Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 August 26

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Today's featured article
The Battle of Milne Bay, also known as Operation RE by the Japanese, was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II from 25 August to 7 September 1942. Japanese naval troops, known as Kaigun Rikusentai, attacked the Allied airfields at Milne Bay that had been established on the eastern tip of New Guinea. The Japanese miscalculated the size of the garrison and initially landed a force roughly equivalent in size to one battalion on 25 August. Meanwhile the Allies, forewarned by intelligence from Ultra, had heavily reinforced the garrison. Despite suffering a significant setback at the outset, when part of the invasion force had its landing craft destroyed by Allied aircraft as they attempted to land on the coast behind the Australian defenders, the Japanese quickly pushed inland and began their advance towards the airfields. Heavy fighting followed as they came up against Australian Militia and the veteran Second Australian Imperial Force units. Allied air superiority helped tip the balance. Finding themselves outnumbered, lacking supplies and suffering heavy casualties, the Japanese were compelled to withdraw their forces. The battle is considered to be the first in the Pacific campaign in which Allied troops decisively defeated Japanese land forces. (more...) Recently featured: Herne Hill railway station – Aiphanes – Olmec colossal heads Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that Adam Steltzner (pictured), the lead engineer of the Mars Curiosity rover landing, said he spent high school "studying sex, drugs and rock and roll"? ... that chief Iipumpu Ya Tshilongo is a National Hero of Namibia partly because of his uncooperative behaviour and his refusal to pay taxes? ... that two of the Russian Peresvet-class battleships were salvaged by the Japanese after the end of the Russo-Japanese War and incorporated into the Imperial Japanese Navy? ... that 2012 Australian Paralympic swimmer Kara Leo is an ambassador for an organisation that helps children cope with near-drowning experiences? ... that the Forum of the Ox in Constantinople got its name from a bronze statue of an Ox head used to kill people through the brazen Bull torture? ... that Roekiah and Rd Mochtar were the first celebrity couple in the Dutch East Indies, despite Roekiah being married? ... that a spectator who threw a bottle at the men's 100 metres race in the 2012 Olympics was immediately confronted by judo bronze medalist Edith Bosch, who happened to be next to him? ... that Henry Dircks created a ghost to prove that others could not? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
American astronaut Neil Armstrong (pictured), the first person to walk on the Moon, dies at the age of 82. A blast at the Paraguaná Refinery Complex in Falcón, Venezuela, kills at least 39 people and injures more than 80 others. A jury in California rules that Samsung Electronics owes Apple Inc. more than US$1 billion for patent infringement. Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in the 2011 Norway attacks, is sentenced to 21 years in prison, subject to extension. Sectarian clashes linked to the Syrian civil war continue in Lebanon's second largest city, Tripoli. Ethnic clashes over grazing rights for cattle in Kenya's Tana River District result in more than 50 deaths. Russia, formerly the world's largest non-WTO economy, joins the World Trade Organization after 19 years of negotiations. Syrian civil war – Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
August 26: Women's Equality Day in the United States 1346 – Hundred Years' War: English forces established the military supremacy of the English longbow over the French combination of crossbow and armoured knights at the Battle of Crécy. 1748 – The first Lutheran denomination in North America, the Pennsylvania Ministerium, was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1810 – Juan José Castelli ordered the execution of Santiago de Liniers, during the Argentine War of Independence. 1883 – The largest explosion in human history took place when an eruption destroyed the volcanic island of Krakatoa (pictured). 1968 – The U.S. Democratic Party's National Convention began at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, sparking four days of clashes between anti–Vietnam War protesters and police. 1977 – The National Assembly of Quebec declared French to be the only official language of Quebec. More anniversaries: August 25 – August 26 – August 27 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now August 26, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The Italian wall lizard (Podarcis sicula) is native to southern and southeastern Europe. As the name suggests, it is the most abundant lizard species in southern Italy. The species is known for having been subject to "rapid evolution": In 1971, ten adult specimens were brought to the Croatian island of Pod Mrčaru from a neighbouring island, where they founded a new bottlenecked population. After the Yugoslav Wars, scientists found that the Pod Mrčaru population differed greatly from the original group, although the two are genetically identical. The most surprising difference was that individuals on Pod Mrčaru had developed cecal valves, "a brand new feature not present in the ancestral population".

Photo: Richard Bartz

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