Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, October 19, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ragbag
| |||||||
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 ChulalongkornChulalongkorn was the king of Siam—now Thailand—from 1868 to 1910. Educated in part by a British governess, Anna Leonowens, he greatly advanced the Westernization that was begun by his father, King Mongkut. He departed from tradition by traveling abroad—to Singapore, Java, and India in 1871 and to Europe in 1897. He abolished slavery and introduced numerous reforms, which, along with his foreign policy, kept Siam from being colonized for decades. How many children did Chulalongkorn have? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Streptomycin Is First Isolated (1943)After coining the word "antibiotic" for bacteria-killing chemicals derived from micro-organisms, American microbiologist Selman A. Waksman, working with Albert Schatz, isolated streptomycin—the fourth antibiotic ever discovered. Waksman won the 1952 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery. Streptomycin acts by inhibiting protein synthesis and damaging cell membranes. Produced by soil bacteria, it was the first specific agent effective in the treatment of what disease? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (1910)For his contributions to the knowledge of the evolution of stars, Indian-American astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar shared the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physics. His work advanced the understanding of white dwarfs, supernovas, neutron stars, and black holes. He determined the maximum mass of a stable white dwarf—about 1.44 solar masses, the Chandrasekhar limit—beyond which a star will ultimately collapse and become a neutron star or black hole. Who else in his family was a Nobel laureate? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Human nature is so well disposed towards those who are in interesting situations, that a young person, who either marries or dies, is sure of being kindly spoken of.Jane Austen (1775-1817) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
curdle (one's) blood— To terrify someone. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Feast of the Martyrs of North America (2022)The Feast of the North American Martyrs commemorates the death of eight priests who were killed by the Iroquois, enemies of the Huron Indians, with whom the priests had been working for 34 years. The eight who are remembered on this day are St. Rene Goupil (1608-1642), St. Isaac Jogues (1607-1646), St. John Lalonde (d. 1646), and their companions, French Jesuits who died in 1649. They were canonized together in 1930, and a shrine built for them at Auriesville, New York, holds a novena each year over nine days, including October 19. More... | |