In the United Kingdom, representative peers were elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. The system was introduced in 1707, when England and Scotland became the Kingdom of Great Britain(Act of Union 1707 pictured). At the time, there were 168 English and 154 Scottish peers, but the English population was roughly five times greater than that of Scotland. The English peers feared that the House of Lords would be swamped, and arranged for the election of a small number of Scottish peers. A similar arrangement was adopted when the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Scotland elected 16 representative peers, who sat for the duration of a Parliament, while Ireland elected 28, who sat for life. Elections for Irish peers ceased when the Irish Free State gained independence in 1922, although already-elected Irish peers were entitled to sit until their death; the last was the 4th Earl of Kilmorey, who died in 1961. Elections for Scottish peers ended in 1963, when they all obtained the right to sit in the House of Lords. (Full article...)
... that Sue Sarafian Jehl(pictured), who served as Dwight Eisenhower's personal assistant, said the famous general believed women made efficient officers?
... that Japanese tennis player Fumiteru Nakano reached the fourth round of the men's singles at the 1938 French Championships, a result that was not achieved again by a Japanese man until 2013?
... that despite living in Russia to research his 2003 novel Dancer, author Colum McCann later said he personally regarded its subject Rudolf Nureyev as "a monster"?
1940 – World War II: Four days after the French government fled Paris, German forces occupied the French capital (pictured), essentially ending the Battle of France.
Sammy Davis, Jr. (1925–90) was an American entertainer who worked primarily as a dancer and singer, but was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities. He entered the entertainment industry at age three, later forming the Will Mastin Trio with his father Sammy Davis, Sr. and Will Mastin. In 1933 he made his feature film debut in Rufus Jones for President. The younger Davis found fame in 1951, and in 1959 became a member of the Rat Pack beginning with the film Ocean's 11. Davis won multiple Grammy and Emmy Awards during his career.
