Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 January 8

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Elvis in 1970

Elvis Presley (1935–1977) was an American singer and one of the most important figures of 20th-century popular culture. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King". Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, Presley moved to Memphis, Tennessee at the age of 13. He began his career there in 1954 and became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll with a series of television appearances and chart-topping records during the late 1950s. Conscripted in 1958, Presley relaunched his recording career two years later with some of his most commercially successful work. In 1968, after seven years away from the stage, he returned to live performance in a celebrated comeback television special that led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of profitable tours. In 1973 Presley staged the first concert broadcast globally via satellite, Aloha from Hawaii, seen by around 1.5 billion viewers. Prescription drug abuse severely affected his health, and he died suddenly in 1977 from cardiac arrest. With his versatile voice and unusually wide success encompassing many genres, Presley is the best-selling solo artist in the history of popular music. Nominated for 14 competitive Grammys, he won three, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36. He has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame. (more...)

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From Wikipedia's newest content:

Gardner's saltbush (Atriplex gardneri)

  • ... that the leaves of Gardner's saltbush (pictured) are an important source of nutrients for pregnant ewes?
  • ... that a stable worker was bribed to allow Middleton to drink buckets of water, leaving the racehorse bloated, in a plan by bookmakers to prevent it from winning the 1825 Derby Stakes?
  • ... that Summit Credit Union became the largest credit union in the state of Wisconsin after a 2008 merger?
  • ... that the town of Dhanushkodi in Tamil Nadu, India, was submerged during a 1964 cyclone and has not been resettled since?
  • ... that Intercession of Christ is the Christian belief in the continued intercession of Christ and his advocacy on behalf of mankind, even after he left the earth?
  • ... that until 2007, the New Zealand Poet Laureate was not appointed by the New Zealand government, but by Te Mata Estates, a commercial winery?
  • In the news

    United Nations Security Council

  • A hot air balloon crash near Carterton, New Zealand, kills eleven people.
  • Two people are convicted of the murder of Stephen Lawrence, the crime that led to a landmark change in UK double jeopardy law.
  • Christopher Loeak is elected President of the Marshall Islands.
  • Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Morocco, Pakistan, and Togo join the UN Security Council (chamber pictured) as non-permanent members.
  • Scores of people are killed and 20,000 more displaced by inter-tribal fighting in Pibor, South Sudan, despite the presence of UN peacekeepers.
  • The People's National Party, led by Portia Simpson Miller, wins a majority in the Jamaican general election.
  • On this day...

    January 8: Kim Jong-un's Birthday in North Korea

    Blackstone Library, Chicago

  • 1297Francesco Grimaldi, disguised as a monk, led his men to capture the fortress protecting the Rock of Monaco, establishing his family as the rulers of Monaco.
  • 1746 – During the Second Jacobite Rising, Bonnie Prince Charlie occupied the town of Stirling, Scotland, but failed to capture its castle.
  • 1904Blackstone Library (pictured), the first branch of the Chicago Public Library system, was dedicated.
  • 1920 – The steel strike of 1919, an attempt to organize the United States steel industry in the wake of World War I, collapsed in complete failure for the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers.
  • 2003Turkish Airlines Flight 634 crashed in extensive fog during final approach to Diyarbakır Airport in Turkey, leaving only five survivors out of 80 people on board.
  • 2010 – Gunmen from an offshoot of the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda attacked the bus transporting the Togo national football team to the Africa Cup of Nations, killing three.
  • More anniversaries: January 7 January 8 January 9

    It is now January 8, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

    Today's featured picture

    Würzburg Residence

    The Würzburg Residence is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Würzburg, southern Germany. It was commissioned by the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg Johann Philipp Franz von Schönborn and his brother Friedrich in 1720 and completed in 1744. The Venetian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, assisted by his son, Domenico, painted frescoes in the building.

    Photo: Rainer Lippert

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