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David Kelly (14 May 1944 – 17 July 2003) was a Welsh authority on biological warfare. Appointed to the United Nations Special Commission in 1991 as a chief weapons inspector in Iraq, he led ten of the organisation's missions. After the publication of a dossier in 2002, which stated that Iraq could deploy chemical and biological weapons within 45 minutes, Kelly had an off-the-record interview with Andrew Gilligan of the BBC about the claim. Gilligan's reporting stated that Alastair Campbell, the Downing Street director of communications, insisted on the 45-minute claim, something which Kelly denied saying. Kelly appeared before a parliamentary committee on 15 July 2003, and before another the next day; he was found dead near his home the day after. Tony Blair, the prime minister, set up an inquiry under Lord Hutton that concluded that Kelly had killed himself. A review led by Dominic Grieve between 2010 and 2011 backed the finding. Kelly's death has been the subject of documentaries and been fictionalised in media works. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

American Football House

... that none of the members of American Football ever actually lived in the American Football House (pictured)?
... that the poet Fernando Pessoa considered Alberto Caeiro, one of his own heteronyms, to be his master?
... that Shanghai Trolleybus Route 20 was so popular in the 1980s that it required 65 buses to run as little as 30 seconds apart?
... that the Belgian far-right activist Robert Steuckers is critical of the French New Right for their lack of proficiency in German?
... that according to Fodor's Travel, the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps is "possibly the world's largest mosaic staircase"?
... that Ida Mett was expelled from a Russian anarchist group for mourning her deceased father by lighting a Yahrzeit candle?
... that Piri & Tommy's "Beachin" was an attempt at imitating the Isley Brothers?
... that Newton's apple tree was blown down in a storm in 1816?

In the news

Fran Drescher

In the United States, actors in the SAG-AFTRA trade union (president Fran Drescher pictured) go on strike, joining writers in the Writers Guild of America strike.
Flooding and landslides in northern India leave at least 100 people dead.
Czech-French writer Milan Kundera dies at the age of 94.
In the Netherlands, the governing coalition collapses and Prime Minister Mark Rutte announces his upcoming resignation.

On this day

July 17: Marine Day in Japan (2023); Constitution Day in South Korea (1948); World Emoji Day

Russian imperial family, 1913

1771 – Dene men, acting as guides to Samuel Hearne on his exploration of the Coppermine River in present-day Nunavut, Canada, massacred a group of about twenty Copper Inuit.
1863 – The New Zealand Wars resumed as British forces led by General Duncan Cameron began the invasion of the Waikato.
1918 – Russian Revolution: Tsar Nicholas II and his family (pictured) were murdered by Bolsheviks at Yekaterinburg.
1968 – Led by Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party overthrew Iraqi president Abdul Rahman Arif in a bloodless coup.
2007 – TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overran the runway at Congonhas Airport in São Paulo, Brazil, killing 199 people.

Jadwiga of Poland (d. 1399)
Rainilaiarivony (d. 1896)
Barbara Rae-Venter (b. 1948)
David Kelly (d. 2003)

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From today's featured list

Stadio Olimpico, Rome, during the 2012 Coppa Italia final

There have been 75 finals in the Coppa Italia since its establishment in 1922. The Coppa Italia is an annual football cup competition in Italy, open to all Serie A and Serie B clubs, as well as four teams from Serie C. There have been 41 single-match finals, one of which was replayed after the initial game ended in a goalless draw. On 30 occasions, the final two teams played two matches on a home-and-away basis. On four occasions, a final group of four teams played a double round-robin tournament to determine the winner. As of 2023, 16 teams have won the competition at least once. On 11 occasions, the winning team also won Serie A in the same season, thus making a domestic double. Inter Milan are the only team to win Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Champions League in the same year, which occurred in 2010. Juventus hold the record for the most wins (14) and most appearances in the final (21). (Full list...)

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The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is an American heavy strategic bomber featuring low-observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses. A subsonic flying wing with a crew of two, the plane was designed by Northrop, later Northrop Grumman, and produced from 1987 to 2000. With the ability to drop both conventional and thermonuclear weapons, there are twenty B-2 Spirits in service with the United States Air Force, one having been destroyed in a 2008 crash at Andersen Air Force Base. This B-2 Spirit was photographed in flight at an air show at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, in 2018.

Photograph credit: Balon Greyjoy

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