Today in History

1822: Brazil declares independence from Portugal.

1860: Red Shirt troops led by Italian nationalist Guiseppe Garibaldi take Naples, one of the final steps leading to the unification of Italy under King Victor Emmanuel II the following year.

1892: Gentleman Jim Corbett knocks out James L. Sullivan in the first heavyweight championship bout fought under the Marquess of Queensbury rules, which require the fighters to wear gloves.

1901: The Peace of Beijing formally ends the Boxer Uprising in China. Under the agreement, China pays an indemnity to the European powers and lowers trade barriers.

1977: U.S. president Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos sign the Panama Canal treaties, which return the Panama Canal to Panamanian control in 2000.

1979: ESPN, the first all-sports cable network in the United States, begins broadcasting.

1986: Two years after winning the Nobel Peace Prize, South African clergyman Desmond Tutu is named Archbishop of Cape Town, becoming the first black leader of South Africa's Anglican church.

Born on This Day

Jacob Lawrence, painter (1917)

Grandma Moses, painter (1860)

Michael DeBakey, heart surgeon (1908)

Buddy Holly, rock-and-roll singer (1936)

Daniel Inouye, U.S. senator (1924)

Sonny Rollins, jazz saxophonist (1930)

10 More Words You Simply Must Know
British novelist Evelyn Waugh once said, "One forgets words as one forgets names. One's vocabulary needs constant fertilisation or it will die." Encarta editors picked a few more of their favorite words to nourish your vocabulary. Some of them you may even use! (Tip: Click to see the full definition and hear the word pronounced.)

1. Abhorrent:
1. "repugnant: arousing strong feelings of repugnance or disapproval"
2. "incompatible: incompatible or conflicting with something (literary)"

The odor in his apartment was abhorrent.
2. Masticate:
1. "to grind and pulverize food inside the mouth, using the teeth and jaws"
2. "grind to pulp: to grind or crush something until it turns to pulp"

Be sure to masticate thoroughly before swallowing.

3. Paradigm:
1. "typical example: a typical example of something"
2. "model that forms basis of something: an example that serves as a pattern or model for something, especially one that forms the basis of a methodology or theory"
3. "set of all forms of word: a set of word forms giving all of the possible inflections of a word"
4. "relationship of ideas to one another: in the philosophy of science, a generally accepted model of how ideas relate to one another, forming a conceptual framework within which scientific research is carried out"

The heiress who has become famous for being infamous is the paradigm of celebutantes.

4. Disseminate: "to distribute or spread something, especially information, widely, or become widespread"

Some publications may not want to disseminate rumors, but many tabloids make it their primary business.

5. Promulgate:
1. "declare something officially: to proclaim or declare something officially, especially to publicize formally that a law or decree is in effect"
2. "make known: to make something widely known"

The City Council has approved the regulation and will promulgate it soon.

6. Pestiferous:
1. "annoying: troublesome or annoying"
2. "causing infectious disease: breeding or spreading a virulently infectious disease"
3. "corrupting: evil and corrupting (formal)"

"The pestiferous mosquitoes enveloped the campers as they sat around their campfire--a persistent annoyance in an otherwise pleasant evening.

7. Ostentatious: "marked by a vulgar display of wealth and success designed to impress people"

They were actually deep in debt, but their ostentatious parties were the talk of the neighborhood.

8. Sternutatory: "causing or resulting in sneezing"

Cat dander is sternutatory to me.

9. Salutary:
1. "producing or contributing to a beneficial effect; beneficial; advantageous"
2. "wholesome; healthful; promoting health"

"False facts are highly injurious to the progress of science, for they often endure long; but false views, if supported by some evidence, do little harm, for every one takes a salutary pleasure in proving their falseness." -- Charles Darwin

10. Pugnacious: "having a quarrelsome or combative nature: truculent"

He was pugnacious, frequently landing himself in detention for fighting at recess.