On This Day
1930 – A bloodless coup d’état in Brazil ends the First Republic, replacing it with the Vargas Era.
The Revolution of 1930 (Portuguese: Revolução de 1930), also known as the 1930 Revolution, was an armed insurrection which ended the First Brazilian Republic. Initiated by political elites in the states of Minas Gerais, Paraíba and Rio Grande do Sul, it was fueled by dissent in the military and by economic turmoil caused by a collapse in the price of coffee. The revolution ousted then President Washington Luís on October 24, 1930, prevented the inauguration of President–elect Júlio Prestes, and installed Getúlio Vargas as the new president.[1]
Prior to 1929, Brazilian politics was controlled by an alliance between the two largest state economies; known as “coffee with milk politics”, coffee growers in São Paulo combined with the dairy industry centred in Minas Gerais to create an oligarchy,[2][3] with the Presidency alternating between the two states. This practice was broken when the leaders of São Paulo and President Luís nominated their fellow Paulista Júlio Prestes as candidate for the presidential elections in 1930. In response, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul and Paraíba formed a ‘Liberal Alliance’ backing opposition candidate, Getúlio Vargas.
When Prestes won the March 1930 Presidential election, the Alliance denounced his victory as fraudulent, while Vargas’s running mate, João Pessoa, was assassinated in July. The revolution began on October 3, 1930, and quickly spread throughout the country; by October 10, both Rio Grande do Sul and Minas Gerais had announced their support. Luís was deposed on October 24, and the Brazilian Military Junta of 1930 took over; Vargas assumed leadership of the junta on November 3, 1930, marking the end of the First Republic [3] and beginning of the Vargas Era.[4]
The 1932 Constitutionalist Revolution led to a new Brazilian Constitution in 1934. However, in 1937, following an attempted fascist revolt, the constitution was annulled and Vargas became a dictator in the name of law and order. His reign occupies two periods of Brazilian history, the Second Brazilian Republic and the Third Brazilian Republic, known as the Estado Novo.
1854 – The Battle of Balaclava takes place during the Crimean War. It is soon memorialized in verse as The Charge of the Light Brigade.
The Battle of Balaclava, fought on 25 October 1854 during the Crimean War, was part of the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–55), an Allied attempt to capture the port and fortress of Sevastopol, Russia’s principal naval base on the Black Sea. The engagement followed the earlier Allied victory in September at the Battle of the Alma, where the Russian General Menshikov had positioned his army in an attempt to stop the Allies progressing south towards their strategic goal.[3] Alma was the first major encounter fought in the Crimean Peninsula since the Allied landings at Kalamita Bay on 14 September, and was a clear battlefield success; but a tardy pursuit by the Allies failed to gain a decisive victory, allowing the Russians to regroup, recover and prepare their defence.
The Russians split their forces. Defending within the allied siege lines was primarily the Navy manning the considerable static defenses of the city and threatening the allies from without was the mobile Army under General Menshikov.
The Allies decided against a slow assault on Sevastopol and instead prepared for a protracted siege. The British, under the command of Lord Raglan, and the French, under Canrobert, positioned their troops to the south of the port on the Chersonese Peninsula: the French Army occupied the bay of Kamiesch on the west coast whilst the British moved to the southern port of Balaclava. However, this position committed the British to the defence of the right flank of the Allied siege operations, for which Raglan had insufficient troops. Taking advantage of this exposure, the Russian General Liprandi, with some 25,000 men, prepared to attack the defences around Balaclava, hoping to disrupt the supply chain between the British base and their siege lines.
The battle began with a Russian artillery and infantry attack on the Ottoman redoubts that formed Balaclava’s first line of defence on the Vorontsov Heights. The Ottoman forces initially resisted the Russian assaults, but lacking support they were eventually forced to retreat. When the redoubts fell, the Russian cavalry moved to engage the second defensive line in the South Valley, held by the Ottoman and the British 93rd Highland Regiment in what came to be known as the “Thin Red Line”. This line held and repelled the attack; as did General James Scarlett’s British Heavy Brigade who charged and defeated the greater proportion of the cavalry advance, forcing the Russians onto the defensive. However, a final Allied cavalry charge, stemming from a misinterpreted order from Raglan, led to one of the most famous and ill-fated events in British military history – the Charge of the Light Brigade.
