Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 May 24

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Today's featured article
Tiny Thompson (1903–1981) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), first for the Boston Bruins, and later for the Detroit Red Wings. A four-time Vezina Trophy winner, Thompson was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1959. He was a member of one Stanley Cup-winning team, as a rookie in the 1928–29 season with the Boston Bruins. At the start of the 1938–39 season, after ten full seasons with Boston, he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings, where he completed the season, and played another full one before retiring. During his NHL career, he recorded 81 shutouts, the sixth highest of any goaltender. After retiring from playing, he coached lower-league teams before becoming a noted professional scout. Thompson helped popularize the technique of catching the puck as a method of making a save. A competent puckhandler, he was the first goaltender in the NHL to record an assist by passing the puck with his stick to a fellow player. (more...) Recently featured: Boletus edulis – God Hates Us All – Asteroid belt Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest articles: ... that the clock tower (pictured) of the Chief Post Office in Christchurch, New Zealand, is reputed to be a replica of London's Big Ben? ... that the then-closed Hayford Mill in Cambusbarron, Scotland, now a Category A listed building, was used during World War I as a training base by the King's Own Scottish Borderers? ... that New York Judge Charles Fraser MacLean earned the first U.S. Ph.D. in philosophy and was among the first non-combatants to enter Paris after the French surrender in the Franco-Prussian War? ... that the Croatian National Theatre in Split was the biggest theatre in Southeast Europe at the time of its completion in 1893, even though there were no professional actors in the city of Split yet? ... that filming for the now-on-hold Arnold Schwarzenegger movie project Cry Macho originally began in 1991 with Jaws star Roy Scheider in the lead role? ... that the dayflower family genus Cartonema is completely restricted to Australia except for one species that occurs on Trangan Island in Indonesia? ... that the first Jewish chaplain in the U.S. Navy wore a cross? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Nicos Anastasiades Democratic Rally, led by Nicos Anastasiades (pictured), win a plurality after an election in Cyprus. PNS Mehran, a Pakistani naval base in Karachi, is attacked by militants. At least 116 people are killed by a tornado, the United States' deadliest since 1953, in Joplin, Missouri. Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life wins the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Protests against the government continue in cities across Spain, despite a ban before elections. Aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus both claim victory after the WTO rules on the world's largest trade dispute. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
May 24: Independence Day in Eritrea; Saints Cyril and Methodius Day in Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia 1883 – New York City's Brooklyn Bridge, at the time the longest suspension bridge in the world, was opened. 1948 – Arab–Israeli War: After five days of fighting, Egyptian forces finally captured the Israeli kibbutz Yad Mordechai after the defenders had abandoned it. 1960 – Cordón Caulle in the Andes of Ranco Province, Chile, began to erupt, less than two days after the Valdivia earthquake struck the region. 1970 – On the Kola Peninsula in Russia, drilling began on the Kola Superdeep Borehole, eventually reaching 12,262 metres (40,230 ft), making it the deepest hole ever drilled and the deepest artificial point on the earth. 1976 – In a wine competition in Paris, French judges shocked the wine industry by rating California wines higher than French ones (bottle of winning vintage pictured). More anniversaries: May 23 – May 24 – May 25 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now May 24, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

After their victory in the Battle of Barfleur in the Nine Years' War, an English fleet under Edward Russell gave chase to French ships commanded by Anne Hilarion de Tourville. On 21 May (O.S.) 1692, the damaged French ships of the line beached themselves at Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, Normandy. All twelve of them were destroyed (seen here), forcing King Louis XIV to cancel his invasion plans.

Artist: William Woollett; Restoration: Adam Cuerden

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