23 November 2013
nascent
[nas-uhnt, ney-suhnt]
adjective
1. beginning to exist or develop: the nascent republic.
2. Chemistry . (of an element) in the nascent state.
Origin:
1615–25; < Latin nāscent- (stem of nāscēns ), present participle of nāscī to be born, arise, equivalent to nā ( tus ) born (variant of gnātus ) + -sc- inchoative suffix + -ent- -ent
Related forms
nas·cence, nas·cen·cy, noun
un·nas·cent, adjective
Today’s aphorism
Do not judge by appearances; a rich heart may be under a poor coat.
– Scottish proverb
On this day
23 November 534BC – Thespis of Icaria becomes the first recorded actor to portray a character on stage.
23 November 1859 – birth of William H. Bonney aka Billy ‘The Kid’. American outlaw. Legend has it that he killed 21 men, although historians believe it may have been between 4 and 9 men. He was shot dead by Sheriff Pat Garrett around 14 July 1881. Some conspiracy theorists believe that Bonney did not get shot that day, but that Garrett staged the shooting so that Billy ‘The Kid’ could escape.
23 November 1889 – the first jukebox commences operation at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco.
23 November 1963 – Dr Who premiers on BBC TV, starring William Hartnell. It has become the longest running science fiction series in the world.
23 November 1981 – US President Ronald Reagan signs the top secret National Security Directive 17 (NSDD-17), authorising the Central Intelligence Agency to recruit, train and support Contra rebels in Nicaragua, in order to wage guerilla warfare against the ruling leftist Sandanista regime. In 1982, the Boland Amendment was passed by Congress which banned US support of the Contras. The Reagan administration illegally continued funding the rebels. Part of the funding was obtained by illegally selling arms to Iran, which was the subject of an international arms boycott. The Reagan administration sold the arms in an effort to free seven US hostages being held by a group linked with Iran. The scandal became known as the Iran-Contra affair and was the subject of a Presidential Commission (the Tower Commission) as well as investigations by a number of Congressional Committees. As a result, a number of high ranking members of Reagan’s administration were indicted, including Caspar Weinberger (Secretary of Defence) – later pardoned by President H.W. Bush in 1991 before standing trial, William Casey (Head of the CIA), Robert C. MacFarlane (Assistant Secretary of State), Oliver North (National Security Council), Admiral John Poindexter, and numerous others. While Reagan knew of the operations, it was not definitively shown that he issued the orders.