Monday, July 5, 2004

 

Spotlight: Personalities of the Day: Arthur Ashe became the first black man to win a Wimbledon singles title when he defeated Jimmy Connors in 1975, and, in 1991, Martina Hingis, 16, won the women's final, to become the youngest Wimbledon singles champion in 110 years.

Word of the day: apotheosis -- exaltation, glorification or deification. Appeared on Sunday in "American's possessive of they're apostrophe's," an article about the apostrophe epidemic that is afflicting America. After citing examples such as "different omelet's every day", "action hero's" and a cafe named "Peache's", the author asks: "But is this apostrophic apotheosis another indication of the dumbing down of America...?" His answer: Some think not. (story) (© )

Today's News:

• Freedom Tower -- New York lays cornerstone for skyscraper at World Trade Center site (story)
• UEFA -- Greece upsets host Portugal to win the Euro 2004 championship (story)
• Kobayashi -- the Tsunami breaks his own world record for hot dog eating (story)

Today's History:

• Venezuela -- was first South American country to declare independence from Spain (1811)
• William Booth -- founded the Salvation Army in London (1865)
• bikini -- swimsuit design debuted at an outdoor fashion show in Paris (1946)

Today's Birthdays:

• P. T. Barnum -- 19th century American huckster (1810-1891)
• Cecil Rhodes -- British financier who helped colonize what is now called Zimbabwe (1853-1902)
• Dolly the Sheep -- first cloned mammal in history (1996-2003)