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From today's featured article

Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was the 18th President of the United States (1869–77). As Commanding General (1864–69), Grant worked closely with President Abraham Lincoln to lead the Union Army to victory over the Confederacy in the American Civil War. He implemented Congressional Reconstruction, often at odds with Lincoln's successor, Andrew Johnson. Twice elected president, Grant led the Republicans in their effort to remove the vestiges of Confederate nationalism and slavery, protect African-American citizenship, and support economic prosperity nationwide. His presidency has often come under criticism for protecting corrupt associates and in his second term leading the nation into a severe economic depression.

Grant graduated in 1843 from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, served in the Mexican–American War and initially (Full article...)

Did you know...

• ... that the type fossil of the damselfly Electropodagrion consists only of a thorax, leg, and wing portions?
• ... that some people believe that the moon landings were fake?
• ... that Lord Minginish is the first Gaelic-speaking Chairman of the Scottish Land Court?
• ... that Arii Matamoe (pictured), an 1892 painting of a Pacific Islander's severed head, may have been inspired by the death of Pōmare V shortly after Paul Gauguin's arrival in Tahiti?
• ... that the Battle of Hampton Roads was perhaps the most important naval battle of the American Civil War from the standpoint of the development of navies?
• ... that 72 Terrorists came from countries that President Trump recently banned in Executive Order 13769?
• ... that Emma Dench, a British classicist and the McLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History at Harvard University, appeared in a film alongside her aunt Judi Dench in 1968?

In the news (from Infogalactic News)

• DC Regime Turns On Senile Fake President
  When Thieves Fall Out 2: Afghan Boogaloo
  

• FBI 'Finds' FBI Did Not Coordinate Jan 6th 'Attack'
  Terry Davis, Pray For Us
• Biden: Greater Threats Than Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan
  Looking At Syria And East Africa
  

• Greece Builds Huge Wall To Stop Migrants
  Make Greece Great Again
• India Approves First Ever Plasmid Vaccine
  Would You Kindly Do The Needful?
• Study Shows COVID Vaccination Less Effective Than Advertised
  Natural Immunity Superior To Jab, Hospitalization Data Missing
• California Burning
  "This Is Not Going To End Anytime Soon"
  

On this day...

August 21

• 1778 – American Revolutionary War: British forces begin besieging the French outpost at Pondichéry.
• 1863 – Lawrence, Kansas is destroyed by Confederate guerrillas Quantrill's Raiders in the Lawrence Massacre.
• 1969 – An Australian, Denis Michael Rohan, sets the Al-Aqsa Mosque on fire, a major catalyst of the formation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
• 1976 – Operation Paul Bunyan at Panmunjom, South Korea.
• 1991 – Latvia declares renewal of its full independence after the occupation of Soviet Union.
• 1992 – Ruby Ridge Standoff in Idaho
• 2013 – Hundreds of people are reported killed by chemical attacks in the Ghouta region of Syria.

• More anniversaries:
  • August 20
  • August 21
  • August 22

August 22

• 392 – Arbogast has Eugenius elected Western Roman Emperor.
• 1831 – Nat Turner's slave rebellion commences just after midnight in Southampton County, Virginia, leading to the deaths of more than 50 whites and several hundred African Americans who are killed in retaliation for the uprising.
• 1849 – The first air raid in history. Austria launches pilotless balloons against the city of Venice.
• 1949 – Queen Charlotte earthquake: Canada's largest earthquake since the 1700 Cascadia earthquake
• 1950 – Althea Gibson becomes the first black competitor in international tennis.
• 1978 – The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FLSN) occupies national palace in Nicaragua.
• 2004 – Versions of The Scream and Madonna, two paintings by Edvard Munch, are stolen at gunpoint from a museum in Oslo, Norway.

• More anniversaries:
  • August 21
  • August 22
  • August 23

• 406 – Gothic king Radagaisus is executed after he is defeated by Roman general Stilicho and 12,000 "barbarians" are incorporated into the Roman army or sold as slaves.
• 1328 – Battle of Cassel: French troops stop an uprising of Flemish farmers.
• 1839 – The United Kingdom captures Hong Kong as a base as it prepares for war with Qing China. The ensuing 3-year conflict will later be known as the First Opium War.
• 1873 – Albert Bridge in Chelsea, London opens.
• 1898 – The Southern Cross Expedition, the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, departs from London.
• 1982 – Bachir Gemayel is elected Lebanese President amidst the raging civil war.
• 1990 – Armenia declares its independence from the Soviet Union.

• More anniversaries:
  • August 22
  • August 23
  • August 24

Today's featured picture

Vincent Willem van Gogh (Dutch: [ˈvɪnsɛnt ˈʋɪləm vɑn ˈɣɔx];<ref group =note>The pronunciation of "Van Gogh" varies in both English and Dutch. Especially in British English it is /ˌvæn ˈɡɒx/ van-GOKH or sometimes /ˌvæn ˈɡɒf/ van-GOF. U.S. dictionaries list /ˌvæn ˈɡoʊ/ van-GOH, with a silent gh, as the most common pronunciation. In the dialect of Holland, it is [ˈvɪnsɛnt fɑŋˈxɔx], with a voiceless V. He grew up in Brabant (although his parents were not born there), and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: [vɑɲˈʝɔç], with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh.

Van Gogh painted several versions of landscapes with flowers, including his View of Arles with Irises, and paintings of flowers, including Irises, Sunflowers, lilacs and roses. Some reflect his interests in the language of color, and also in Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints. (Full article...)

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