On This Day
1086 – Spanish Reconquista: At the Battle of Sagrajas, the Almoravids defeats the Castilians, but are unable to take advantage of their victory.
The Battle of Sagrajas (23 October 1086), also called Zalaca or Zallaqa (Arabic: معركة الزلاقة, romanized: Maʿrakat az-Zallāqa), was a battle between the Almoravid army led by their King Yusuf ibn Tashfin and an army led by the Castilian King Alfonso VI. The Almoravids responded to the call of Jihad by the taifas which commonly fought amongst themselves however they had united to battle the powerful Christian states to the north. The Taifas aided the Almoravids during the battle with troops, favoring the battle for the Muslim side. The battleground was later called az-Zallaqah (in English “slippery ground”) because of the poor footing caused by the tremendous amount of bloodshed that day, which gave rise to its name in Arabic.
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1590 – John White, the governor of the second Roanoke Colony, returns to England after an unsuccessful search for the “lost” colonists.
John White (c. 1539 – c. 1593) was an English colonial governor, explorer, artist, and cartographer. White was among those who sailed with Richard Grenville in the first attempt to colonize Roanoke Island in 1585, acting as artist and mapmaker to the expedition. He would most famously briefly serve as the governor of the second attempt to found Roanoke Colony on the same island in 1587 and discover the colonists had mysteriously vanished.
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Born On This Day
1255 – Ferdinand de la Cerda, Spanish noble (d. 1275)
Ferdinand de la Cerda (23 October 1255 – 25 June 1275) was the heir apparent to the Crown of Castile as the eldest son of Alfonso X and Violant of Aragon. His nickname, de la Cerda, means “of the bristle” in Spanish, a reference to being born with a full head of hair.[1]
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1561 – Anthony Babington, English conspirator (Babington Plot) (d. 1586)[28]
Anthony Babington (24 October 1561 – 20 September 1586) was an English gentleman convicted of plotting the assassination of Elizabeth I of England and conspiring with the imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots, for which he was hanged, drawn and quartered. The “Babington Plot” and Mary’s involvement in it were the basis of the treason charges against her which led to her execution. He was a member of the Babington family.
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FYI
NASA: Astronomy Picture of the Day
EarthSky News
This Day in Tech History
This Day In History
Interesting Facts
Word Genius: Word of the Day
By Alex Dalenberg, Pocket Collections: The History of Halloween
By MessyNessy, 13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 668): A 1930s flying boat that launched mid air from another flying boat on transatlantic flights; The dedication it took to snap a single photo…; Pumpkin Barns and more ->
By Rich Paul, The Atlantic: The Good Luck of a Hard Life
How growing up with a pair of dice in one hand and a pistol in the other prepared Rich Paul for success
Mike Ritland: Ranger BORSTAR Actor Vince ‘Rocco’ Vargas Part One | Mike Ritland Podcast Episode 159
Cleared Hot Podcast: Frontline Chronicles – Unveiling the IDF Journey with Richard & Bernardo
Shawn Ryan Show: John Lovell – Army Spec Ops Dude Recounts the Hardest Portion of Ranger School | SRS #80 Part 1
Recipes
Pocket Collctions: 15 Fall Desserts That Will Make You Question Your Loyalty to Pie
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
- Spinach French Onion Cob Dip – Australia’s favourite dip! June 19, 2026Meet Australia’s favourite dip!!! This Spinach French Onion Cob Dip is made using a French Onion Soup mix and is served in a cob bread loaf. It is unapologetically retro, gloriously unfashionable, breaks every real-food rule I preach, and is completely addictive!! Spinach French Onion Cob Dip This dip has been a fixture at Australian... […]Nagi
- Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Beef June 16, 2026Slow Cooker BBQ Shredded Beef is what you make when you want a big batch of crowd-pleasing food with relatively little effort. The succulent pulled beef is smothered in an incredible homemade barbecue sauce, and there’s so many ways to serve it – pile into sliders, heap onto plates or stuff into baked potatoes! Easy... […]Nagi
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 21 June 21, 2026Picture of the day Bags of organic fertiliser adorn newly-planted fields against a backdrop of the Western Catchment in the Nilgiri mountains. Tamil Nadu, India
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for June 20 June 20, 2026Picture of the day Flower of a Geranium sanguineum, bloody crane's-bill. Focus stack of 51 photos.
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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?