Sir William Gordon-Cumming (20 July 1848 – 20 May 1930) was a Scottish landowner, soldier and socialite. He was the central figure in the royal baccarat scandal of 1891. He joined the British Army in 1868 and saw service in South Africa, Egypt and the Sudan; he served with distinction and rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. An adventurer, he also hunted in the US and India. A friend of Edward, Prince of Wales, for over 20 years, in 1890 he attended a house party at Tranby Croft, where he took part in a game of baccarat at the behest of the prince. During the course of two nights' play he was accused of cheating, which he denied. After news of the affair leaked out, he sued five members of the party for slander; Edward was called as a witness. The case was a public spectacle in the UK and abroad, but the verdict went against Gordon-Cumming and he was ostracised from polite society. After the court case he married an American heiress, but their relationship was unhappy.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_William_Gordon-Cumming,_4th_Baronet> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1951: Abdullah I of Jordan was assassinated while visiting the Al- Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Abdullah_I_of_Jordan> 1976: The Viking 1 lander became the first spacecraft to successfully land on Mars and perform its mission. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_1> 1997: USS Constitution, one of the United States Navy's original six frigates, sailed for the first time in 116 years after a full restoration. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constitution> 2015: A suicide attack (aftermath pictured) in Suruç, Turkey, for which Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility, killed 34 people and injured 104 others. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suru%C3%A7_bombing> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: rite of passage: 1. (cultural anthropology) A ceremony or series of ceremonies, often very ritualized, to celebrate a passage or transition from one stage of a person's life to another. 2. (by extension) Any significant event or experience that marks a transition from one stage in a person's life to another. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rite_of_passage> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: You do not know what things you set in motion, he said. No man can know. No prophet foresee. The consequences of an act are often quite different from what one would guess. You must be sure that the intention in your heart is large enough to contain all wrong turnings, all disappointments. Do you see? Not everything has such value. --Cormac McCarthy <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cormac_McCarthy> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe write to: [email protected] Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
