Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, April 12, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The Farewell DossierThe Farewell Dossier was the name given to the collection of documents that KGB defector Colonel Vladimir Vetrov—code-named "Farewell"—gathered and gave to French intelligence officials during the Cold War. An engineer, Vetrov had been assigned to evaluate information on Western hardware and software gathered by spies. Disillusioned with the Communist system, Vetrov passed along nearly 4,000 secret documents between 1981 and 1982, including a complete list of what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 Liberian President William R. Tolbert Is Killed in Military Coup (1980)Liberia was founded in the 1820s by former slaves from the US, and tensions between the Americo-Liberian minority and the indigenous majority have persisted since that time. On April 12, 1980, a group of soldiers led by Samuel Kanyon Doe stormed the executive mansion, killing Americo-Liberian President William R. Tolbert and 27 other government leaders. Doe, a member of the ethnic Krahn tribe, then declared himself president. How had a rice scandal seriously undermined Tolbert? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock (1940)Hancock is a jazz and funk pianist, composer, and bandleader who emerged as part of Miles Davis's group in the mid-1960s. An early adopter of electronic instruments, he became involved with funk and disco in the 70s, while continuing to tour with jazz groups, such as that of Wynton Marsalis. He won an Academy Award for his original score of the 1986 film 'Round Midnight and has won 14 Grammys, including "Album of the Year" for a work that paid tribute to what fellow musician? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 Either life entails courage, or it ceases to be life.E. M. Forster (1879-1970) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
|---|---|
naff off— A forceful exclamation of dismissal, disdain, or impatience. Primarily heard in UK. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Halifax Day (2025)Also known as Halifax Resolves Day, Halifax Resolutions Day, Halifax Independence Day, or Halifax Resolutions of Independence Day, this is the day on which, in the spring of 1776, North Carolina's delegates to the Second Continental Congress were given permission to join with representatives from other colonies in declaring their independence from British rule. The Halifax Resolutions helped lay the groundwork for the American Revolution. Halifax Day observances take place in Halifax, North Carolina, with reenactments and living history camps. More... | |