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Born On This Day
1885 – Alice Perry, Irish engineer and poet (d. 1969)
Alice Jacqueline Perry (24 October 1885 – 21 April 1969) was the first woman in Europe to graduate with a degree in engineering.[1][2][3]
Early life and education
Born in Wellpark, Galway in 1885, Alice was one of five daughters and a son of Martha Park and James Perry.[4] Her father[5] was the county surveyor in Galway West and co-founded the Galway Electric Light Company.[6] Her uncle, John Perry, was a Fellow of the Royal Society and invented the navigational gyroscope.[7]
After graduating from the High School in Galway, she won a scholarship to study at Queen’s College Galway in 1902. Having excelled in mathematics, she changed from studying for a degree in arts to an engineering degree. She graduated with first class honours in 1906.[1][8]
The family was academically gifted. Her sister Nettie studied modern languages and went on to become a lecturer in Spanish at London University. Sister Agnes Mary (known as Molly) earned BA (1903) and MA (1905) in mathematics from Queen’s College Galway (later UCG then NUIG), taught there in 1903–1904, was a Royal University of Ireland examiner in mathematics in 1906, and later became assistant headmistress at a secondary school in London. She was described as “the most distinguished mathematician of her time in the college”.[9] Her sister Martha married the map scholar, Edward William O’Flaherty Lynam, and their son Joss Lynam also became an engineer. All of the Perry sisters were involved in the suffrage campaign in Galway.[3]
1800 – Maria Jane Jewsbury, English writer, poet, literary reviewer (d. 1833)[8]
Maria Jane Jewsbury (later Maria Jane Fletcher; 25 October 1800 – 4 October 1833) was an English writer, poet and reviewer. Her Phantasmagoria, containing poetry and prose,[1] Letters to the Young and The Three Histories were highly popular.[2] While bringing up brothers and sisters, she wrote for the Manchester Gazette in 1821.[3] She also developed friendships with many authors. Her religious advice tended to dogmatism and a feeling of Christian right.[4] Phantasmagoria was noticed by William Wordsworth and Dorothy, whom she visited in Lancashire. Other friends were Felicia Hemans, with whom she stayed in Wales in summer 1828, Barbara Hofland, Sara Coleridge, the Henry Roscoes, the Charles Wentworth Dilkes, the Samuel Carter Halls, the Henry Chorleys, and Thomas De Quincey.[4] Through its editor Dilke, she began writing for the Athenaeum in 1830. She married Rev. William Kew Fletcher (died 1867) in 1832, at Penegoes, Montgomeryshire. They sailed for India, but she kept up a journal and had poetry printed in the Athenaeum as The Oceanides.[5]
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FYI
Washington Update
Dear Alaskans,
I wanted to reach out today to let you know that my office currently has two exciting job opportunities. We are looking for a Legislative Correspondent to work out of my Washington, D.C. office and a Special Assistant who will be based in my Anchorage office. It is important to me to ensure that Alaskans have every opportunity to work in my office on behalf of our state. I encourage you to read the job descriptions below, and share them with friends and family.
Sincerely,
Don Young
Congressman for All Alaska
Special Assistant – Anchorage
I’m looking for a hard-working, well-organized, and detail-orientated individual to fill a Special Assistant position in my Anchorage office.
The Special Assistant monitors and updates our State Director and me on state and local issues. This position acts as my liaison to federal, state, and local agencies, and answers casework correspondence and communications with constituents.
Duties include, but are not limited to, handling constituent casework assignments, assessing issues on the ground that may require legislative action, acting as my proxy at meetings when I am voting in D.C., and compiling and delivering constituent opinions on items before Congress.
Candidates will be part of a high-performing team and work in concert with my staff in Washington, D.C.
The ideal candidate works well under pressure, is willing to work with a flexible schedule that may include nights and weekends, and can grow and maintain relationships with community members and stakeholders in Alaska.
