31 December 2012

suffrage

[suhf-rij]

noun
1. the right to vote, especially in a political election.
2. a vote given in favor of a proposed measure, candidate, or the like.
3. Ecclesiastical . a prayer, especially a short intercessory prayer or petition.

Related form:

suffragette

noun

– member of a (women’s) suffrage movement.

Origin:

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin suffrāgium voting tablet, vote, equivalent to Latin suffrāg ( ārī ) to vote for, support + -ium -ium

Today’s aphorism

‘Independence is happiness’.

– Susan B. Anthony, American suffragette leader.

On this day

31 December 1967 – Evel Knievel unsuccessfully attempts a motorcycle jump over the fountains of Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. He received concussion and numerous broken bones, which left him in a coma for 29 days.

31 December 2007 – Murder statistics in the United States reveal that murder rate is 0.055 per head of population, which is slightly less than it was in 1947, when the rate was 0.0551. The population in 1947 was 145,000,000 and there were 8,000 murders. In 2007, the population was 300,000,000 and there were 16,500 murders.