Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 June 11

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Today's featured article
The Yorkshire captaincy affair of 1927 arose from a disagreement among members of Yorkshire County Cricket Club over whether a professional cricketer should be appointed as the team captain. It was a tradition throughout English county cricket that captains should be amateurs. At Yorkshire, a succession of amateur captains held office in the 1920s, on the grounds of their supposed leadership qualities, although none were worth their place in the team as cricketers. The Yorkshire committee, prompted by the influential county president, Lord Hawke, approached Herbert Sutcliffe, one of the side's leading professionals. After Sutcliffe's provisional acceptance of the captaincy, controversy arose. Some Yorkshire members objected to the appointment because Sutcliffe was not an amateur; others felt that Wilfred Rhodes, the team's senior professional, should have been asked. When Sutcliffe became aware of the furore, he withdrew his acceptance. No offer was made to Rhodes, and the county subsequently appointed amateur William Worsley as captain; he had little personal success and lasted just two seasons. (more...) Recently featured: Joey Santiago – Cyclone Waka – Resident Evil 2 Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that when three men wearing gloves, masks and balaclavas were found on the roof of a church (pictured) missing £100,000 worth of lead, they were let off because police said they "might be there just for the view"? ... that the first SCCA E Production class racing championship won in a Mazda Miata was won by Terry McCarthy? ... that silicate perovskites may make up to 93% of the lower mantle and that the magnesium form is considered to be Earth's most abundant mineral? ... that Randolph Scott, the star of China Sky, referred to the film as "disappointing"? ... that Australian 2010 Commonwealth Games team archery gold medalist Taylor Worth is a member of a shadow archery team? ... that in the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Porter subway station there are gloves attached to the escalator and embedded in the floor? ... that PSIR Rembang players attacked both referees in a match at 2008–09 Liga Indonesia Premier Division? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
In tennis, Maria Sharapova (pictured) wins the women's singles tournament at the French Open. Timothy Bradley defeats Manny Pacquiao to win the World Boxing Organization welterweight championship. At least 55 people are killed in a massacre in a village near Hama, Syria. American science fiction writer Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451, dies at the age of 91. Astronomers around the world observe the last transit of Venus to occur this century. A thousand vessels parade down the River Thames in London as part of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
June 11 1345 – Inspecting a new prison without being escorted by his bodyguard, Alexios Apokaukos, megas doux of the Byzantine Navy, was lynched and killed by the prisoners. 1776 – The Second Continental Congress appointed Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston to the Committee of Five to draft a declaration of independence for Britain's Thirteen Colonies. 1955 – More than 80 people were killed after Pierre Levegh and Lance Macklin collided during the 23rd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans sports car endurance race. 1962 – American criminals Clarence Anglin, John Anglin and Frank Morris escaped from Alcatraz Island (pictured), one of the United States' most famous prisons. 2007 – Mudslides caused by heavy monsoon rainfall killed 130 people in Chittagong, Bangladesh. More anniversaries: June 10 – June 11 – June 12 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now June 11, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured list

A colour photograph of a man with white hair wearing sunglasses, a white dress shirt, a grey blazer, white pants, and a black belt facing the viewer

The Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actors for quality supporting roles in a Broadway play. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, to "honor the best performances and stage productions of the previous year." The award was first presented to Arthur Kennedy at the 3rd Tony Awards in 1949 for his portrayal of Biff Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. Its most recent recipient is Christian Borle for the role of Black Stache in Peter and the Starcatcher. Frank Langella (pictured) holds the record for having the most wins in this category with a total of two; he is the only person to win the award more than once. Characters to win the award more than once include Richard Roma in Glengarry Glen Ross and Phil Hogan in A Moon for the Misbegotten. (more...)

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Today's featured picture

A laser shoots towards the centre of the Milky Way from the Very Large Telescope facility in Chile, to provide a laser guide star, a reference point in the sky for the telescope's adaptive optics (AO) system. AO technology improves the performance of optical systems by reducing the effect of atmospheric distortion. AO was first envisioned by Horace W. Babcock in 1953, but did not come into common usage until advances in computer technology during the 1990s made the technique practical.

Photo: Yuri Beletsky, ESO

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