Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 April 16

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

Today's featured article
Me and Juliet is a musical comedy by Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics and book), their sixth stage collaboration. The work tells a story of romance backstage at a long-running musical: assistant stage manager Larry woos chorus girl Jeanie behind the back of her electrician boyfriend, Bob. Me and Juliet premiered in 1953 and was not a success, closing after a year on Broadway. The show received no Tony Award nominations. When Me and Juliet began tryout performances in Cleveland, the duo realized that the show had problems with the plot and staging. Extensive revisions during the remaining Cleveland and Boston tryouts failed to cure the difficulties with the plot, which the critics considered weak and uninteresting. The show was met with less-than-favorable reviews, though Jo Mielziner's staging won praise from audience and critics. The show closed once it had exhausted its advance sales. With the exception of a short run in Chicago, there was no national tour, and the show is almost never seen—a small-scale production was presented by London's Finborough Theatre in 2010. (more...) Recently featured: Hurricane Isabel – Pedro Álvares Cabral – HMS Ark Royal Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest articles: ... that three million trees, including pine, oak, sweet chestnut, and acacia (pictured), are being planted every year as part of reforestation efforts in Cape Verde? ... that Edward Litt Laman Blanchard, who later became a prominent writer for the Drury Lane pantomime, began writing for The Town when he was 17 years of age? ... that Epitaphium, composed for string trio by Graham Waterhouse, is performed today in Wigmore Hall in a memorial concert for his father, the bassoonist William Waterhouse? ... that the Natural Bridges National Monument Solar Power System in Utah was the world's largest solar cell power plant when it opened in 1980? ... that singer Jenny Silver debuted with the Swedish dance band Candela, when it was signed to Bert Karlsson's label Mariann Grammofon? ... that in the Indian state of Bihar, pressure from communist Party Unity guerrillas forced the upper-caste paramilitary Bhoomi Sena to surrender to the peasant organisation MKSS? ... that the Lincoln Thornton Manuscript, compiled around 1430-1440 by an amateur scribe and country gentleman, contains the only extant copies of Sir Degrevant and the Alliterative Morte Arthure? ... that Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’s new opera about student activism, Kommilitonen!, was intended to be performed by students? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Hosni Mubarak BRICS states meet in Sanya, China, for an annual summit that features South Africa for the first time. Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (pictured) and his sons are detained, two months after having resigned amid widespread protests. The Japan Atomic Energy Agency raises the severity of the Fukushima I nuclear accidents to level 7, the highest on the International Nuclear Event Scale. Former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo is arrested after a five-month standoff with Alassane Ouattara. At least 12 people are killed and over 200 injured in a bomb attack on the Metro in Minsk, Belarus. France implements a controversial ban on full-length face covering. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
April 16: Emancipation Day in Washington, D.C. 1818 – The United States Senate ratified the Rush–Bagot Treaty, which laid the basis for a demilitarized boundary between the U.S. and British North America. 1919 – Polish–Soviet War: The Polish army launched the Vilna offensive to capture Vilnius in modern Lithuania. 1947 – American financier and presidential adviser Bernard Baruch (pictured) first described the post–World War II tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States as a "cold war". 2001 – India and Bangladesh began a five-day conflict over their disputed border, which ended in a stalemate. 2007 – In one of the deadliest shooting incidents in United States history, a gunman killed 32 people and wounded over 20 more before committing suicide at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia. More anniversaries: April 15 – April 16 – April 17 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now April 16, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The Indian Palm Squirrel (Funambulus palmarum) is a squirrel native to India and Sri Lanka. It is relatively small, about the size of a rat, with three white stripes on its back from head to tail. According to Hindu legend, Lord Rama was so pleased with a squirrel's help in the construction of a bridge at Rameswaram that he stroked the squirrel's back and his fingers left their mark in the form of stripes.

Photo: Muhammad Mahdi Karim

Recently featured: Robber fly eating a beetle – Black Swan – Harmandir Sahib

Archive – More featured pictures...

Other areas of Wikipedia

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