Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 December 22

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From today's featured article
Blackburn Olympic F.C. was an English association football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, in the late 19th century. Although it was only in existence from 1878 to 1889, it is significant in the history of football in England as the first club from the north of the country and the first from a working-class background to win the Football Association Challenge Cup (better known as the FA Cup, trophy pictured). The cup had previously been won only by teams of wealthy amateurs from the home counties, and Olympic's victory against Old Etonians F.C. in 1883 marked a turning point in the sport's transition from a pastime for upper-class gentlemen to a professional sport. Olympic, however, proved unable to compete with wealthier and better-supported clubs in the professional era. Most of Olympic's home matches took place at the Hole-i'-th-Wall stadium, named after an adjacent public house. One Olympic player, James Ward, was selected for the England team while playing for the club. Six other former or future England internationals played for Olympic, including Jack Hunter, who was the club's coach at the time of Olympic's FA Cup win. (Full article...) Recently featured: Worlds End State Park – 2012 phenomenon – James Tod Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that Tarsar Lake (pictured) is separated from its twin sister in the Kashmir Valley by a mountain? ... that Israel Keyes confessed to murder, rape, arson, and bank robbery in several states before committing suicide in his jail cell in Anchorage, Alaska? ... that in the Hindu epic Ramayana, Maricha assumed the form of a golden deer studded with gems to facilitate the kidnapping of the heroine? ... that Maryland Route 170 was relocated for the construction of Baltimore/Washington International Airport in the late 1940s? ... that the creator of the TV series Homeland, Gideon Raff, is the son of a former Accountant General in Israel's Ministry of Finance? ... that the 1968 election in the Beirut III constituency saw Sunni former rivals Abdallah al-Yafi and Saeb Salam unite around a joint candidature? ... that when Oprah Winfrey saw American model Jasmine Tookes perform on the runway at Lincoln Center, she extolled Tookes' "butter" soft skin and requested that Tookes "rub your face against mine"? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Park Geun-hye (pictured) is elected President of South Korea, becoming the first woman to hold the position. Swiss bank UBS is fined US$1.5 billion for its role in the Libor scandal. Former Congolese militia leader Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui is acquitted by the International Criminal Court of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Shinzō Abe is elected Prime Minister of Japan as the Liberal Democratic Party gains an absolute majority in the House of Representatives. Twenty-eight people, including the gunman, are dead following a shooting at an elementary school in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Recent deaths: Daniel Inouye – Dina Manfredini – Páidí Ó Sé Syrian civil war – Wikinews – More current events...
On this day...
December 22: Mother's Day in Indonesia 1807 – In an effort to avoid engaging in the Napoleonic Wars, the United States Congress passed the Embargo Act, forbidding American ships from engaging in trade with foreign nations. 1944 – World War II: US Army General Anthony McAuliffe (pictured) responded to the German ultimatum of surrender during the Battle of the Bulge with a single word, "NUTS!" 1947 – The Constitution of the Italian Republic was enacted by the Constituent Assembly. 1997 – Hussein Farrah Aidid relinquished the disputed title of President of Somalia. 2001 – Burhanuddin Rabbani of the Northern Alliance handed over power in Afghanistan to the interim government headed by Hamid Karzai. More anniversaries: December 21 – December 22 – December 23 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now December 22, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

Hurricane Rick was the second-most intense Pacific hurricane on record and the strongest ever to form during October. Developing south of Mexico on October 15, 2009, the storm attained Category 5 status on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale two days later and soon attained its peak intensity with winds of 180 mph (290 km/h; 156 kn) and the barometric pressure bottomed out at 906 mbar (906.00 hPa; 26.75 inHg). By the time it made landfall near Mazatlán, its winds had dropped to 55 mph (89 km/h; 48 kn) and it was reclassified as a tropical depression a few hours later.

Photo: NASA/MODIS Rapid Response Team

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