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John D. Whitney(July 19, 1850 – November 27, 1917) was an AmericanCatholicpriest who was the president ofGeorgetown Universityfrom 1898 to 1901. Born inMassachusetts,he joined theUnited States Navyat the age of sixteen. He became aJesuitin 1872 and spent the next twenty-five years studying and teaching mathematics at Jesuit institutions in Canada, England, Ireland, and the United States. He became the vice president ofSpring Hill CollegeinAlabamabefore becoming thepresident of Georgetown.He oversaw the completion ofGaston Hall,the construction of the entrances toHealy Hall,and the establishment ofGeorgetown University Hospitaland what would become theSchool of Dentistry.Afterwards, Whitney became the treasurer ofBoston Collegeand then engaged in pastoral work inPhiladelphia,Brooklyn,andBaltimore,where he became theprefectofSt. Ignatius Church.(This articleis part of afeatured topic:Presidents of Georgetown University.)

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Big Duck

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Paul Kagame

A faultysoftware updatebyCrowdStrike,an Americancybersecuritycompany, causesglobal computer outages.
Inthe Rwandan general election,Paul Kagame(pictured)is re-elected as thepresident,and theRwandan Patriotic Front coalitionwin a majority in thelower house.
KP Sharma Oliis appointed theprime minister of Nepalafter the incumbentPushpa Kamal Dahalloses ano confidence motion.
Inassociation football,Euro 2024concludes withSpaindefeatingEnglandinthe final,andthe Copa Américaconcludes withArgentinadefeatingColombiainthe final.

On this day

July 19

Remnants of theMary Rose

1333–Second War of Scottish Independence:Scottish forces under SirArchibald Douglaswere heavily defeated by the English at theBattle of Halidon Hillwhile trying to relieveBerwick-upon-Tweed.
1545– The English warshipMary Rosesank outsidePortsmouthduring theBattle of the Solent;it was raised from the seabed in 1982(remnants pictured).
1916–First World War:The "worst 24 hours in Australia's entire history" occurred when Australian forcesunsuccessfully attackedGerman defences atFromelles,France.
1957– The largelyautobiographical novelThe Ordeal of Gilbert PinfoldbyEvelyn Waughwas published.
2014–Gunmen ambushed an Egyptian military checkpointin theLibyan Desertnear Farafra, killing 22 soldiers.

William McSherry(b.1799)
Khawaja Nazimuddin(b.1894)
Kgalema Motlanthe(b.1949)
Sylvia Daoust(d.2004)

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German Mission House,Chatham

Ten locations in the Chatham Islands are listed on the New Zealand Heritage List.TheChatham Islandsare anarchipelagoin the Pacific Ocean about 800 kilometres (430 nautical miles) east of New Zealand'sSouth Island,administered as part of New Zealand.Heritage New Zealandclassification of sites on theNew Zealand Heritage List / Rārangi Kōrero,in accordance with the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014, distinguishes between Category 1 ( "places of special or outstanding historical or cultural significance" ) and Category 2 ( "places of historic or cultural significance" ). Nine historic places(one pictured)are located on the main island ofChatham,while one, Whaler's Cottage, is on neighboringPitt Island.Two additional sites – Hunts Forge on Pitt Island and Zimmerman House at Waitangi West on Chatham – were initially listed as Category 2 sites, but were later destroyed and removed from the list. (Full list...)

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Horatius Cocleswas an officer in the army of the earlyRoman Republicwho famously defended thePons Subliciusfrom the invading army ofEtruscankingLars PorsenaofClusiumin the late 6th century BC, during thewar between Rome and Clusium.By defending the narrow end of the bridge, he and his companions were able to hold off the attacking army long enough to allow other Romans to destroy the bridge behind him, blocking the Etruscans' advance and saving the city. This fanciful engraving of Cocles was produced in 1586 by the German-born Dutch printmakerHendrick Goltzius.The full-length portrait shows him holding a raised sword in his right hand and a shield in his left. In the lower right of the background, Cocles takes on an army by himself.

Engraving credit:Hendrick Goltzius

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