Strong oral and written communication skills, knowledge of Alaska and its culture, a grasp of the legislative process, understanding of local and state issues, and a level temperament are required. Given the range of casework and my office’s commitment to privacy, applicants must be able to maintain confidentiality and exercise discretion.
Travel of up to 10% may be required, and applicants must hold a valid driver’s license.
To apply, send a resume and cover letter to dyapplications@mail.house.gov with “Anchorage Special Assistant” in the subject line.
Legislative Correspondent – Washington, D.C.
I’m looking for a hard-working, well-organized, and detail-orientated individual to fill a Legislative Correspondent opening on my team in D.C.
Responsibilities include answering phones, overseeing constituent communications, managing all incoming and outgoing mail, processing flag and tour requests, supervising the interns’ day-to-day tasks, drafting legislative and non-legislative letters, and other duties as assigned.
Candidates must be able to set and meet deadlines, work well in a team environment, and occasionally work outside of standard business hours, including nights and weekends. Alaska ties are preferred but not required.
To apply, please send a resume, cover letter, and brief writing sample to dyapplications@mail.house.gov with “DC Legislative Correspondent” in the subject line.
By Matt Goff, Sitka Nature: Sitka Nature Show #248 – Sarah Gravem
By Colin Marshall, Open Culture: How Randy Bachman Found His Stolen Favorite Guitar After 45 Years, with the Help of Facial-Recognition Software
The Passive Voice, From Nolo: Protecting Fictional Characters Under U.S. Copyright Law
The Passive Voice, From Forbes: This Founder Created A Social Media Platform For Authors That Aims To Disrupt The Publishing Industry
The Passive Voice, From The Ringer: Music Copyright in the Age of Forgetting
By Rocky Parker, Beyond Bylines: Blog Profiles: Horror Movie Blogs
By MessyNessy 13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. DLXXIV): This Alpine Shelter in the Italian Dolomites, built during World War I at a height of 2760 meters; Stations currently active in Antarctica; Terrifying Early Helicopters; Micheal Jackson’s 1993 patent for his ‘Anti Gravity Shoes’; Highlights from the 31st Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade.; A Perfect American Candy Store, still going; Flip through TV from the ’90s (and other decades) and more ->
The People
Some people have begun to come into my dreams
from a long way away,
traveling over the mountain passes
that nobody living knows.
Old people who smell like fog
and the soft bark of redwoods.
They talk together softly.
They know more than I know.
I think they come from home.
Ursula K. Le Guin (2018)
Recipes
By Stephanefalies: Pumpkin Pie Biscotti!
By Michele Brosius, Food Talk Daily: Copycat Ruby Tuesday Pasta Salad Recipe
By Betty Crocker Kitchens: Tex-Mex Skillet Fried Rice
My Recipe Treasures: Witch Fingers
DamnDelicious
RecipeTinEats
- Salted Caramel Cheesecake March 13, 2026If you’re looking for a Salted Caramel Cheesecake with big caramel flavour in every bite, you’ve found it. Swirls of buttery caramel baked right throughout the creamy cheesecake filling and extra caramel swished over the top, this is rich, creamy, sweet, salty and completely unapologetic! This Salted Caramel Cheesecake was irritatingly hard to crack! When... […]Nagi
- JB’s French Pork Schnitzel March 10, 2026People say adding “French” to something doesn’t mean it’s better. But my passport would like to disagree! These schnitzels get a French flair with Herbes de Provence in the breadcrumbs. Now they’re French Pork Schnitzels – escalope de porc panées. Let’s go! French Pork Schnitzel Hi everyone, today we are making Pork Schnitzel the French way.... […]Chef JB (RecipeTin)
wikimedia
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for March 16 March 16, 2026Picture of the day A pair of white storks mating in Nové Veselí, Czech Republic.
- Wikimedia Commons picture of the day for March 15 March 15, 2026Picture of the day Common cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis), Arrábida National Park, Portugal. The common cuttlefish is one of the largest and best-known cuttlefish species. They are a migratory species that spend the summer and spring inshore for spawning and then move to depths of 100 to 200m during autumn and winter. They only have a […]
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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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