Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 January 25

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Today's featured article
Little Thetford is a small village 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England, about 76 miles (122 km) by road from London. The village is built on a boulder clay island surrounded by flat fenland countryside, typical of settlements in this part of the East of England. In 1007, an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman named Ælfwaru, granted her lands in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, including the "land at Thetford and the fisheries around those marshes", to the abbots of Ely Abbey; the village was still listed as a fishery in the Domesday Book, 79 years later. Little Thetford resisted the Parliamentary Inclosure Acts of William IV for seven years, which may have led to the strong Baptist following amongst the poor of the village. About half of Little Thetford was eventually enclosed under the Parliamentary Inclosure Thetford Act of Victoria. The Cambridge station to Ely station section of the Fen Line passes through the east of the village. The rail journey from Little Thetford to London, via Ely, takes about 75 minutes. Occupying an area of 2 square miles (5 km²), and with a population of 693, Little Thetford is the smallest civil parish in the ward of Stretham; notable buildings in the village date from the 14th century. (more...) Recently featured: Lions – Lightning Bar – Lad: A Dog Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest articles: ... that the mushroom Auriscalpium vulgare (pictured) is named for an instrument used for personal hygiene? ... that Kevin Houston holds the U.S. Military Academy's men's basketball records for points in a game (53), season (953) and career (2,325)? ... that the Mitsubishi 1MF9 was the first Japanese-designed fighter intended for use from aircraft carriers? ... that the design of the Richmond Memorial Library in Batavia, New York, was inspired by the Thomas Crane Public Library in Quincy, Massachusetts? ... that as a condition of paying for restoration work, a 19th-century benefactor of St Mary's Church in Bodewryd, Wales, required the church to have Islamic-style stained glass? ... that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 2001 securities fraud case that secret plans to disregard an oral contract are illegal? ... that infants born with Malpuech facial clefting syndrome may have a tail? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
At least 35 people are killed and more than 100 others wounded in a bombing at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow. The Irish Green Party (leader John Gormley pictured) withdraws from the country's coalition government, leaving it without an overall majority. The South Korean Navy rescues the crew of the hijacked Samho Jewelry, killing eight Somali pirates. A series of bomb attacks across Iraq kills more than 100 people. More than 140 people are killed in widespread flooding across southern Africa. American politician Sargent Shriver, the first director of the Peace Corps, dies at the age of 95. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
January 25: Feast Day of Gregory of Nazianzus (Eastern Orthodox Church) 1533 – Anne Boleyn, already pregnant with future queen Elizabeth, secretly married Henry VIII of England, the second of his six marriages. 1755 – Russian Empress Elizabeth issued a decree ordering the establishment of what is now Moscow State University, today the largest university in Russia. 1890 – Inspired by Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days, American journalist Nellie Bly (pictured) completed a circumnavigation of the globe in a then-record 72 days. 1971 – Idi Amin Dada seized power in a military coup d'état from President Milton Obote, beginning eight years of military rule in Uganda. 2006 – Mexican professional wrestler Juana Barraza was arrested in conjunction with the serial killing of at least ten elderly women. 2010 – Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409, en route to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after takeoff from Beirut, Lebanon, killing all 90 people aboard. More anniversaries: January 24 – January 25 – January 26 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now January 25 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

A mid-1800s photo of a train station with train and coal depot, taken by Gustave Le Gray, "the most important French photographer of the nineteenth century" because of his technical innovations in the still-new medium of photography and his role as the teacher of other noted photographers. Two of his photographs were sold in 1999, setting world records for most expensive single photograph ever sold at auction.

Restoration: Lise Broer

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