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Cover of the May 1911 edition

Munsey's Magazine was an American magazine founded by Frank Munsey in 1889. Originally launched in 1889 as Munsey's Weekly, it became an illustrated monthly in 1891, printing both fiction and non-fiction. In 1893 the price was reduced from 25 to 10 cents and circulation rose to more than 250,000 issues. The same year Munsey became one of the first publishers to regularly feature a pretty girl on the cover. Circulation was also helped by the liberal use of illustrations, and reached a peak of about 700,000 in 1897, declining in the 1910s. Well-known writers appeared, including O. Henry, Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Rice Burroughs, P. G. Wodehouse, and Joseph Conrad. In 1929 it was merged with Argosy, another of Munsey's magazines. Magazine historians consider Munsey's to have started a revolution in magazine publishing by setting a low price to increase circulation, and attracting sufficient advertising revenue to make a substantial profit. Other magazines quickly followed the example of Munsey's. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Painting of an empty chair by Kefah Ali Deeb

... that Syrian artist Kefah Ali Deeb painted an empty chair (pictured) as her vision of victims and refugees?
... that three of the four Richmond Theatres were destroyed by fire, of which the 1811 fire was described as "early America's first great disaster"?
... that Claude Hamilton Verity, a grandson of Doncaster mayor Charles Verity, was an early pioneer of the synchronisation of sound with silent films?
... that one of the "plushest" nightclubs in northern Florida turned into studios for a TV station in Jacksonville?
... that Left Socialist-Revolutionary leader Maria Spiridonova addressed her party's fourth congress in October 1918 by letter as she was in jail?
... that KT Leveston, the 254th pick in the 2024 NFL draft, is from U.S. area code 254?
... that many people with heart failure, diabetes, or ME/CFS cannot raise their heart rates sufficiently during exercise?
... that within years of Aza Arnold inventing a device to improve cotton roving, it was plagiarized across the United States and Europe?
... that Aurora Gaming's roster for Apex Legends is made up of Fire Beavers?

In the news

Boeing Starliner launch

The Boeing Starliner spacecraft conducts its maiden crewed flight (launch pictured), carrying two astronauts to the International Space Station.
The CNSA Chang'e 6 completes sampling and takeoff from the far side of the Moon.
Claudia Sheinbaum is elected as the president of Mexico.
In South Africa's general election, the African National Congress wins the most seats but loses its majority for the first time since the end of apartheid.

On this day

June 7

Monument of Branimir

879 – Pope John VIII officially recognised Croatia as an independent state, and Branimir (monument pictured) as its duke.
1628 – The Petition of Right, a major English constitutional document that set out specific liberties of individuals, received royal assent from King Charles I.
1917 – First World War: The British Army detonated 19 ammonal mines under German lines, killing perhaps 10,000 in the deadliest non-nuclear man-made explosion in history during the Battle of Messines.
1948 – Anti-Jewish riots broke out in the French protectorate in Morocco, during which 44 people were killed and 150 injured.
1969 – In their only UK concert, the rock supergroup Blind Faith, featuring Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood and Ginger Baker, debuted in London's Hyde Park in front of 100,000 fans.

Roderigo Lopes (d. 1594)
Paul Gauguin (b. 1848)
Louise Erdrich (b. 1954)
Mike Pence (b. 1959)

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From today's featured list

Jacinta Allan

The premier of Victoria is the head of government in the state of Victoria, Australia. The premier leads the Cabinet of Victoria and selects its ministers to lead government. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria and is usually the leader of the political party that has a majority of members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. Elections are held every four years, on the last Saturday in November, and no term limits are imposed on the role. Currently, the premier is paid a total salary of A$481,190. Premiers who hold the office for more than 3,000 days are entitled to a statue, a milestone five premiers have achieved, however only four have had their statues erected. Since the role's establishment in 1855, there have been 49 premiers. The longest-serving premier was Henry Bolte of the Liberal Party, who served for more than 17 years. The shortest-serving premier, George Elmslie, served for only 13 days. The current premier, Jacinta Allan (pictured) of the Labor Party, assumed office on 27 September 2023. (Full list...)

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Dimitri is an 1876 French-language grand opera in five acts by Victorin de Joncières. Set to a libretto by Henri de Bornier and Paul Armand Silvestre after Friedrich Schiller's incomplete play Demetrius, itself a story based on the life of the Russian pretender False Dmitry I (reigned 1605–1606), the opera was first performed in Paris at the Théâtre National Lyrique. Antonín Dvořák's 1881 opera Dimitrij was also based on Schiller's play. This picture shows the set design for Act V of Dimitri's première.

Art credit: Philippe Chaperon; restored by Adam Cuerden

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