Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, June 17, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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clairvoyant
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| Article of the Day | |
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 William Kemmler's 8-Minute ExecutionIn 1890, William Kemmler became the first person to be executed via electric chair after murdering his wife with a hatchet. Appeals on the grounds that electrocution was "cruel and unusual punishment" were opposed by Thomas Edison, who allegedly wanted to use the electric chair to convince people that alternating current electricity was dangerous. Witnesses reported that Kemmler's last words were "Take it easy and do it properly, I'm in no hurry." What was Warden Charles Durston's reply? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Battle of Bunker Hill (1775)Early in the American Revolution and soon after the battles of Lexington and Concord, colonial troops laid siege to Boston. When they began occupying hills overlooking the city, newly reinforced British troops attacked. After two failed assaults, a third charge dislodged the Americans, who had run out of gunpowder. Though the British technically won, their unexpectedly heavy casualties were a psychological blow, and American morale soared. On what hill was the battle actually fought—and why? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Charles François Gounod (1818)Gounod was French composer who also studied for the priesthood and worked as an organist. Throughout his life, he remained torn between the theatre and the church. His reputation largely rests on his hugely popular 1859 opera, Faust, but he also wrote 15 lesser-known operas, 17 masses, more than 150 songs, and two symphonies. One of his short pieces, "Funeral March of a Marionette," became well-known—albeit not by name—as the theme to what popular TV show beginning in the 1950s? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Every woman is supposed to have the same set of motives, or else to be a monster.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Broadstairs Dickens Festival (2020)This nine-day festival commemorating the 19th-century novelist Charles Dickens and his association with the English town of Broadstairs features a play adapted from a different Dickens novel each year. The actors are members of the Broadstairs Dickens Players' Society, and they spend about eight months preparing for their June performance. During the festival, the entire town is transformed: people wander through the streets in Dickensian costumes, play croquet and other games popular during the 19th century, and attend bathing parties and social events with a Victorian theme. More... | |