Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 December 27

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From today's featured article
Hōshō was the world's first commissioned ship to be designed and built as an aircraft carrier, and the first aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Commissioned in 1922, the ship was used for testing aircraft and equipment, and to evaluate operational methods and tactics. She provided valuable lessons and experience for the IJN in early carrier air operations. Hōshō and her aircraft participated in the Shanghai Incident in 1932 and in the opening stages of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937. During those two conflicts, her aircraft supported Imperial Japanese Army ground operations and engaged in combat with aircraft of the Nationalist Chinese Air Force. The small size of the ship and her assigned airgroups (usually around 15 aircraft) limited the effectiveness of her contributions. As a result, the carrier was placed in reserve after her return to Japan from China and she became a training carrier in 1939. During World War II, Hōshō participated in the Battle of Midway in June 1942 in a secondary role. After the battle, the carrier resumed her training role for the duration of the conflict and survived the war with only minor damage. She was used as a repatriation transport after the war and was scrapped in 1946. (Full article...) Recently featured: Psilocybe aztecorum – William the Conqueror – Cosima Wagner Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the 15.4-metre (51 ft) long Anantashayana Vishnu at Saranga (pictured) is the longest sculpture of a reclining Vishnu in India? ... that while the roots of the international human rights movement are about a century old, it grew in global significance around the 1970s? ... that Norman Claxton won the South Australian National Football League twice, scored 199 not out in first-class cricket, and was inducted into the Baseball Australia Hall of Fame? ... that Steindamm Church was destroyed during the Siege of Königsberg and rebuilt in 1263? ... that Kānekapōlei prevented the kidnapping of her husband King Kalaniʻōpuʻu and their sons by Captain Cook, one of the events that led to Cook's death in Hawaii? ... that Mike Shula succeeded Mike Price as the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team in 2003? ... that Natir Puja (1932) is the only film where Rabindranath Tagore was credited as film director? ... that John Lennon's ballad "Out the Blue" expressed his devotion to wife Yoko Ono, even though Lennon and Ono were separated at the time? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Egyptian voters approve a new constitution. A military aircraft (pictured) crashes while descending toward Shymkent, Kazakhstan, killing all 27 people on board. A gang rape in Delhi sparks widespread demonstrations across India. Park Geun-hye 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. Recent deaths: Charles Durning – Jack Klugman Syrian civil war – Wikinews – More current events...
On this day...
December 27: St. Stephen's Day in Eastern Christianity 537 – The current Hagia Sophia building in Istanbul, originally built as a church before it later became a mosque in 1453 and then a museum in 1935, was inaugurated. 1918 – A public speech by famed Polish pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski (pictured) in Poznań sparked the Greater Poland Uprising against Germany. 1966 – The Cave of Swallows, the largest known cave shaft in the world, was discovered in Aquismón, San Luis Potosí, Mexico. 1979 – Soviet war in Afghanistan: Soviet troops stormed Tajbeg Palace outside of Kabul and killed Afghan President Hafizullah Amin and his 300 elite guards. 2007 – Former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto was assassinated while she was leaving a political rally of Pakistan Peoples Party supporters at Liaquat National Bagh in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. More anniversaries: December 26 – December 27 – December 28 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now December 27, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

ORP Grom is an Orkan-class fast attack craft originally contracted by East Germany and laid down in 1989. After German reunification, the unfinished hull was bought by Poland, where it was completed in 1995. The ship now serves with the 31st Rocket Warships Squadron, 3rd Ship Flotilla of the Polish Navy.

Photo: Łukasz Golowanow

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