On This Day
1791 – The Constitution of May 3 (the first modern constitution in Europe) is proclaimed by the Sejm of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
he Constitution of 3 May 1791,[1][a] titled the Governance Act,[b] was a constitution adopted by the Great Sejm (“Four-Year Sejm”, meeting in 1788–92) for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, a dual monarchy comprising the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Constitution was designed to correct the Commonwealth’s political flaws. It had been preceded by a period of agitation for—and gradual introduction of—reforms, beginning with the Convocation Sejm of 1764 and the ensuing election that year of Stanisław August Poniatowski, the Commonwealth’s last king.
The Constitution sought to implement a more effective constitutional monarchy, introduced political equality between townspeople and nobility, and placed the peasants under the government’s protection, mitigating the worst abuses of serfdom. It banned pernicious parliamentary institutions such as the liberum veto, which had put the Sejm at the mercy of any single deputy, who could veto and thus undo all the legislation adopted by that Sejm. The Commonwealth’s neighbours reacted with hostility to the adoption of the Constitution. King Frederick William II broke Prussia’s alliance with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He joined with Catherine the Great’s Imperial Russia and the Targowica Confederation of anti-reform Polish magnates to defeat the Commonwealth in the Polish–Russian War of 1792.
The 1791 Constitution was in force for less than 19 months.[2][3] It was declared null and void by the Grodno Sejm that met in 1793,[1][3] though the Sejm’s legal power to do so was questionable.[3] The Second and Third Partitions of Poland (1793, 1795) ultimately ended Poland’s sovereign existence until the close of World War I in 1918. Over those 123 years, the 1791 Constitution helped keep alive Polish aspirations for the eventual restoration of the country’s sovereignty. In the words of two of its principal authors, Ignacy Potocki and Hugo Kołłątaj, the 1791 Constitution was “the last will and testament of the expiring Homeland.”[c]
The Constitution of 3 May 1791 combined a monarchic republic with a clear division of executive, legislative, and judiciary powers. It is generally considered Europe’s first and the world’s second, modern written national constitution, after the United States Constitution that had come into force in 1789.[3][d]
Born On This Day
1238 – Emilia Bicchieri, Italian saint (d. 1314)
Emilia Bicchieri (3 May 1238[1] – 3 May 1314) was an Italian Roman Catholic professed religious from the Order of Preachers.[2] Bicchieri – born to a patrician – is best known for the construction of a Dominican convent in her hometown of Vercelli where she served as prioress.[1]
Her beatification came in 1769 after Pope Clement XIV issued formal ratification to the late religious’ longstanding local ‘cultus’ – or popular devotion and worship.[3]
FYI
NASA: Astronomy Picture of the Day
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Life advice from someone who’s lived 70 years
Kevin Kelly continues his birthday tradition of sharing “unsolicited advice” about life, with 103 items for his 70th. Kelly discusses why efficiency and productivity aren’t everything, the value of consistency, the choice of being early or late, and much more.
Ideas
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Just the Recipe: Paste the URL to any recipe, click submit, and it’ll return literally JUST the recipe- no ads, no life story of the writer, no nothing EXCEPT the recipe.
DamnDelicious
RecipeTinEats
- 2024 Ultimate Christmas menu planning guide December 12, 2024Here’s a handy list of my Christmas recipes, organised by make-ahead and reheating suitability, and those best made fresh. Perfect for menu planning, especially alongside the new Christmas recipe index! I thrive on holiday menu planning. It’s like the Olympics of cooking – except less athleticism and more butter! The goal, as always, is a... […]Nagi
- Easy Christmas Cheesecake Slab – no bake! December 6, 2024This no bake Christmas cheesecake is designed for sizzling Aussie summers – no sweating over a hot oven! Designed to serve a crowd, it’s the easiest cheesecake recipe I know yet it still captures all the hallmarks of a beautiful classic baked cheesecake. Decorate with whipped cream, berries and rosemary sprigs for an effortless, pretty... […]Nagi
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for December 25 December 25, 2024Picture of the day Nativity of Christ scene from the Kefermarkt Altarpiece. Today is Christmas.
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for December 24 December 24, 2024Picture of the day Silhouettes at the Fort of Santo Antônio da Barra, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. It was constructed to guard the entrance to the Bay of All Saints, during the time of the Portuguese Empire.
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