So hey, it's World Malaria Day, created by WHO, which seemingly would like to see something done about malaria; as well as Malaria Awareness Day, created by GW Bush which is a bit of pious twaddle absolving us of any need to do anything further except maybe some thoughts and prayers.  Much more could be done on many fronts but still it ravages and rampages and as of the last time I ventured into its domain the available medications, both prophylactic and otherwise were presented to me by my doctor as something of a crapshoot.

This is also the date, in 1974 of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal.  It was a military coup BUT, a left wing military coup which established a democratic government to replace the autocratic government it overthrew.  A most refreshing contrast to the capitalist/right-wing standard of overthrowing a democratically elected government like that of Mossadegh or Allende and replacing it with  a horrible autocrat like Shah Reza Pahlavi or Pinochet and similar examples.

On this day in history:

1607 – The Dutch fleet destroyed the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar soon leading to Spain's de facto recognition of the fledgling Dutch Republic
.

1644 – The Chongzhen Emperor, the last Emperor of Ming China, committed suicide during a peasant rebellion eventually leading to the Qing Dynasty
.

1829 – Charles Fremantle arrived off the coast of today's Western Australia

1846 – Open conflict began over the disputed border of Texas, providing an ostensible justification for the Mexican–American War.

1849 – Lord Elgin, signed the Rebelliion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal's English population and triggering the Montreal Riots.

1859 – British and French engineers broke ground for the Suez Canal.

1862 – Forces under Admiral David Farragut demanded the surrender of New Orleans, 

1882 – French Marines seized the citadel of Hanoi setting off an undeclared war between France and  Dai Nam (Vietnam) and the eventual French Tonkin campaign

1898 – The US Congress declared that a state of war between the U.S. and Spain had existed since April 21, when the US blockaded Cuba

1915 – The Battle of Gallipoli began with landings at Anzac Cove and Cape Helles.

1920 – At the San Remo conference, the principal Allied Powers of World War I adopted a resolution to determine the allocation of Class "A" League of Nations mandates (quasi-colonies)

1938 – U.S. Supreme Court delivered its opinion in Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins  overturning a century of federal common law.

1945 – Founding negotiations for the United Nations begin in San Francisco.

1953 – Francis Crick and James Watson published "Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid" describing the double helix structure of DNA.

1954 – The first practical solar cell was publicly demonstrated by Bell Telephone Laboratories.

1959 – The Saint Lawrence Seaway officially opened to shipping.

1960 – The US Navy submarine USS Triton completed the first submerged circumnavigation of the globe.

1961 – Robert Noyce was granted a patent for an integrated circuit.

1974 – A leftist military coup in Portugal overthrew the authoritarian-conservative Estado Novo regime and established a democratic government in its place.

1981 – More than 100 workers were exposed to radiation during repairs at the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.  Hi Hum, nothing to see here.

1983 – Pioneer 10 travelled beyond Pluto's orbit.

1988 – In Israel, John Demjanjuk was sentenced to death for war crimes committed in World War II.

1990 – Violeta Chamorro took office as the President of Nicaragua, the first woman to hold the position.

2001 – President G. W. Bush pledged U.S. military support in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan.  I think Nixon did too.  FMTA

2004 – The March for Women's Lives brought between 500,000 and 800,000 protesters to Washington D.C. to protest  restrictions on abortion.

Some people who were born on this day:

To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful.

