Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, May 18, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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egotist
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| Article of the Day | |
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 The Conspiracy of Claudius CivilisThe Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis, an oil painting by Dutch master painter Rembrandt, depicts a Roman historian's account of an episode from the Batavian rebellion, led by the one-eyed chieftain Claudius Civilis. At around 16 x 16 ft (5 x 5 m), it was Rembrandt's largest completed work before it was reduced in size for sale. Commissioned in the mid-17th century by Amsterdam's city council for the city hall, it was returned to Rembrandt after being displayed for only a short time. Why? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First Ascent of Lhotse (1956)Reaching 27,890 ft (8,501 m), Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain on Earth. Tibetan for "south peak," it is located in the Himalayas on the Nepal-Tibet border and is connected to Mount Everest by a 25,000-ft (7,620-m) ridge. The first ascent of the mountain was made by Swiss climbers Fritz Luchsinger and Ernest Reiss in 1956. Thirty years later, what mountaineer summited Lhotse, becoming the first climber to have ascended all 14 mountains on Earth that peak more than 8,000 m above sea level? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Walter Adolph Gropius (1883)Gropius was the immensely influential director of the Bauhaus school of art and architecture in Germany. In 1937, he immigrated to America and became head of Harvard's architecture department. He was an early exponent of the International style and believed that all design—whether of a chair, a building, or a city—should focus on the particular needs and problems involved, without regard to old styles. His 1923 re-design of what everyday object is now considered an icon of 20th-century design? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Hard work is simply the refuge of people who have nothing whatever to do.Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Toshogu Haru-No-Taisai (2020)This festival provides the most spectacular display of ancient samurai costumes and weaponry in Japan. The Toshogu Shrine, in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, was built in 1617 to house the mausoleum of Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), the first of the Tokugawa shoguns. On the first day of the festival, dignitaries and members of the Tokugawa family make offerings to the deities of the shrine, and warriors on horseback shoot at targets with bows and arrows. The next morning, more than 1,000 people take part in the procession from Toshogu to Futarasan Shrine, including hundreds of samurai warriors. More... | |