbins was an influential American dancer and director and the choreographer of Broadway musicals such as The King and I, Peter Pan, and Fiddler on the Roof. He choreographed and directed both the stage and film versions of the immensely popular West Side Story, for which he shared an Academy Award for Best Director. He was reportedly so unpopular on the set of 1945's Billion Dollar Baby that the company watched silently as he accidently walked into what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. The True courage is in facing danger when you are afraid.L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Italian Heritage Parade (2020)Since 1869, the city of San Francisco has hosted the annual Italian Heritage Parade in the heavily Italian North Beach area. After services at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, the parade wends its way from Fisherman's Wharf down Columbus Avenue to Washington Square Park. Floats and marching bands from local organizations make up the procession. Every year, young girls are chosen from the community to serve as Queen Isabella and her court, named after the Spanish queen who financed Columbus's historic expedition. More... | |