Jefferson Davis (1808–1889) was President of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. Born in Kentucky, he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy and had a career as a soldier, fighting in the Mexican–American War. As a plantation owner, he employed slave labor as did many of his peers in the South, and supported slavery. He served as Secretary of War and U.S. senator, arguing against secession, but agreeing that each state had the right to secede. At the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, Davis was chosen as President of the Confederate States. He took personal charge of the Confederate war plans but was unable to defeat the larger, more powerful and better organized Union. He is often blamed for contributing to the fall of the Confederacy. His diplomatic efforts failed to gain recognition from any foreign country and he paid little attention to the collapsing economy. At the end of the war in 1865, he was captured and imprisoned; after his release he entered private life. He wrote a memoir, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, eventually became a Civil War hero to many white Southerners and, in later life, encouraged reconciliation with the North. (Full article...)
1839 – Qing government official Lin Zexu catalysed the First Opium War after ordering the destruction of nearly 1.2 million kg (2.6 million lbs) of opium in Humen, China.
2012 – Dana Air Flight 992, a passenger flight from Abuja to Lagos, Nigeria, suffered dual engine failure and crashed into a building, resulting in the deaths of all 153 on board and ten more on the ground.
Three structures on Matanaka Farm (from left to right: the granary, privy and schoolhouse), the oldest surviving farm buildings in New Zealand that are still in their original positions. Established by the Australian whaler Johnny Jones in 1838, the construction of the farm's structures began in the 1840. After passing through several families, the site is now owned and administered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.
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