Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 May 31

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Today's featured article
Chadderton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England, historically a part of Lancashire. It lies along the course of the River Irk and the Rochdale Canal, on undulating land in the foothills of the Pennines. During the Middle Ages, Chadderton was chiefly distinguished by its two mansions, Foxdenton Hall and Chadderton Hall, and by the prestigious families who occupied them. Its early history is marked by its status as a manorial township, with its own line of lords and overlords. Farming was the main industry of the area, with locals supplementing their incomes by hand-loom woollen weaving in the domestic system. Chadderton's urbanisation and expansion largely coincided with developments in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution and the Victorian era. A late 19th-century factory-building boom transformed Chadderton from a rural township into a major mill town and the second most populous urban district in the United Kingdom. Although Chadderton's industries declined during the mid-20th century, the town continued to grow as a result of suburbanisation and urban renewal. The legacy of the town's industrial past remains visible in its landscape of red-brick cotton mills, now used as warehouses or distribution centres. (more...) Recently featured: Louis Slotin – Timor Leste Defence Force – "The Last Temptation of Krust" Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that Jan Matejko's painting Stańczyk (pictured), portraying a solemn court jester, is considered one of the most recognized and significant paintings of Poland? ... that historian Max Hastings called Thaddeus Holt's book The Deceivers a "worthy celebration" of British deception during World War II? ... that the size of a spherical bubble in an infinite body of liquid is described by the Rayleigh–Plesset equation? ... that writer Frank Spotnitz has called "Sacrament" his favourite among the episodes he has written for Millennium? ... that during a football match between FK Bodø/Glimt and Tromsø IL in 1995, Tromsø head coach Harald Aabrekk was brought to the hospital in an ambulance, despite not being injured? ... that males with the genetic disorder familial hyperestrogenism may become feminized and often seek to have their enlarged breasts surgically removed? ... that after the Battle of Azaz in 1030, the victorious Arabs needed seventy camels to carry off the imperial tent of the Byzantine emperor Romanos III and its treasures? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Viswanathan Anand (pictured) defeats Boris Gelfand to win a fourth consecutive World Chess Championship. American writer Madeline Miller wins the Orange Prize for Fiction for her novel The Song of Achilles. Former Liberian President Charles Taylor is sentenced to 50 years in prison for his role in atrocities committed during the Sierra Leone Civil War. In response to the Houla massacre, high-ranking Syrian diplomats are expelled from several countries. Renato Corona, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, is convicted in an impeachment trial for non-disclosure of assets. Two earthquakes hit Northern Italy, leaving 24 people dead and 14,000 more homeless. The incumbent Democratic Congress gains a plurality in the Lesotho general election. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
May 31: World No Tobacco Day; Feast of the Visitation (Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism) 455 – Emperor Petronius Maximus of the Western Roman Empire was stoned to death by an angry mob after only 78 days upon the throne. 1669 – Citing poor eyesight, English naval administrator and Member of Parliament Samuel Pepys recorded his last entry in his diary, one of the most important primary sources for the English Restoration period. 1916 – The German Kaiserliche Marine and British Royal Navy clashed in the Battle of Jutland, the largest naval battle of the First World War. 1921 – A large-scale race riot began in Tulsa, Oklahoma, US, in which the wealthiest African-American community in the United States, the Greenwood District, was destroyed by fire. 1941 – The United Kingdom completed its re-occupation of Iraq, returning 'Abd al-Ilah to power as regent for Faisal II (pictured). More anniversaries: May 30 – May 31 – June 1 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now May 31, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The Australian spotted jellyfish (Phyllorhiza punctata) is a species of jellyfish native to the southwestern Pacific, but has also been found in the Gulf of Mexico and the western Atlantic. It feeds primarily on zooplankton and grows to an average of 45–50 cm (18–20 in) in diameter. They have only a mild venom and are not considered a threat to humans.

Photo: Nick Hobgood

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