Wikipedia:2012 main page redesign proposal/Chris G
|
Welcome to WikipediA |
The free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. |
In the news
- A cholera outbreak in Sierra Leone is declared a national emergency following the deaths of more than 300 people.
- At least 36 people are suspected dead after Hurricane Isaac (satellite image pictured) strikes the Gulf Coast of the United States, Lesser Antilles, Greater Antilles and the Bahamas.
- The opening ceremony of the Summer Paralympic Games is held in London.
- An Israeli court rules that the Israel Defense Forces and the Ministry of Defense were not responsible for the death of Rachel Corrie in the Gaza Strip in 2003.
- More than 2,000 people riot in Mombasa, Kenya, in reaction to the shooting death of Muslim cleric Aboud Rogo.
- Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announces the commencement of peace talks with the rebel group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
Today's featured article
"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn written by English poet and clergyman John Newton (pictured) and published in 1779. Based on Newton's personal experiences at sea (in the Royal Navy and the slave trade), it was originally written in 1773 and published in Newton and Cowper's Olney Hymns in 1779. Although it became relatively obscure in England, in the United States it was commonly used during the Second Great Awakening. The original tune, if any, is unknown, but it is now most commonly sung to the tune "New Britain". It conveys a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit, and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God. One of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world, it has been called "the most famous of all the folk hymns", having been recorded thousands of times during the 20th century and becoming emblematic in African American spiritual music. (more...)
Recently featured: Simon Bolivar Buckner – History of Michigan State University – John Martin Scripps
On this day...
September 1: Start of the Liturgical year in the Eastern Orthodox Church; Constitution Day in Slovakia; Independence Day in Uzbekistan (1991)
| 1715 | Louis XIV of France (pictured), the "Sun King", died after a reign of 72 years, longer than any other French or other major European monarch at the time. |
| 1804 | German astronomer Karl Ludwig Harding discovered one of the largest main belt asteroids, naming it Juno after the Roman goddess. |
| 1862 | American Civil War: Confederate forces attacked retreating Union Army troops at the Battle of Chantilly during a rainstorm in Chantilly, Virginia, but the fighting ended up being tactically inconclusive. |
| 1914 | The Passenger Pigeon, which once had a population of at least 3 billion birds, became extinct, when the last individual died in captivity. |
| 1969 | A bloodless coup d'état led by Muammar Gaddafi overthrew Idris I of Libya. |
| 1972 | American chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer became the 11th World Chess Champion when he defeated Russian Boris Spassky in a match that was widely publicized as a Cold War confrontation. |
Did you know...
.jpg)
- ... that Kang Ju-hyeok (pictured) became the youngest player in FC Seoul's history at the age of 17 years, 9 months, and 6 days?
- ... that the political opposition in Saint Kitts and Nevis has viewed the national broadcaster, ZIZ, as a government mouthpiece?
- ... that Richard Du Cann acted for the defence in the Lady Chatterley's Lover obscenity trial and the trial of the MP John Stonehouse?
- ... that the funds from the sale of burial lots at Cathedral Cemetery in Philadelphia were intended for the construction of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul?
- ... that Mary Robertson was the first woman to receive a Doctor of Science degree in medicine from the University of Cape Town?
- ... that Karl Amadeus Hartmann completed his Hungarian-influenced composition Kammerkonzert during his period of inner emigration after Hitler's seizure of power?
- ... that one Canadian football announcer refused to mention Tony Pajaczkowski in game broadcasts for several years?
- ... that Augustus Pugin called St John the Evangelist Church, Islington, a "deformity"?
- ... that residents of Port Mercer, New Jersey, profited from passing vessels by dragging their tow mules into the Delaware and Raritan Canal and having local boys "rescue" them for a fee?
Today's featured picture
|
Great Yarmouth Town Hall is a municipal building on Hall Plain in Great Yarmouth, in Norfolk, England. It is the meeting place of Great Yarmouth Borough Council and is a Grade II* listed building. The town hall was designed by John Bond Pearce in the Queen Anne Revival style, with terracotta facings and a 110-foot-tall (34-metre) clock tower with a lantern above. It was opened by Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), on 31 May 1882. The building served as the headquarters of Great Yarmouth County Borough Council for much of the 20th century and has continued to operate as the local seat of government following the formation of the enlarged borough council in 1974. This hand-colored photochrom shows Great Yarmouth Town Hall in the 1890s, seen from opposite the River Yare. Photograph credit: Detroit Publishing Company; restored by Adam Cuerden
Recently featured:
|
|
Wikipedia Encyclopedia |
|
Wikinews Open journalism |
|
Wiktionary Dictionary & thesaurus |
|
Wikibooks Textbooks & manuals |
|
Wikisource Source texts |
|
Wikiquote Quotations |
|
Wikispecies Species directory |
|
Wikiversity Learning tools |
|
Commons Free media |
|
Meta-Wiki Coordination |
This Wikipedia is written in English. Many other Wikipedias are available; some of the largest are listed below.
-
1,000,000 articles
-
250,000 articles
-
50,000 articles