Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 October 23

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Today's featured article
Ian Fleming (1908–1964) was an English author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer, best known for his James Bond series of spy novels. While working in British Naval Intelligence during the Second World War, Fleming was involved in the planning stages of intelligence and military operations, and his wartime service and subsequent career as a journalist provided much of the background, detail and depth of the James Bond novels. Fleming wrote his first Bond novel, Casino Royale, in 1952. It was a success, and eleven Bond novels and two short-story collections followed between 1953 and 1966. The novels revolved around James Bond, an officer in the British Secret Service. The Bond stories rank among the best-selling series of fictional books of all time, having sold over 100 million copies. Fleming's creation has appeared in film twenty-four times, portrayed by seven actors, and the latest screen incarnation, Skyfall, is due to premiere in London on 23 October 2012. (more...) Recently featured: Nixon in China – Introduction to viruses – Andjar Asmara Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that Prince Henry the Navigator handed over his brother Ferdinand the Holy Prince (pictured) as a hostage, and preferred to let him die in captivity rather than fulfill the treaty he had signed? ... that Adele's theme for the James Bond film Skyfall went to number one in the UK's iTunes online store less than ten hours after it was released? ... that the Church of Julianos in the village of Barad in northern Syria, was one of two three-aisled basilicas in the Dead Cities? ... that the nudibranch Tritonia hamnerorum feeds exclusively on the purple sea fan? ... that in Armenia, wrestling is one of the nation's oldest sports? ... that Chao Mae Tuptim in Bangkok is a site crammed full of wooden circumcised penis statues which are said to endow good fortune and fertility on anybody coming into contact with them? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Six scientists and a former government official are convicted of multiple manslaughter over their failure to predict the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake. The Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for cycling, strips Lance Armstrong (pictured) of his seven Tour de France wins. Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg, marries Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy. Lebanese intelligence chief Wissam al-Hassan is assassinated in a car bomb attack in Beirut that kills eight people and injures more than 100 others. Recent deaths: Yash Chopra – George McGovern – more... Syrian civil war – Wikinews – More current events...
On this day...
October 23: Mole Day 502 – Pope Symmachus (pictured), who had been accused of various crimes, had all charges dropped by a synod, ending the schism of Antipope Laurentius. 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces began their ill-fated attempt to recapture Henderson Field from the Americans. 1972 – Vietnam War: Operation Linebacker, a US bombing campaign against North Vietnam in response to its Easter Offensive, ended after five months. 1989 – A massive explosion and fire ripped through the Phillips 66 Houston Chemical Complex, killing 23 employees and injuring 314 others. 2002 – Chechen separatists seized a crowded theater in Moscow, taking approximately 700 patrons and performers hostage. More anniversaries: October 22 – October 23 – October 24 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now October 23, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

A view of the internal components of a 1998 Seagate hard disk drive (HDD). An HDD is a data storage device used for storing and retrieving digital information. It consists of one or more rigid ("hard") rapidly rotating disks coated with magnetic material, with magnetic heads arranged on a moving actuator arm that read from and write to the disk surfaces.

Photo: Eric Gaba

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