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Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 48,604 at the 2021 census. Historically part of Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, 6 miles (10 km) east of Manchester. The "Ashton" in the town's name probably derives from Old English, meaning 'settlement by ash trees'. The origin of the suffix "-under-Lyne" is less clear; it possibly derives from the Brittonic-originating word lemo, meaning 'elm'. Ashton became a market town from 1414, when the manor was granted a royal charter. The factory system and textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution triggered a process of unplanned urbanisation in the area, and by the mid–19th century Ashton had emerged as an important mill town at a convergence of canals and railways. The town saw significant economic decline in the 1920s, with the majority of its mills closing due to insufficient exports. Nevertheless, Ashton has continued to thrive as a centre of commerce. (Full article...)

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Janggyeong Panjeon of Haeinsa

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... that Robert Iau asked a question that led to the demolition of Singapore's National Theatre?
... that the first storm of the 1989 Pacific hurricane season formed more than four months before the season's official start date?
... that Bahanur Şahin Gökalp was part of the Turkey women's national beach and snow volleyball teams?
... that Impress Holdings published the first email-based magazine in Japan?
... that pastor Stephan Ludwig Roth became a "martyr" among the Transylvanian Saxons after his 1849 execution because of his advocacy of social justice?
... that the title track of Lambchop's album Punching the Clown features Gospel choirs cursing?

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On this day

September 19: International Talk Like a Pirate Day

Statue of Our Lady of La Salette

1356 – Hundred Years' War: English forces led by Edward the Black Prince decisively won the Battle of Poitiers and captured John II of France.
1692 – Salem witch trials: Giles Corey was crushed to death for refusing to enter a plea to charges of witchcraft, reportedly asking the sheriff for "more weight" during his execution.
1846 – Near La Salette-Fallavaux in southeastern France, shepherd children Mélanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud reported a Marian apparition, now known as Our Lady of La Salette (statue pictured).
1976 – An unidentified flying object over Tehran in Iran was observed by multiple civilians and military personnel, which has been described as one of the most credible cases in ufology.
2011 – Mariano Rivera surpassed Trevor Hoffman to become Major League Baseball's all-time career leader in saves.

Leo VI the Wise (b. 866)
Adam West (b. 1928)
Rudolf Peierls (d. 1995)
Damayanti Joshi (d. 2004)

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Today's featured picture

The springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) is a medium-sized antelope found mainly in the dry areas of southern and southwestern Africa. A slender, long-legged bovid, it reaches 71 to 86 centimetres (28 to 34 in) at the shoulder and weighs between 27 and 42 kilograms (60 and 93 lb). Both sexes have a pair of long black horns that curve backwards, a white face, a dark stripe running from the eyes to the mouth, a light-brown coat with a reddish-brown stripe, and a white rump flap. Primarily browsing at dawn and dusk, it can live without drinking water for years, subsisting on succulent vegetation. Breeding peaks in the rainy season, when food is more abundant. A single calf is weaned at nearly six months of age and leaves its mother a few months later. Springbok herds in the Kalahari Desert and the semi-arid Karoo used to migrate in large numbers across the countryside, and it is one of the few with an expanding population. The springbok is the national animal of South Africa. This juvenile springbok was photographed in Etosha National Park, Namibia.

Photograph credit: Giles Laurent

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