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Edith Roosevelt (1861–1948; née Carow) was the second wife of President Theodore Roosevelt and the first lady of the United States from 1901 to 1909. She grew up alongside the Roosevelt family, and married Theodore Roosevelt in 1886, having five children. She became a public figure when her husband became a war hero in the Spanish–American War and was elected governor of New York. Theodore became vice president in March 1901, and president after the assassination of William McKinley in September. Edith controlled when and how the press reported on the Roosevelts, and regulated Washington social life, organizing weekly meetings of the cabinet members' wives, and becoming the gatekeeper of who could attend formal events. Her oversight of the 1902 White House renovations and her hiring the first social secretary for a first lady, Belle Hagner, are considered enduring legacies. She remained politically active, despite poor health from the 1910s. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Elogio del Horizonte

... that Elogio del Horizonte (pictured) has been nicknamed "King Kong's toilet"?
... that after fleeing to Argentina as a Spanish Civil War refugee, Maria Muntañola Cvetković became one of Yugoslavia's first experts on microfungi?
... that a modern Polish fairy tale, written during the period of martial law in Poland in the 1980s, mixes the themes of real-world environmental protection and fantasy-like gnomes?
... that the Japanese TV show Iron Chef gained a cult following on a San Francisco TV station before it was dubbed into English and aired on the Food Network?
...that Malik Arslan was assassinated on the orders of the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt due to his ties with the Ottomans?
... that The Gust of Wind is Renoir's attempt to paint air?
... that Equatorial Guinea's national abortion law is, as of 2022, one of only eleven that requires a woman to get her spouse's approval to receive an abortion?
... that Wasswa Serwanga and his twin brother were the first two NFL players from Uganda?
... that Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites has been credited with bringing dubstep to the mainstream?

In the news

Samantha Harvey

Samantha Harvey (pictured) wins the Booker Prize for her novel Orbital.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby announces his resignation as a result of the John Smyth abuse scandal in the Church of England.
In Zhuhai, China, 35 people are killed in a vehicle-ramming attack.
Alliance for Change, led by Navin Ramgoolam, wins the Mauritian general election.

On this day

November 19: International Men's Day; World Toilet Day; Liberation Day in Mali (1968)

Pelé in 1960

1794 – The United States and Great Britain signed the Jay Treaty, the basis for ten years of peaceful trade between the two nations.
1824 – Temenggong Abdul Rahman of Johor and Sultan Hussein Shah of Johor ceded the governance of Singapore to the British East India Company.
1969 – Playing for Santos against Vasco da Gama in Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian footballer Pelé (pictured) scored his thousandth goal.
1991 – Mexican singer Luis Miguel released the album Romance, which led to a revival of interest in bolero music.
2002 – The Greek oil tanker Prestige split in two and sank off the coast of Galicia after spilling 420 thousand barrels (17.8 million US gallons) of oil, in the worst environmental disaster in Spanish and Portuguese history.

Jane Freilicher (b. 1924)
Margaret Turner-Warwick (b. 1924)
James Ensor (d. 1949)
Erika Alexander (b. 1969)

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Today's featured picture

Fomitopsis quercina is a species of mushroom in the order Polyporales. Commonly known as the oak mazegill, among other names, its specific epithet refers to the oak genus Quercus, upon which it frequently grows, causing a brown rot. It is found in most of Europe, following the pattern of oak distribution, and has also been reported in northern Africa, North America, Asia and Australia. The mushroom features pores which form a maze-like appearance. Though inedible, it can be used as a natural comb and has been the subject of chemical research. This F. quercina mushroom was photographed growing on a tree branch at De Famberhorst, a nature reserve in the town of Joure in Friesland, Netherlands. The photograph was focus-stacked from 21 separate images.

Photograph credit: Dominicus Johannes Bergsma

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