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From today's featured article
Margaret Sanger (September 14, 1879 – September 6, 1966) was an Americanbirth control activist,sex educator, and nurse. She opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, foundedPlanned Parenthood, and was instrumental in the development of the firstbirth control pill. She was an importantfirst-wave feminist and believed that women should be able to decide if and when to have children. Sanger campaigned for the legalization ofcontraceptives by giving speeches, writing books, and breaking laws – leading to eight arrests. She endorsed both theMalthusianism andeugenics movements, believing that they would generate support for birth control. She established a network of dozens of birth control clinics, which provided services to hundreds of thousands of patients. She discouragedabortion, and her clinics never offered abortion services during her lifetime. Her activism led to theGriswold v. Connecticut decision, which legalized contraception. (Full article...)
Did you know ...
- ... thatVincent de Groof successfully tested his bat-like flying machine(pictured) in 1874, only to die after crashing it 10 days later?
- ... that the theatre which premiereda play about sex offenders had to hire additional security for its run?
- ... that visitors from various countries come to a temple to see a wild Chinese monkey namedXing Xing?
- ... thatFatima Hassouna was killed shortly after a documentary about her was announced for the2025 Cannes Film Festival?
- ... that at aDestroy Lonely concert promoting an edition ofhis debut album, some fans entered his car?
- ... thatCarl Jorgensen andGust Zarnas were the firstNFL players from Denmark and Greece?
- ... that in 1917 more than 8,000 African Americans protestedlynchings by marching down New York City'sFifth Avenuein silence, accompanied only by the sound of muffled drums?
- ... thata Sicilian soldier killed his own family duringan Ottoman attack onGozo in 1551, to prevent them from being enslaved?
- ... thatCosta Rica's most famous bull killed two men and loved mangos?
In the news
- Formerpresident of UruguayJosé Mujica(pictured) dies at theage of 89.
- TheKurdistan Workers' Party announces its dissolution, endingits insurgency against Turkey.
- Robert Francis Prevostis elected asPope Leo XIV, becoming the first Catholicpope born in the United States.
- Friedrich Merz is electedChancellor of Germany and sworn in alongsidehis coalition government.
- Zhao Xintong defeatsMark Williams to winthe World Snooker Championship.
- In horse racing,Sovereignty, ridden byJunior Alvarado, winsthe Kentucky Derby.
On this day
May 18:Haitian Flag Day in Haiti (1803);Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Crimean Tatar Genocide in Ukraine
- 1302 – Armed insurrectionistsmassacred the occupying French garrison inBruges,Flanders, killing approximately 2,000 people.
- 1695 –An earthquake measuringMs7.8 struckShanxi Province in northern China, resulting in at least 52,600 deaths.
- 1927 – Disgruntledschool board treasurerAndrew Kehoe set off explosives with timers and a rifle(aftermath pictured), causing theBath School disaster in theBath Consolidated School inMichigan, killing 44 people in the deadliestmass murder in a school in United States history.
- 2009 – TheSri Lanka Army killedVelupillai Prabhakaran, the leader and founder of theLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, to bring an end to the 26-yearSri Lankan civil war.
Today's featured picture
El Tatio is a geothermal field with manygeysers located in theAndes Mountains ofnorthern Chile at 4,320 metres (14,170 ft) above mean sea level. It is the third-largest geyser field in the world and the largest in theSouthern Hemisphere. The geothermal field has many geysers,hot springs, and associatedsinter deposits. These hot springs eventually form theRio Salado, a major tributary of theRio Loa, and are a major source ofarsenic pollution in the river. The vents are sites of populations ofextremophile microorganisms such ashyperthermophiles, and El Tatio has been studied as an analogue for theearly Earth and possible pastlife on Mars. Photograph credit:Diego Delso Recently featured: |
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