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Matthew Brettingham (1699–1769) was an English architect who rose from modest origins to become one of the best-known architects of his generation. Much of his principal work has since been demolished, particularly his work in London, where he revolutionised the design of the grand townhouse. As a result, he is often overlooked today, remembered principally for his Palladian remodelling of numerous country houses, many of them in East Anglia. Brettingham's practice constructing townhouses for the aristocracy was substantial. Major commissions included Norfolk House and Cumberland House. Drawing inspiration from Italian urban palazzi, and from Andrea Palladio's rural villas, he created a style and arrangements of rooms perfectly suited to the mid–18th century nobility. As Brettingham neared the pinnacle of his career, Palladianism began to fall out of fashion and neoclassicism was introduced, championed by the young Robert Adam. (Full article...)

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In the news

Richard Sutton

Intuitive Machines's Athena lands on the Moon at an incorrect angle and is unable to complete its mission.
In computing, Andrew Barto and Richard Sutton (pictured) are awarded the Turing Award for their work on reinforcement learning.
A wildfire in Japan's Iwate Prefecture is the largest in the country in at least five decades.
Chinese architect Liu Jiakun is awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize.

On this day

March 11: Commonwealth Day in the Commonwealth of Nations (2024); National Heroes and Benefactors Day in Belize (2024)

Premiere poster of Rigoletto

1851 – The first performance of Verdi's Rigoletto took place at La Fenice in Venice (poster pictured).
1864 – The Great Sheffield Flood killed at least 240 people and damaged more than 600 homes, after a crack in the dam holding the Dale Dike Reservoir caused it to fail.
1993 – The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Janet Reno as the first female United States attorney general.
2007 – Georgian authorities accused Russia of orchestrating a helicopter attack in the Kodori Valley, in the breakaway territory of Abkhazia.

Mary of Woodstock (b. 1278)
Stanisław Koniecpolski (d. 1646)
Ralph Abernathy (b. 1926)
Gladys Pearl Baker (d. 1984)

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Today's featured picture

Eero Saarinen (1910–1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer. He created many buildings and monuments, including the General Motors Technical Center in Warren, Michigan; the passenger terminal at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C.; the TWA Flight Center (now TWA Hotel) at John F. Kennedy International Airport; the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City; and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. He was the son of Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen. This photograph of Saarinen smoking a pipe was taken by the Hungarian-American photographer Balthazar Korab in 1955 or 1956.

Photograph credit: Balthazar Korab; restored by Yann Forget and Bammesk

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