2 March 2013

doyen

[doi-en, doi-uhn; French dwa-yan]

noun, plural doy·ens [doi-enz, doi-enz; French dwa-yan]

– the senior member, as in age, rank, or experience, of a group, class, profession, etc.

Origin:
1665–75; < French; Old French deien < Latin decānus dean1

Today’s aphorism

Adults are obsolete children.

– Dr Seuss

On this day

2 March 1904 – birth of Theodore Seuss Geisel, (Dr Seuss), children’s author. Died 24 September 1991.

2 March 1917 – Russian Czar Nicholas II is forced to abdicated following the Bloody Sunday massacres in which palace guards opened fire on unarmed protesters, killing a number of them. His abdication brought an end to 300 years of rule by the Romanov dynasty.

2 March 1969 – The Concorde, the world’s first supersonic passenger jet, makes its maiden flight.