Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, December 9, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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buccaneer
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| Article of the Day | |
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 Hadrian's WallStretching 73.5 mi (118.3 km), Hadrian's Wall was an ancient Roman wall built in Britain. Constructed mainly in the 2nd century CE under Emperor Hadrian, it guarded the northwestern frontier of the province from Celtic and other invaders. Fragments of the wall, 6 ft (1.8 m) high and 8 ft (2.4 m) thick, and many of its mile stations are still extant and are some of the largest and most significant remains of the Roman occupation. What other wall was built by the Romans in Britain? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Eradication of Smallpox Is Certified (1979)One of the deadliest diseases in history by sheer loss of life, smallpox was the target of a concerted, worldwide eradication campaign in the 20th century, and it became the first disease to have been successfully wiped out. Efforts focused on vaccination and quickly responding to and curtailing outbreaks. The last person to die from smallpox caught it at a laboratory, where samples of the now-vanquished disease remain. Who is the last person known to have contracted it in the wild? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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.jpg) Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717)The son of a German cobbler, Winckelmann overcame years of hardship to pursue his love of ancient Greek art, becoming a renowned scholar and one of the founders of scientific archaeology and art history. He spent much of his later life studying in the vast Vatican Library, and his writings reawakened the popular taste for Classical art and helped spur the Neoclassical movement. In 1768, a fellow traveler—who did not know who Winckelmann was—murdered him at a hotel, ostensibly for what reason? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 One cannot fix one's eyes on the commonest natural production without finding food for a rambling fancy.Jane Austen (1775-1817) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Tanzania Independence Day (2020)Tanzania Independence Day is a celebration of independence from the British in 1961 of Tanganyika, which merged with Zanzibar in 1964 to become Tanzania. The day is a national holiday celebrated with parades, youth leagues marching before the president at the stadium in Dar es Salaam, school games, cultural dances, and aerobatics by the air force. More... | |