Fact of the Day
According to Suetonius, emperor Caligula banned anyone mentioning goats in his presence, because he looked like one.
Quote of the Day
"A business that makes nothing but money is a poor kind of business.
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~ Henry Ford
On This Day
1614 The notorious female serial killer, Elizabeth Báthory, died in solitary confinement, aged 54. Her activities, including the killing of possibly over 500 victims, had led to her investigation and arrest in 1610, but her status as a member of one of the most important Transylvanian families allowed her to avoid execution.
1911 The Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre by the Italian petty criminal and sometimes Louvre employee Vincenzo Perugia, who apparently believed he was performing his patriotic duty in returning it to Italy.
1914 Private John Parr became the first British soldier to be killed in WWI, possibly by friendly fire, aged 17.
1918 The Second Battle of the Somme began, in response to the German Spring Offensive, and the victories achieved contributed significantly to the signing of the Armistice in November 1918.
1940 Leon Trotsky, one of the leading original Bolshevik revolutionaries, died from the wounds he had received the previous day in an ice-axe attack from NKVD agent Ramón Mercader. Although Mercader was held in a Mexican prison for the assassination for the next 20 years, he still received in absentia the Order of Lenin from a much-pleased Stalin.