Wikipedia:Main Page history/2021 April 12b

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Space Shuttle Discovery lifting off

The Space Shuttle was a partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from April 12, 1981, to July 21, 2011, by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the United States. Launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, five Space Shuttle orbiter vehicles flew on a total of 135 missions during 30 years. They conducted science experiments in orbit, helped build the International Space Station, and launched numerous satellites, interplanetary probes, and the Hubble Space Telescope. Four fully operational orbiters were initially built: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery (pictured), and Atlantis. Lost in mission accidents were Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003, with a total of fourteen astronauts killed. A fifth operational orbiter, Endeavour, was built in 1991 to replace Challenger. The Space Shuttle was retired from service upon the conclusion of Atlantis's final flight. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

Zahra Mohamed Ahmad

... that Zahra Mohamed Ahmad (pictured), who gives legal advice at the Somali Women Development Centre, is said to be a Woman of Courage?
... that Idaho television station KCIX-TV went silent awaiting a merger deal that fell apart?
... that Tranmere Rovers players were each promised a £10,000 bonus for winning the 1991 Football League Third Division play-off Final?
... that according to Nepalese folklore, Pimbahal Pond was built by a demon?
... that XYYY syndrome, a chromosome abnormality in which a man has two extra Y chromosomes, has only been recorded twelve times?
... that Hitler Nababan was beaten by an angry mob after posting a meme to a WhatsApp group?
... that ballerina Unity Phelan danced in the films John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and I'm Thinking of Ending Things?
... that Silver Hill station may have been named for rumors of Captain Kidd's treasure – or just a stand of trees?

In the news

Chloé Zhao

At the British Academy Film Awards, Nomadland (writer and director Chloé Zhao pictured) wins Best Film along with three other awards.
In golf, Hideki Matsuyama wins the Masters Tournament.
In horse racing, Minella Times wins the Grand National, with Rachael Blackmore becoming the first female jockey to win in the race's 182-year history.
The volcano La Soufrière erupts in Saint Vincent, forcing the evacuation of around 20,000 people.

On this day

April 12: Cosmonautics Day in Russia (1961); Yuri's Night

Yuri Gagarin

1831 – Broughton Suspension Bridge near Manchester, England, collapsed, reportedly because of mechanical resonance induced by troops marching in step across the bridge.
1861 – Confederate forces began bombarding Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, starting the American Civil War.
1961 – Aboard Vostok 1, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (pictured) performed the first human spaceflight, completing one orbit of Earth in 108 minutes.
2013 – Four Chadian soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing by jihadist rebels in Kidal, Mali.

Tenby Davies (b. 1884)
Beverly Cleary (b. 1916)
Karim Fakhrawi (d. 2011)

More anniversaries:

From today's featured list

A total of sixteen episodes aired over the two seasons of Sacred Games, an Indian web-television thriller series, with eight in each. Created by Vikramaditya Motwane, the first season was directed by Motwane and Anurag Kashyap, who produced it under their banner Phantom Films. The story follows a troubled police officer, Sartaj Singh (played by Saif Ali Khan), who receives a phone call from gangster Ganesh Gaitonde (played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui); Gaitonde tells him to save the city within 25 days. The series chronicles the events that follow while tracing Gaitonde's past. Other cast members include Radhika Apte, Girish Kulkarni, Neeraj Kabi, and Geetanjali Thapa. The first season of the series was mostly shot in Mumbai; the second season was shot over different locations of Delhi, Mombasa, Nairobi, Cape Town and Johannesburg. Each episode of Sacred Games is named after a story or character derived from Hindu mythology. (Full list...)

Recently featured:

Today's featured picture

The John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida, is NASA's primary launch center for human spaceflight. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out here. This photograph shows Space Shuttle Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A in the evening before the launch of STS-129, a mission to the International Space Station in November 2009.

Photograph credit: NASA / Bill Ingalls; retouched by Bammesk

Recently featured:

Other areas of Wikipedia

Community portal – Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.
Help desk – Ask questions about using Wikipedia.
Local embassy – For Wikipedia-related communication in languages other than English.
Reference desk – Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
Site news – Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
Village pump – For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.