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Edith Roosevelt (1861–1948; née Carow) was the second wife of President Theodore Roosevelt and the first lady of the United States from 1901 to 1909. She grew up alongside the Roosevelt family, and married Theodore Roosevelt in 1886, having five children. She became a public figure when her husband became a war hero in the Spanish–American War and was elected governor of New York. Theodore became vice president in March 1901, and president after the assassination of William McKinley in September. Edith controlled when and how the press reported on the Roosevelts, and regulated Washington social life, organizing weekly meetings of the cabinet members' wives, and becoming the gatekeeper of who could attend formal events. Her oversight of the 1902 White House renovations and her hiring the first social secretary for a first lady, Belle Hagner, are considered enduring legacies. She remained politically active, despite poor health from the 1910s. (Full article...)

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Texas and Pacific 610

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... that Helmut Bauer confirmed around 150,000 young people, including 500 in Tanzania?
... that although the plant species Dolichostachys elongata was first described in 1962, it was not considered validly published until 60 years later?
... that a review described He Fucked the Girl Out of Me as being about "all the ways in which American society fails its most vulnerable"?
... that the restoration of Neknampur Lake was recognised "as the best model of lake restoration in India"?
... that Benjamin Franklin Shumard's assistant named an oak species after him, and then sabotaged his reinstatement after he was fired?
... that the 2013 book Brick by Brick, about how The Lego Group reinvented itself, became a popular business text?
... that the Trilobite Wilderness is so rich in trilobite fossils that in places virtually every rock contains a fossil?
... that cavalry officer Harvey Tuckett retired from the British Army to become an actor, but was shot in a duel by his former commanding officer?

In the news

Samantha Harvey

Samantha Harvey (pictured) wins the Booker Prize for her novel Orbital.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby announces his resignation as a result of the John Smyth abuse scandal in the Church of England.
In Zhuhai, China, 35 people are killed in a vehicle-ramming attack.
Alliance for Change, led by Navin Ramgoolam, wins the Mauritian general election.

On this day

November 19: International Men's Day; World Toilet Day; Liberation Day in Mali (1968)

Pelé in 1960

1794 – The United States and Great Britain signed the Jay Treaty, the basis for ten years of peaceful trade between the two nations.
1824 – Temenggong Abdul Rahman of Johor and Sultan Hussein Shah of Johor ceded the governance of Singapore to the British East India Company.
1969 – Playing for Santos against Vasco da Gama in Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian footballer Pelé (pictured) scored his thousandth goal.
1991 – Mexican singer Luis Miguel released the album Romance, which led to a revival of interest in bolero music.
2002 – The Greek oil tanker Prestige split in two and sank off the coast of Galicia after spilling 420 thousand barrels (17.8 million US gallons) of oil, in the worst environmental disaster in Spanish and Portuguese history.

Jane Freilicher (b. 1924)
Margaret Turner-Warwick (b. 1924)
James Ensor (d. 1949)
Erika Alexander (b. 1969)

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Today's featured picture

Fomitopsis quercina is a species of mushroom in the order Polyporales. Commonly known as the oak mazegill, among other names, its specific epithet refers to the oak genus Quercus, upon which it frequently grows, causing a brown rot. It is found in most of Europe, following the pattern of oak distribution, and has also been reported in northern Africa, North America, Asia and Australia. The mushroom features pores which form a maze-like appearance. Though inedible, it can be used as a natural comb and has been the subject of chemical research. This F. quercina mushroom was photographed growing on a tree branch at De Famberhorst, a nature reserve in the town of Joure in Friesland, Netherlands. The photograph was focus-stacked from 21 separate images.

Photograph credit: Dominicus Johannes Bergsma

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