Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, May 7, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
lamentation
| |||||||
| Article of the Day | |
|---|---|
 The Desert FathersThe Desert Fathers were ascetics who began moving into the Scetes desert of Egypt in the 3rd century CE. By the time the most well-known of the Desert Fathers, St. Anthony of Egypt, died in 356, thousands had moved into the desert and established monastic communities that came to exert a major influence on Christianity. St. Anthony saw withdrawal from society and asceticism as an alternative to the tradition of martyrdom after Rome's legalization of Christianity in what year? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
|---|---|
 West German Chancellor Willy Brandt Resigns (1974)Brandt fled his native Germany for Norway after the rise of the Nazis in the 1930s. Returning after the war, he became involved in politics and, in 1969, was elected chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. As chancellor, he greatly improved relations with East Germany, the Soviet Union, and Poland, and in 1971 he received the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1974, he was forced to resign after an embarrassing scandal in which one of his close aides was exposed as what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
|---|---|
 Robert Browning (1812)Browning was a leading Victorian poet known for his dramatic monologues. In 1846, he secretly married Elizabeth Barrett, whisking her away from her despotic father to Italy. Barrett was already a famous poet, but Browning's poems—such as "Fra Lippo Lippi" and "The Bishop Orders His Tomb"—gained recognition slowly. Long after his beloved wife's death, his novel in verse about a murder, The Ring and the Book, finally earned him wide acclaim. In 1890, he became the first dead man to do what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
|---|---|
 It is salutary to train oneself to be no more affected by censure than by praise.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Today's Holiday | |
|---|---|
 Calendimaggio (2020)According to legend, St. Francis of Assisi used to walk through the streets of Assisi, Italy, at night, singing. In early May each year, long processions of messeri (gentlemen) and madonne (ladies), escorted by knights and esquires, compete with each other in singing and music at the Piazza del Comune. In addition to commemorating the town's patron saint, these singing contests serve as an official welcome to May, which is known as the month of love. More... | |