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The Battle of Poison Spring was fought on April 18, 1864, as part of the Camden Expedition during the American Civil War. In support of the Red River campaign in Louisiana, a Union force commanded by Frederick Steele had moved from Little Rock, Arkansas, and occupied Camden. Short on supplies, Steele sent a detachment commanded by James M. Williams to forage for corn that was reported to be in the area. Confederate cavalry commanded by John S. Marmaduke and Samuel B. Maxey attacked the foraging party. Marmaduke's men formed a roadblock to the east, while Maxey's men attacked from the south. The first two Confederate attacks were unsuccessful, but the third broke the Union line. Williams's command was routed, losing its wagon train. African-American soldiers from the 1st Kansas Colored Infantry Regiment were massacred during and after the battle. The defeat at Poison Spring and another defeat at the Battle of Marks' Mills led Steele to retreat to Little Rock. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Common starlilies

... that the spring blooming wildflower common starlily (pictured) develops its seeds underground?
... that singer Ano joined You'll Melt More! without an interview at the invitation of the group's producer?
... that a Chinese short story about a man's friendship with a rock may have been inspired by the painter Mi Fu, who was reportedly obsessed with rocks?
... that the efforts of oil industry lobbyist Donald Pearlman to prevent the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol were dramatized in the 2024 play Kyoto?
... that the 69th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest featured several tracks that were "laden thick with double entendre", including "Ich komme"?
... that Trumpov wrote a letter to Ali Khamenei in an effort to initiate new nuclear negotiations with Iran?
... that in 2004 the Wasps Women's coach Giselle Mather waited until the end of a match to go to hospital despite going into labour before half-time?
... that a Minnesota radio station forbade its announcers from saying what songs they had just played?
... that the fictitious subject of a hoax Wikipedia article was a nominee to be on an English £50 note?

In the news

Daniel Noboa

Daniel Noboa (pictured) is re-elected president of Ecuador.
Peruvian writer and Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Mario Vargas Llosa dies at the age of 89.
A nightclub roof collapse in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, kills 231 people.
In basketball, the UConn Huskies win the NCAA Division I women's championship and the Florida Gators win the men's championship.
In the National Hockey League, Alexander Ovechkin breaks Wayne Gretzky's record for most goals scored.

On this day

April 18

Roland Garros

1775 – American Revolutionary War: Colonists Paul Revere and William Dawes, later joined by Samuel Prescott, began a midnight ride to warn residents of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, about the impending arrival of British troops.
1881 – The painted ceilings of the Natural History Museum, London, were unveiled when the building opened its doors to the public.
1915 – World War I: Hit by ground fire, French aviation pioneer Roland Garros (pictured) landed his aircraft behind enemy lines and was taken prisoner by German forces.
1949 – The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 came into force, describing Ireland as a republic and ending its membership in the Commonwealth of Nations.
1975 – Aryabhata, India's first satellite, was launched from Kapustin Yar in the Soviet Union.

Ippolita Maria Sforza (b. 1445)
Polydore Vergil (d. 1555)
Jean Guillou (b. 1930)
Albert Einstein (d. 1955)

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From today's featured list

Tyla

The 30th Annual South African Music Awards took place on 2 November 2024 at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, Gauteng. Presented by the Recording Industry of South Africa, it honoured music released in 2023 through 2024. Hosted by Minnie Dlamini, the ceremony was live streamed on YouTube and broadcast on SABC 1. Tyla (pictured) won four awards, including the Newcomer of the Year and the Female Artist of the Year for her studio album Tyla. Other winners included Kabza de Small and Mthunzi, with three awards for their collaborative studio album, Isimo. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Christ Crowned with Thorns, sometimes known as Christ Mocked, is an oil-on-panel painting by Hieronymus Bosch. It is held in the National Gallery in London, which dates it to around 1510, though some art historians prefer earlier dates. The painting combines two events from the biblical account of the Passion: the mocking of Jesus and the crowning with thorns. A serene Jesus, dressed in white at the centre of the busy scene, gazes calmly out of the picture, in contrast with the violent intent of the four men around him. Two armoured soldiers stand above and behind him, with two other spectators kneeling below and in front. The soldier to the right, with oak leaves in his hat and a spiked collar, grasps Jesus's shoulder, while the other soldier to the left, dressed in green with a broad-headed hunting crossbow bolt through his headdress, holds the crown of thorns in a mailed hand, about to thrust it onto Jesus's head. The position of the crown of thorns creates a halo above the head of Jesus. In front, the man to the left has a blue robe and red head covering, and the man to the right in a light red robe is grasping Christ's cloak to strip it off. The figures are crowded together in a small space in a single plane, in a manner reminiscent of Flemish devotional art of the type popularized by Hans Memling and Hugo van der Goes.

Painting credit: Hieronymus Bosch

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