Today's featured article
Night of January 16th is a play by Ayn Rand inspired by the death of Ivar Kreuger, an industrialist and accused swindler known as the Match King. The play is set in a courtroom during a murder trial and audience members are chosen to play the jury. The court hears the case of Karen Andre, a former secretary and lover of businessman Bjorn Faulkner, of whose murder she is accused. The jury must rely on character testimony to decide whether Andre is guilty; the play's ending depends on their verdict. Rand wanted to dramatize a conflict between individualism and conformity. The play was first produced in 1934 in Los Angeles under the title Woman on Trial. Producer A. H. Woods took it to Broadway for the 1935–36 season and re-titled it Night of January 16th (flyer pictured). It became a hit and ran for seven months. The play has been adapted as a film, as well as for television and radio. Rand had many disputes with Woods over the play, and in 1968 re-edited it for publication as her "definitive" version. (Full article...)
Did you know...
- ... that the small flowers that give Aquilegia parviflora (pictured) its name make it unpopular with gardeners?
- ... that the first draft pick in New England Patriots' history, Gerhard Schwedes, was born in Nazi Germany?
- ... that an ancient Egyptian pet cemetery included a Rüppell's fox, a Barbary falcon, and over 500 cats?
- ... that Theresia Bauer was named science minister of the year four times?
- ... that a species of Australian ant has special workers that make honey, and is considered a delicacy by Aboriginal Australians?
- ... that Armand Ceritano acquired a Philadelphia hotel for "a smile and a handshake" – and $20, borrowed from others?
- ... that in the Orphic Hymns the mythical Greek hero Heracles is a sun god?
- ... that Clay Stevenson has his nickname, "Mud", written on the front of his mask, and a Star of Life on the back?
- ... that a volunteer quipped that a Colorado TV station "broadcast to more ears of corn and heads of cattle than any other station"?
In the news
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- Joseph Aoun (pictured) is elected president of Lebanon after a two-year vacancy, and Nawaf Salam is nominated as prime minister.
- An attack on the presidential palace in N'Djamena, Chad, results in 19 deaths.
- A series of wildfires in Southern California, United States, leaves at least 25 people dead and destroys more than 12,000 structures.
- A 7.1-magnitude earthquake hits Tingri County in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China, leaving at least 126 people dead.
Selected anniversaries
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- 1275 – Eleanor of Provence received permission from her son King Edward I of England to expel Jews from the towns of Worcester, Marlborough, Cambridge and Gloucester.
- 1809 – Peninsular War: French forces under Jean-de-Dieu Soult attacked the British's amphibious evacuation under Sir John Moore at Corunna in Galicia, Spain.
- 1862 – A pumping engine at a colliery in New Hartley, England, broke and fell down the shaft, trapping miners below and resulting in 204 deaths.
- 1942 – World War II: During the Battle of Bataan, U.S. Army sergeant Jose Calugas (pictured) organized a squad of volunteers to man an artillery position under heavy fire, an action that later earned him the Medal of Honor.
- 2018 – In Mrauk U, Myanmar, police fired into a crowd protesting the ban of an event to mark the anniversary of the end of the Kingdom of Mrauk U, resulting in seven deaths and twelve injuries.
- Isaac Komnenos (b. 1093)
- George Hunter Cary (b. 1832)
- Cliff Thorburn (b. 1948)
- Seungkwan (b. 1998)