Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 November 5

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From today's featured article
Thomas Percy (c. 1560–1605) was a member of the group of provincial English Catholics who planned the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Little is known of his life before 1596 when a distant relation, Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland, appointed him constable of Alnwick Castle. Percy acted as the earl's intermediary in a series of confidential communications with King James VI of Scotland. After James acceded to the English throne in 1603, Percy became disenchanted with him, supposing that the new king had reneged on promises of toleration for English Catholics. He met Robert Catesby in 1603, and the following year joined his conspiracy to kill James and his ministers by blowing up the House of Lords with gunpowder. Percy provided the group with funding and secured the leases to certain properties in London, including the undercroft directly beneath the House of Lords, into which the gunpowder was placed. When the plot was exposed on 5 November 1605, Percy fled to the Midlands. He and Catesby were killed on 8 November, during a siege of Holbeche House in Staffordshire, by the Sheriff of Worcester and his men. (Full article...) Recently featured: Gabriel Fauré – Kingdom of Mysore – Singapore strategy Archive – By email – More featured articles...
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From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the Genoese military engineer Giovan Giacomo Paleari Fratino designed and built the world's first Martello tower (pictured)? ... that even after Tunisia was conquered by Arab Muslims in the eighth century, local wine production continued, albeit reduced? ... that 2010 Olympic aerialist skier Bree Munro was in the running to go to the 2006 Winter Olympics but Jacqui Cooper was chosen ahead of her on the Australian team? ... that Mino Guerrini's direction of Omicidio per appuntamento has been compared to that of Mario Bava? ... that Austin Friars was the only friary in London to have its own prison, but became the focus of a scandal when an imprisoned friar died there in 1525? ... that at Sheikh Badr Cemetery in central Jerusalem, bodies were placed in caskets and left above-ground? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Theodoros II of Alexandria is elected as Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church. In baseball, the Yomiuri Giants defeat the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters to win the Japan Series. The Walt Disney Company announces an agreement to purchase Lucasfilm for US$4.05 billion and produce additional Star Wars films. After striking the Caribbean, Hurricane Sandy (satellite image pictured) causes widespread damage on the East Coast of the United States, including flooding in parts of New York City. The Social Democratic Party wins a plurality of seats in the Lithuanian parliamentary election. Syrian civil war – Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
November 5: Guy Fawkes Night in Great Britain and some Commonwealth countries (1605) 1138 – Ly Anh Tong was enthroned as emperor of Đại Việt at the age of two, starting a 37-year reign. 1925 – Sidney Reilly, a "super-spy" who was one of the inspirations for James Bond, was executed by the Soviet secret police. 1967 – A train derailed near Hither Green maintenance depot in London, killing 49 people and injuring 78 others. 1983 – Five workers on the Byford Dolphin semi-submersible oil rig (pictured) were killed in an explosive decompression while drilling in the Frigg gas field in the North Sea. 1995 – André Dallaire was thwarted in his attempt to assassinate Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien when Chrétien's wife locked the door. More anniversaries: November 4 – November 5 – November 6 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now November 5, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

From today's featured list

The counties of Croatia are the primary administrative subdivisions of Croatia. The Kingdom of Croatia was first subdivided into counties in the Middle Ages. The divisions have changed over time, reflecting territorial losses to Ottoman conquest and subsequent recapture of some territory; changes in the political status of Dalmatia, Dubrovnik and Istria; and political circumstances, including the personal union and settlement between the Habsburg kingdoms of Croatia and Hungary. The traditional division of Croatia into counties was abolished in 1922, when the oblasts of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes were introduced. Communist-ruled Croatia, a constituent part of post-World War II Yugoslavia, was organised into approximately 100 municipalities. Since the counties were re-established in 1992, Croatia has been divided into 20 counties and the capital city of Zagreb. The city of Zagreb has the authority and legal status of both a county and a city (separate from the surrounding Zagreb County). The counties are subdivided into 127 cities and 429 municipalities. (Read the full list...)

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A statue of the Hindu god Shiva as Nataraja, the Lord of Dance. In this form, Shiva performs his divine dance to destroy a weary universe and make preparations for the god Brahma to start the process of creation. A Telugu and Tamil concept, Shiva was first depicted as Nataraja in the famous Chola bronzes and sculptures of Chidambaram. The form is present in most Shiva temples in South India, and is the main deity in Chidambaram Temple, the foremost Shaivist temple.

Photo: Los Angeles County Museum of Art

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