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Edgar Towner (19 April 1890 – 18 August 1972) was anAustralian recipient of theVictoria Cross, awarded for his actions during an attack onMont Saint-Quentin during World War I. Born in Queensland, Towner enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in 1915. He served in Egypt with the25th Battalion until his unit was sent to theWestern Front. He then transferred to the2nd Machine Gun Battalion where he was commissioned as a lieutenant. In June 1918, Towner led a machine gun section attack nearMorlancourt while under heavy fire, for which he was awarded theMilitary Cross. In September, he was involved in theAllied counteroffensive that broke the German lines at Mont Saint-Quentin andPéronne. Towner returned to Australia after being discharged in August 1919. He was appointed a director of the Russleigh Pastoral Company and re-enlisted during World War II, when he was promoted tomajor. He was awarded the Dr Thomson Foundation Gold Medal in 1956 for his geographical work. (Full article...)

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Daniel Noboa(pictured)is re-electedpresident of Ecuador.
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Inbasketball, theUConn Huskieswin the NCAA Division I women's championship and theFlorida Gatorswin the men's championship.
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On this day

April 19:Primrose Day in London

Aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing

1713 – With no living male heirs,Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, issued thePragmatic Sanction, allowing theHabsburg hereditary possessions to be inherited by a daughter.
1809 –War of the Fifth Coalition: French generalLouis-Nicolas Davoutdefeated an Austrian force inLower Bavaria, allowing him to rejoin the main French army.
1987 – The fictionalSimpson family made their first appearance in the short "Good Night", aired in a segment of theThe Tracey Ullman Show.
1995 –A truck bombing destroyed much of theAlfred P. Murrah Federal Building(aftermath pictured) inOklahoma City, killing 168 people and injuring more than 680 others.
2015 –Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African American, died of injuries sustained while in the custody of theBaltimore Police Department.

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TheAfrican hawk-eagle (Aquila spilogaster) is a largebird of prey. Like alleagles, it belongs to the familyAccipitridae. The species's feathered legs mark it as a member of the subfamilyAquilinae. The African hawk-eagle breeds in tropicalsub-Saharan Africa. It is a bird of assortedwoodland, including bothsavanna and hilly areas, but they tend to occur intypically dry woodland. The species tends to be rare in areas where their preferred habitat type is absent. The African hawk-eagle is powerfully built and hunts small to medium-sized mammals and birds predominantly, occasionally taking reptiles and other prey as well. This African hawk-eagle perching on a branch was photographed inDamaraland, Namibia.

Photograph credit:Charles J. Sharp

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