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Jefferson Davis (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was the president of the Confederate States of America (CSA) from 1861 to 1865. He previously represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and House of Representatives as a Democrat, and was the U.S. secretary of war from 1853 to 1857. A graduate of West Point, Davis served in the U.S. Army, fighting in the Mexican–American War. He was a cotton planter and owned as many as 113 slaves. During the Civil War, Davis served as commander in chief. When the CSA was defeated in 1865, he was captured, accused of involvement in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and of treason, and imprisoned at Fort Monroe. He was released without trial after two years. Immediately after the war, Davis was often blamed for the CSA's defeat but, after his release from prison, the Lost Cause movement deemed him a hero, and he was celebrated in the South. In the 21st century, however, he has been viewed more harshly, and many memorials to him have been removed. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Size chart of various Plagiolophus species

... that the seventeen species of the prehistoric horse relative Plagiolophus ranged in weight from 10 kg (22 lb) to more than 150 kg (330 lb) (size chart pictured)?
... that in 2025 Oscar Piastri became the first Australian since 2010 to lead the Formula One World Drivers' Championship?
... that tens of thousands of Vietnamese Catholics travel to Missouri annually to attend Marian Days at Our Lady of the Ozarks College?
... that actress Jessica Forrest performed in a play where venues were transformed into fish-and-chip shops?
... that cocoa is grown in Tokyo, almost 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) south of the city centre?
... that Jake Bergey was drafted by the Boston Blazers before being traded back to the Philadelphia Wings, twice?
... that Battle for Dream Island helped to launch a YouTube genre centered on anthropomorphic objects?
... that Agnes Inglis developed her own idiosyncratic cataloging system for the Labadie Collection?
... that people greened rubble?

In the news

Philip Pierre

In Saint Lucia, the Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre (pictured), retains its majority in the House of Assembly.
Playwright and screenwriter Tom Stoppard dies at the age of 88.
In motorsport, Sébastien Ogier and Vincent Landais win the World Rally Championship.
The New Democratic Party, led by Godwin Friday, wins the Vincentian general election.

On this day

December 6: Saint Nicholas's Day (Western Christianity); White Ribbon Day in Canada; Independence Day in Finland (1917)

Béla I of Hungary

1060 – Béla I (pictured) was crowned King of Hungary in Székesfehérvár.
1865 – Slavery in the United States was officially abolished with the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
1942 – The Holocaust: Members of the German Ordnungspolizei massacred 31 people in Stary Ciepielów and Rekówka within occupied Poland for helping Jews.
1975 – Four members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army took two people hostage in a house on Balcombe Street in London, surrendering six days later.
1990 – An Italian Air Force military jet, abandoned by its pilot after an on-board fire, crashed into a high school near Bologna, killing 12 students and injuring 88 other people.

Maria de Dominici (b. 1645)
Marie Adélaïde of Savoy (b. 1685)
Winifred Hoernlé (b. 1885)
Devan Nair (d. 2005)

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Today's featured picture

Curly-tailed lizards (Leiocephalidae) are a family of iguanian lizards found in the West Indies, with extant species in the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. There are presently 30 known species in this family, all of which are members of the genus Leiocephalus. Curly-tailed lizards vary in size depending on species, but typically are approximately 9 centimetres (3.5 inches) in snout-to-vent length. As implied by the name, most species of this family exhibit a curling of the tail. This is done both when a potential predator is present, showing the fitness of the lizard to a would-be predator and – in the case of an attack – drawing attention to the tail, which increases the lizard's chance of escaping. The tail is often also curled when predators are not present, however. Curly-tailed lizards mostly forage on arthropods such as insects, but also commonly consume flowers and fruits. Large individuals can eat small vertebrates, including anoles. This curly-tailed lizard of the species Leiocephalus varius, the Cayman curlytail, was photographed on the coast in George Town on the island of Grand Cayman.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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