On This Day
301 – San Marino, one of the smallest nations in the world and the world’s oldest republic still in existence, is founded by Saint Marinus.
San Marino (/ˌsæn məˈriːnoʊ/ (About this soundlisten), Italian: [sam maˈriːno]), officially the Republic of San Marino[1][2] (Italian: Repubblica di San Marino; Romagnol: Ripóbblica d’ San Marein), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino[8] (Italian: Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino), is a small state[9][10][11][12] (and a European microstate) in Southern Europe enclaved by Italy.[13] Located on the northeastern side of the Apennine Mountains, San Marino covers a land area of just over 61 km2 (24 sq mi), and has a population of 33,562.[14]
San Marino is a landlocked country but the northeastern end is within 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) of the Italian city of Rimini on the Adriatic Sea. The nearest airport is also on the Italian side. The country’s capital city, the City of San Marino, is located atop Mount Titan, while its largest settlement is Dogana within the largest municipality of Serravalle. San Marino’s official language is Italian.
The country derives its name from Saint Marinus, a stonemason from the then-Roman island of Rab in present-day Croatia. Born in AD 275, Marinus participated in the rebuilding of Rimini’s city walls after their destruction by Liburnian pirates. Marinus then went on to found an independently ruled monastic community on Mount Titan in AD 301; thus, San Marino lays claim to being the oldest extant sovereign state, as well as the oldest constitutional republic.[15]
Uniquely, San Marino’s constitution dictates that its democratically elected legislature, the Grand and General Council, must elect two heads of state every six months. Known as Captains Regent, the two heads of state serve concurrently and hold equal powers until their term expires after six months.
The country’s economy is mainly based on finance, industry, services and tourism. It is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in GDP per capita, with a figure comparable to the most developed European regions.[1]
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1781 – Los Angeles is founded as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora La Reina de los Ángeles (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels) by 44 Spanish settlers.
El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles (English: The town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels), shortened to Pueblo de los Ángeles, was the Spanish civilian pueblo settled in 1781, which by the 20th century became the American metropolis of Los Angeles. The pueblo was built using labor from the adjacent village of Yaanga and was totally dependent on local Indigenous labor for its survival.[1]
Official settlements in Alta California were of three types: presidio (military), mission (religious) and pueblo (civil). The Pueblo de los Ángeles was the second pueblo (town) created during the Spanish colonization of California (the first was San Jose, in 1777). El Pueblo de la Reina de los Ángeles—’The Town of the Queen of Angels'[2] was founded twelve years after the first presidio and mission, the Presidio of San Diego and the Mission San Diego de Alcalá (1769). The original settlement consisted of forty-four people in eleven families, recruited mostly from Estado de Occidente. As new settlers arrived and soldiers retired to civilian life in Los Angeles, the town became the principal urban center of southern Alta California, whose social and economic life revolved around the raising of livestock on the expansive ranchos.
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Born On This Day
1849 – Sarah Orne Jewett, American novelist, short story writer and poet (d. 1909)[9]
Theodora Sarah Orne Jewett (September 3, 1849 – June 24, 1909) was an American novelist, short story writer and poet, best known for her local color works set along or near the southern seacoast of Maine. Jewett is recognized as an important practitioner of American literary regionalism.[1]
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1905 – Walter Zapp, Latvian-Estonian inventor, invented the Minox (d. 2003)
Walter Zapp (Latvian: Valters Caps; 4 September [O.S. 22 August] 1905 – 17 July 2003)[1] was a Baltic German inventor.[2] His greatest creation was the Minox subminiature camera.[3]
FYI
Kathryn’s Report: Abandoned Canton Airport Puts Drone in Its Place: on the Ground
Recipes
Makinze Gore, Delish: Cheesy Mushroom Skillet Recipe
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 28 December 28, 2024Picture of the day Satellite picture of the Etna volcano erupting in eastern Sicily (Italy) in December 2018.
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for December 27 December 27, 2024Picture of the day The Seehornsee in the Berchtesgaden Alps. On the right the normal route to the Seehorn.
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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.
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