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Robert Roberts (1905–1974) was an English writer, teacher and social historian, noted for the evocative accounts of his working-class youth he gave in The Classic Slum (1971) and A Ragged Schooling (1976). Born and raised in a deprived district of Salford, Roberts left school at 14 for a seven-year apprenticeship as a brass finisher. Sacked once it ended, he spent three years unemployed, and attended evening classes. In 1929, he was hired as a teacher at a commercial college, but was dismissed in 1940 when he was exempted from conscription as a conscientious objector. He then spent years working as a farmhand, as well as teaching and writing. In 1957, he was hired to teach at Strangeways Prison in Manchester; his experiences there inspired his first book, Imprisoned Tongues (1968). In 1971, Roberts published The Classic Slum, a book about his boyhood, intermixed with social and oral history. Widely praised, it has become a key source for understanding the working-class experience in early-20th-century England. (Full article...)

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Door Tree

... that the Door Tree (pictured), which stood for nearly 200 years, was cut down because of a brother's hatred?
... that the director of Only Fools Rush In said motorcycles are harder to film than cars?
... that vaccine coverage at schools around the Disneyland Resort was too low for herd immunity when measles broke out in 2014?
... that the adoption of all-steel percussion by Alexander's Ragtime Band in 1939 was widely copied, and prompted the development of the steelpan?
... that a 1982 composition by David Sampson is based on a 1931 poem inspired by the ancient Greek Eleusinian Mysteries?
... that al-Muqallad ibn al-Musayyab, the Uqaylid emir of Mosul, was assassinated by his own soldiers while plotting to capture Baghdad from the Buyids?
... that a spokesperson for the American Library Association told ABC News in late 2021 that she had "never seen such a widespread effort to remove books on racial and gender diversity"?
... that at the Dow's Hill Interpretation Centre in Antigua, one can enjoy rum cocktails whilst touring historic ruins?

In the news

Shane Warne

Australian cricketer Shane Warne (pictured) dies at the age of 52.
An attack at a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan, kills at least 63 people and injures more than 190 others.
The Winter Paralympics open in Beijing, China.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is condemned by the United Nations General Assembly.

On this day

March 7: Feast day of Saints Perpetua and Felicity (Catholicism, Anglicanism, Lutheranism); National Heroes and Benefactors Day in Belize (2022)

Artist's impression of the Kepler space telescope

1277 – Bishop Étienne Tempier promulgated a condemnation of 219 heretical propositions that were being discussed at the University of Paris.
1814 – War of the Sixth Coalition: Napoleon's army forced Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov's Russian troops to withdraw from the Chemin des Dames, but French casualties exceeded Russian losses.
1985 – The charity single "We Are the World" by the supergroup United Support of Artists for Africa was released, and went on to sell more than 20 million copies.
2009 – The Kepler space telescope (depicted), designed to discover Earth-like planets orbiting other stars, was launched.

Heraclianus (d. 413)
Harriet Jacobs (d. 1897)
Viv Richards (b. 1952)

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Iowa State Capitol

The World Food Prize is an international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world. Conceived by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Norman Borlaug and established in 1986 through the support of General Foods, the prize is envisioned and promoted as the Nobel or the highest honors in the field of food and agriculture. It is now administered by the World Food Prize Foundation with support from numerous sponsors. Since 1987, the prize has been awarded annually to recognize contributions in any field involved in the world food supply, such as animal science, aquaculture, soil science, water conservation, nutrition, health, plant science, seed science, plant pathology, and crop protection. Laureates are honored and officially awarded their prize in Des Moines, Iowa, in an award ceremony held at the Iowa State Capitol (pictured). Laureates are presented with a diploma, a commemorative sculpture designed by Saul Bass and a monetary award of $250,000. (Full list...)

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Hudson Yards is a 28-acre (11 ha) real estate development in the Hudson Yards area of Manhattan, New York City, between the Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen neighborhoods. The development sits on a platform built over the West Side Yard, a storage facility for Long Island Rail Road trains. The first of its two phases, opened in 2019, comprises a public green space and eight structures that contain residences, a hotel, office buildings, a mall, and a cultural facility. The second phase, on which construction had not started as of 2021^[update], will include residential space, an office building, and a school.

Photograph credit: Rhododendrites

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