On This Day
1582 – Truce of Yam-Zapolsky: Russia cedes Livonia to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.[4]
The Truce or Treaty of Yam-Zapolsky (Ям-Запольский) or Jam Zapolski, signed on 15 January 1582 between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tsardom of Russia, was one of the treaties that ended the Livonian War.[1] It followed the successful Livonian campaign of Stephen Báthory, culminating in the siege of Pskov.
The truce was concluded with help of papal legate Antonio Possevino and was signed for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Stefan Batory and for Russia by Tsar Ivan the Terrible, and established a ten-year truce.
In the terms of the treaty, Russia renounced its claims to Livonia and Polotsk but conceded no core Russian territories as Batory returned the territories his armies had been occupying (particularly, he gave up on the siege of Pskov and left the town of Velikiye Luki. The truce was extended for twenty years in 1600, when a diplomatic mission to Moscow led by Lew Sapieha concluded negotiations with Tsar Boris Godunov. The truce was broken when the Poles invaded Muscovy in 1605.
One of the principal negotiators on the Polish side was Krzysztof Warszewicki.[2]
Born On This Day
1850 – Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian-Swedish mathematician and physicist (d. 1891)[30]
Sofya Vasilyevna Kovalevskaya (Russian: Софья Васильевна Ковалевская), born Korvin-Krukovskaya (15 January [O.S. 3 January] 1850 – 10 February 1891), was a Russian mathematician who made noteworthy contributions to analysis, partial differential equations and mechanics. She was a pioneer for women in mathematics around the world – the first woman to obtain a doctorate (in the modern sense) in mathematics, the first woman appointed to a full professorship in northern Europe and one of the first women to work for a scientific journal as an editor.[1] According to historian of science Ann Hibner Koblitz, Kovalevskaya was “the greatest known woman scientist before the twentieth century”.[2]: 255
Historian of mathematics Roger Cooke writes:
… the more I reflect on her life and consider the magnitude of her achievements, set against the weight of the obstacles she had to overcome, the more I admire her. For me she has taken on a heroic stature achieved by very few other people in history. To venture, as she did, into academia, a world almost no woman had yet explored, and to be consequently the object of curious scrutiny, while a doubting society looked on, half-expecting her to fail, took tremendous courage and determination. To achieve, as she did, at least two major results of lasting value to scholarship, is evidence of a considerable talent, developed through iron discipline.[3]: 1
Her sister was the socialist Anne Jaclard.
There are several alternative transliterations of her name. She herself used Sophie Kowalevski (or occasionally Kowalevsky) in her academic publications.
FYI
Veronica Yvette Greenfield[1] (née Bennett; August 10, 1943 – January 12, 2022), known professionally as Ronnie Spector, was an American singer who formed the girl group the Ronettes in 1957 with her elder sister, Estelle Bennett, and their cousin, Nedra Talley. Ronnie fronted the group while record producer Phil Spector produced the majority of their recording output. The two were married in 1968 and separated in 1972.
Bennett sang lead on the Ronettes’ string of hits in the early-to-mid–1960s, including “Be My Baby” (1963), “Baby, I Love You” (1963), “The Best Part of Breakin’ Up” (1964) and “Walking in the Rain” (1964). In 1964, she launched a solo career with the single “So Young”. After 1980 she released five studio albums: Siren (1980), Unfinished Business (1987), Something’s Gonna Happen (2003), Last of the Rock Stars (2006) and English Heart (2016). Bennett also recorded one extended play, She Talks to Rainbows (1999). In 1986, her career revived when she was featured on Eddie Money’s song “Take Me Home Tonight”.
Bennett was sometimes referred to as the original “bad girl of rock and roll”.[2][3] In 1990, she published a memoir, Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness, Or, My Life as a Fabulous Ronette.[4] In 2007, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Ronettes.[5]
By Ted Mills, Open Culture: The Bialetti Moka Express: The History of Italy’s Iconic Coffee Maker, and How to Use It the Right Way
The Backyard Naturilist: Birds Need Water in Winter
Mike’s Backyard Nursery: How to Propagate Grapes from Hardwood Cuttings.
Recipes
By Betty Crocker Kitchens: Chipotle Chicken Taco Salads
RecipeTinEats
- Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel June 12, 2026Firstly, thank you for the Jaffle love. 🥰 Hit the Jaffle button above to see what he got up to today! Secondly – cake. Specifically, Coffee Cake! A classic crumb cake with a jammy cinnamon ribbon, loaded with lots and lots of nubbly, extra crunchy cinnamon streusel. Outrageously good. Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel This... […]Nagi
- Introducing Jaffle! June 10, 2026Meet Jaffle! Future Chief Taste Tester. Son of a Dozer friend. A little bundle of golden, fluffy joy! 48 hours of instant happiness I didn’t expect to get a new puppy so soon after saying goodbye to Dozer. To be honest, I wasn’t sure when I’d be ready. And I had it in my head... […]Nagi
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 15 June 15, 2026Picture of the day Mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei), Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 14 June 14, 2026Picture of the day Wulfenite crystals with calcite, found in the Erupción Mine, Sierra de Los Lamentos, Ahumada Municipality, Chihuahua, Mexico.
E-book Deals:
The Book Junction: Where Readers Go To Discover Great New Fiction!
Mystery & Thriller Most Wanted
Book Blogs & Websites:
Welcome to the Stump the Bookseller blog!
Stump the Bookseller is a service offered by Loganberry Books to reconnect people to the books they love but can’t quite remember. In brief (for more detailed information see our About page), people can post their memories here, and the hivemind goes to work. After all, the collective mind of bibliophiles, readers, parents and librarians around the world is much better than just a few of us thinking. Together with these wonderful Stumper Magicians, we have a nearly 50% success rate in finding these long lost but treasured books. The more concrete the book description, the better the success rate, of course. It is a labor of love to keep it going, and there is a modest fee. Please see the How To page to find price information and details on how to submit your Book Stumper and payment.
Thanks to everyone involved to keep this forum going: our blogging team, the well-read Stumper Magicians, the many referrals, and of course to everyone who fondly remembers the wonder of books from their childhood and wants to share or revisit that wonder. Isn’t it amazing, the magic of a book?