Sunday, November 28, 2004

 

Spotlight: Personality of the Day: Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan passed through the strait which bears his name to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean on this date in 1520.

Quote: "The Church says that the earth is flat, but I know that it is round, for I have seen the shadow on the moon, and I have more faith in a shadow than in the Church." -- Ferdinand Magellan

Word of the day: vomitory -- the entrance piercing the banks of seats of a stadium (© )

Today's News:

• Cartagena -- Marxist rebels planned to assassinate Bush in Columbia (story)
• Silicon Valley -- giant Grinch replaces Christmas display (story)
• checkmate -- chess enjoys revival among American youth (story) (championship live)

Today's History:

• William Shakespeare -- married Anne Hathaway (1582)
• Nancy Astor -- became the first woman in British history elected to a seat in Parliament (1919)
• FDR, Winston Churchill & Josef Stalin -- met in Tehran during World War II, in the first conference between the leaders of the three major Allied powers (1943)

Today's Birthdays:

• William Blake -- author and artist who greatly influenced romanticism (1757-1827)
• Friedrich Engels -- Karl Marx's collaborator and editor (1820-1895)
• Ed Harris -- star of The Human Stain turns 54