~~     Edward R. Murrow

1529 – Francesco Patrizi, philosopher and scientist
1599 – Oliver Cromwell, general and puritan tyrant
1710 – James Ferguson, astronomer and author
1723 – Giovanni Marco Rutini, composer
1849 – Felix Klein, mathematician and academic
1851 – Leopoldo Alas, author, critic, and academic
1854 – Charles Sumner Tainter, engineer and inventor
1862 – Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, ornithologist and politician
1873 – Walter de la Mare, poet, short story writer, and novelist
1873 – Howard Garis, author, creator of the Uncle Wiggily series of children's stories
1874 – Guglielmo Marconi, businessman and inventor, developed Marconi's law
1892 – Maud Hart Lovelace, author
1900 – Wolfgang Pauli, physicist and academic
1903 – Andrey Kolmogorov, mathematician and academic
1908 – Edward R. Murrow, journalist
1909 – William Pereira, architect, designed the Transamerica Pyramid 
1912 – Earl Bostic, saxophonist
1917 – Ella Fitzgerald, singer
1918 – Graham Payn, actor and singer
1918 – Gérard de Vaucouleurs, astronomer and academic
1918 – Astrid Varnay, soprano and actress
1921 – Karel Appel, painter and sculptor
1923 – Francis Graham-Smith, astronomer and academic
1923 – Melissa Hayden, ballerina
1923 – Albert King, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1924 – Franco Mannino, pianist, composer, director, and playwright
1924 – Paulo Vanzolini, singer, songwriter, and zoologist
1928 – Cy Twombly, painter and sculptor
1931 – Felix Berezin, mathematician and physicist
1931 – David Shepherd, painter and author
1932 – Nikolai Kardashev, astrophysicist
1933 – Jerry Leiber, songwriter and producer
1938 – Roger Boisjoly, aerodynamicist and engineer
1943 – Tony Christie, singer, songwriter, and actor
1945 – Stu Cook, bass player, songwriter, and producer
1945 – Björn Ulvaeus, singer, songwriter, and producer
1949 – James Fenton, poet, journalist and literary critic
1950 – Steve Ferrone, drummer
1952 – Ketil Bjørnstad, pianist and composer
1955 – Parviz Parastui, actor and singer
1958 – Fish, singer and songwriter
1960 – Paul Baloff, singer
1963 – Paul Wassif, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1964 – Andy Bell, singer and songwriter
1965 – Eric Avery, bass player and songwriter
1971 – Sara Baras, dancer
1973 – Fredrik Larzon, drummer
1977 – Matthew West, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor
1980 – Ben Johnston, drummer and songwriter
1980 – James Johnston, bass player and songwriter
1987 – Jay Park, singer, songwriter, and dancer

Some people who died on this day:

Men can do all things if they will.

~~     Leon Battista Alberti

1472 – Leon Battista Alberti, author, poet, and philosopher
1566 – Louise Labé, poet and author
1595 – Torquato Tasso, poet and songwriter
1690 – David Teniers the Younger, painter and educator
1744 – Anders Celsius, astronomer, physicist, and mathematician
1770 – Jean-Antoine Nollet, minister, physicist, and academic
1800 – William Cowper, poet
1840 – Siméon Denis Poisson, mathematician and physicist
1873 – Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, painter and sculptor
1878 – Anna Sewell, author
1890 – Isapo-Muxika, aka Crowfoot ,tribal chief
1892 – Henri Duveyrier, explorer
1892 – Karl von Ditmar, geologist and explorer
1906 – John Knowles Paine, composer and educator
1911 – Emilio Salgari, journalist and author
1921 – Emmeline B. Wells, journalist and women's rights advocate
1944 – George Herriman, cartoonist
1976 – Markus Reiner, engineer and educator
1988 – Carolyn Franklin, singer and songwriter
1988 – Clifford D. Simak, journalist and author
1990 – Dexter Gordon, saxophonist, composer, and actor
1992 – Yutaka Ozaki, singer and songwriter
1995 – Ginger Rogers, actress, singer, and dancer
1998 – Wright Morris, author and photographer
1999 – Roger Troutman, singer, songwriter, and producer
2004 – Thom Gunn, poet and academic
2007 – Bobby Pickett, singer and songwriter
2008 – Humphrey Lyttelton, trumpet player, composer, and radio host
2010 – Alan Sillitoe, novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet
2011 – Poly Styrene, musician
2012 – Moscelyne Larkin, ballerina and educator
2012 – Louis le Brocquy, painter and illustrator
2014 – Stefanie Zweig, journalist and author

Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:

Anzac Day (Australia, New Zealand)
Arbor Day (Germany)
DNA Day
National Plumbers Day
World Penguin Day
National Zucchini Bread Day
Parental Alienation Awareness Day
World Malaria Day
Malaria Awareness Day (US)

MUSIC goes here; With apologies

Gallilipoli

Giovanni Marco Rutini

Earl Bostic

Ella Fitzgerald

Albert King

Paulo Vanzolini

Jerry Lieber

Tony Christie

Mike Kogel

Stu Cook

Björn Ulvaeus

Steve Ferrone

Ketil Bjørnstad

Andy Bell

Dexter Gordon

Yutaka Ozaki

Bobby Pickett

Simply can't resist

Ok, it's an open thread, so it's up to you folks now. So what's on your mind?