Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 May 14

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Fanny Imlay (1794–1816) was the illegitimate daughter of the British feminist Mary Wollstonecraft and the American commercial speculator Gilbert Imlay. Although Mary Wollstonecraft and Gilbert Imlay lived together happily for brief periods before and after the birth of Fanny, Imlay left Wollstonecraft in France in the midst of the French Revolution. In an attempt to revive their relationship, she travelled to Scandinavia on business for him, taking the one-year-old Fanny with her, but the affair never rekindled. After falling in love with and marrying the philosopher William Godwin, Wollstonecraft died in childbirth in 1797, leaving the three-year-old Fanny in the hands of Godwin, along with the newborn Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin. Four years later, Godwin remarried and his new wife, Mary Jane Clairmont, brought children of her own into the marriage, most significantly from Fanny Imlay's and Mary Godwin's perspective, Claire Clairmont. Both girls resented the new Mrs Godwin and the attention she paid to her own daughter. The Godwin household became an increasingly uncomfortable place to live as tensions rose and debts mounted. Imlay became increasingly isolated from her family and committed suicide in 1816 at the age of 22. Recently featured: Limbo – Katharine Hepburn – FC Barcelona Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: Tristram's Jird, Meriones tristrami (Mammalia, Gerbillinae) ... that reports of Tristram's Jird (pictured) on the Greek island of Kos are the only wild gerbil sightings from Europe outside of the former Soviet Union? ... that like William Bligh of the Bounty, naval officer John Bligh experienced a mutiny during his time in command? ... that Steven Curtis Chapman's song "Yours" was the 45th number-one single of his career? ... that in 1457 Pope Callixtus III criticized the bishop of Krujë for the unjustified excommunication of Pal Dukagjini and his subjects? ... that the Dutch children's book Frog and the Birdsong by Max Velthuijs is frequently used to teach young children how to cope with death? ... that Ørn-Horten avoided relegation from the 2001 Norwegian First Division with a match-winning goal from the goalkeeper five minutes into stoppage time in the decisive match against Vålerenga? ... that National Hero of Indonesia Oerip Soemohardjo attended a girls' school as a child to improve his temperament? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
In association football, the English Premier League season ends with Manchester City winning their first top-flight league championship since 1968. Saudi Arabia begins to send US$2.7 billion in aid to Egypt after a recent diplomatic crisis. A Sukhoi Superjet 100 (pictured) crashes during a demonstration flight in Indonesia, killing all 45 people on board. Pioneering hairdresser Vidal Sassoon dies at the age of 84. Children's author and illustrator Maurice Sendak dies at the age of 83. The Progressive Liberal Party, led by Perry Christie, gains a majority in the Bahamian general election. Ronnie O'Sullivan wins the World Snooker Championship. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
May 14: Feast day of Saint Matthias and Saint Mo Chutu (Roman Catholic Church) 1787 – Delegates from the thirteen U.S. states convened the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with the intention of revising the Articles of Confederation. 1868 – Boshin War: Troops of the Tokugawa shogunate withdrew from the Battle of Utsunomiya Castle and retreated north towards Nikkō and Aizu. 1943 – Second World War: The Australian Hospital Ship Centaur (pictured) was attacked and sunk by a Japanese submarine off the coast of Queensland, killing 268 people aboard. 1948 – David Ben-Gurion publicly read the Israeli Declaration of Independence at the present-day Independence Hall in Tel Aviv, officially establishing a new Jewish state in parts of the former British Mandate of Palestine. 1955 – Cold War: Eight Eastern Bloc countries signed a mutual defense treaty to establish the Warsaw Pact. More anniversaries: May 13 – May 14 – May 15 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now May 14, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured list

A man facing the right focused on his upper body. He is wearing a light brown jacket, and a white shirt.

The Aurealis Award for best young-adult novel is presented annually by the Australia-based Chimaera Publications and SpecFaction NSW to published works. Since their creation in 1995, Aurealis Awards have been given in various categories of speculative fiction. The continued sponsorship by publishers such as HarperCollins and Orbit has added weight to the honour of the award. The results are decided by a panel of judges from a list of submitted nominees; the long-list of nominees is reduced to a short-list of finalists. Ties can occur if the panel decides that both entries show equal merit, however they are encouraged to choose a single winner. Of the 20 winners in the best young-adult novel category, three people have won the award twice: Isobelle Carmody, Garth Nix (pictured) and Scott Westerfeld. Westerfeld holds the record for most nominations with seven, and Rory Barnes has the most nominations without winning, having been a losing finalist five times. (more...)

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The tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) is the larval form of a moth that is present throughout much of the Americas. The caterpillars feed on plants of the family Solanaceae, principally tobacco, tomatoes and members of the Datura genus. It is a common model organism, especially in neurobiology, due to its easily accessible nervous system and short life cycle.

Photo: Daniel Schwen

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