8 October 2013
plenipotentiary
(ˌplɛnɪpəˈtɛnʃərɪ)
— adj
1. (esp of a diplomatic envoy) invested with or possessing full power or authority
2. conferring full power or authority
3. (of power or authority) full; absolute
— n , -aries
4. See also envoy a person invested with full authority to transact business, esp a diplomat authorised to represent a country
[C17: from Medieval Latin plēnipotentiārius, from Latin plēnus full + potentia power ]
Today’s aphorism
‘You can maintain power over people, as long as you give them something. Rob a man of everything, and that man will no longer be in your power’.
– Sonmi-451 [quoting Aleksandr Sozhenitsyn], in the movie Cloud Atlas
On this day
8 October 1769 – Captain James Cook lands at Poverty Bay, New Zealand.
8 October 1939 – birth of Paul Hogan, Australian actor.
8 October 1970 – Soviet dissident author, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wins Nobel Price for Literature. Author of numerous books, including ‘The Gulag Archipelago’, ‘One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich’, ‘Cancer Ward’, and ‘The First Circle’.
8 October 1971 – John Lennon releases the iconic song, ‘Imagine’.
8 October 1980 – Bob Marley collapses on stage in New York. The following day he collapses while jogging in Central Park. He is diagnosed with a brain tumour, which developed from a melanoma that had spread from his toe. He died on 11 May 1981.