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From today's featured article

The one British fatality, as envisaged by The Illustrated London News

The Zungeni Mountain skirmish took place on 5 June 1879 between British and Zulu forces in what is now South Africa during the later stages of the Anglo-Zulu War. British irregular cavalry discovered a force of 300 Zulus at the settlement of eZulaneni near Zungeni Mountain. The horsemen charged and scattered the Zulus, burnt the settlement, and withdrew after coming under fire from Zulus who threatened to surround them. Reinforced by more irregulars and a force of regular cavalry, two British squadrons approached the Zulu position, but could not close as the Zulus were in an area of bushes and long grass. Zulu fire killed a British officer; the British withdrew after the Zulus moved to outflank them. British casualties were one killed and two wounded; two months later, the remains of 25 Zulus were found on the battlefield. After the skirmish the British paused before proceeding further into Zululand, where they decisively defeated the Zulus at the 4 July Battle of Ulundi. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Cities Church

... that a Minnesota church building (pictured) is considered to be a "historic non-operating cemetery" because a former priest was buried in a crypt underneath the sanctuary?
... that Apollon Karelin established an order of the Knights Templar to promote anarchism in Soviet Russia?
... that an Abbott Elementary episode was filmed at an abandoned shopping mall, after which it was demolished to build an NFL facility?
... that Michael Lippman had his breakthrough in the music business in the 1970s by working as an attorney and manager for David Bowie?
... that the opera Complications in Sue was written by ten different composers, each writing without knowledge of what the others were doing?
... that Kerri Rawson criticized author Stephen King writing a novella based on her serial killer father's crimes?
... that one reviewer said The Witcher: The Adventure Card Game was "a very pretty piece of junk"?
... that the public art at Lorong Chuan station depicts landmarks, the Merlion, and political events like the Pedra Branca dispute?
... that NFL players Brad and Cory Lekkerkerker worked on a farm with 2,000 cows and were nicknamed the "Brothers Large"?

In the news

Paralympic torch relay

Mojtaba Khamenei is elected Supreme Leader of Iran following the assassination of his father, Ali Khamenei.
The Winter Paralympics (torch relay pictured) open in northern Italy.
Israel and the United States launch strikes on Iran, killing senior officials and sparking a wider war.
A Lockheed C-130 Hercules of the Bolivian Air Force crashes into a road in El Alto, killing more than 20 people.

On this day

March 9: Commonwealth Day in the Commonwealth of Nations (2026); National Heroes and Benefactors Day in Belize (2026)

Kaʻiulani

1776 – Scottish philosopher Adam Smith published his book The Wealth of Nations, the first classical treatise on political economy.
1891 – Kaʻiulani (pictured) was appointed the heir apparent to the throne of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
1925 – The Royal Air Force began a bombardment and strafing campaign against the mountain strongholds of Mahsud tribesmen in South Waziristan, present-day Pakistan.
1956 – In Tbilisi, Georgia, soldiers suppressed mass demonstrations against Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's policy of de-Stalinization.
1957 – The Andreanof Islands earthquake struck Hawaii and the Aleutian Islands, causing more than $5 million in damage from ground movement and a destructive tsunami.

Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi (d. 886)
Catherine of Bologna (d. 1463)
Friederike Caroline Neuber (b. 1697)
Dick Walker (b. 1938)

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From today's featured list

In nearly 30 years of operation, the American video game developer Volition developed 18 titles, as well as at least 6 titles that were cancelled while in development. It was founded in 1993 by programmers Mike Kulas and Matt Toschlog as Parallax Software. The company grew to eight employees while developing its first game, the first-person spaceship shooter Descent (1995), which was released to widespread acclaim. After the release of Descent II (1996), the two founders split the company, with Toshlog moving to Michigan with some of the employees and founding Outrage Entertainment, while Kulas remained in Illinois and renamed the company to Volition. Volition went on to develop the space combat games Descent: FreeSpace (1998) and FreeSpace 2 (1999) before being bought by THQ in 2000. Volition developed the Red Faction series of shooter games beginning in 2001, as well as the Saints Row series of action-adventure "gang simulator" games beginning in 2006. Volition was shut down on August 31, 2023. (Full list...)

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The Game.com is a fifth-generation handheld video game console manufactured by Tiger Electronics. Designed as a competitor to Nintendo's Game Boy series, it was released in September 1997. It sold less than 300,000 units and was discontinued in 2000 as a commercial failure.

Photograph credit: Evan Amos

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