Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 September 15

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Today's featured article
Ray Farquharson (1897–1965) was a Canadian doctor, university professor, and medical researcher. Born in Claude, Ontario, he attended and taught at the University of Toronto for most of his life, and was trained and employed at Toronto General Hospital. With co-researcher Arthur Squires, Farquharson was responsible for the discovery of the "Farquharson phenomenon", an important principle of endocrinology. He served in the First and Second World Wars, earning appointment as a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his medical work during the latter. He chaired the Penicillin Committee of Canada and served as a medical consultant for the Royal Canadian Air Force. He was awarded the Queen's Coronation Medal in 1953 as a result of his work for the Defence Review Board. As a member of the National Research Council of Canada, his "Farquharson Report" led to the establishment of the Medical Research Council of Canada, of which he was the first president. Farquharson was posthumously inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 1998. (more...) Recently featured: William McKinley – Oldham – William S. Sadler Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that Annie Lowrie Alexander (pictured) was the first licensed female physician in the Southern United States? ... that the extinct earwig Tytthodiplatys is the oldest confirmed member of its family? ... that the Meadowbrook State Parkway was dedicated in 1998 in memory of Norman J. Levy, the New York State Senator who sponsored the first U.S. law requiring seat belts while driving? ... that the Braldu River is a river in Skardu District of Gilgit–Baltistan, that originates from the Baltoro and Biafo Glaciers? ... that 2012 British Paralympic medallist Stephanie Millward set the British record for the 100 metre backstroke at the age of 15, before she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis? ... that St Matthew's Church in Burnley, Lancashire, England, was rebuilt after it burnt down on Christmas Day in 1927? ... that Yusak Pakage was sentenced to ten years in prison after raising a flag? ... that the final Clark's Point Light was specially constructed to resist cannon fire? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
U.S. diplomatic missions are attacked in the Arab world, causing the deaths of 18 people, including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens (pictured). British Prime Minister David Cameron apologises after an independent panel on the 1989 Hillsborough disaster finds that negligent police and emergency services manipulated evidence to blame the victims. The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy gains a plurality in the Dutch general election. More than 300 people are killed in two garment factory fires in Pakistan. Syrian civil war – Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
September 15: Independence Day in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua (1821); Battle of Britain Day in the United Kingdom 1440 – French knight Gilles de Rais, one of the earliest known serial killers, was taken into custody upon an accusation brought against him by the Bishop of Nantes. 1816 – HMS Whiting became wrecked on the Doom Bar, a treacherous shoal off the coast of Cornwall, England, that has caused over 600 known shipwrecks. 1830 – The Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened (pictured) as the first locomotive-hauled railway to connect two major cities. 1862 – American Civil War: Confederate forces captured the Union garrison at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, taking more than 12,000 prisoners. 1935 – Nazi Germany enacted the Nuremberg Laws, which deprived German Jews of citizenship, and adopted a new national flag emblazoned with a swastika. 1950 – Korean and American troops landed at Incheon, in an amphibious assault, starting the Battle of Incheon, a decisive United Nations military forces victory during the Korean War. More anniversaries: September 14 – September 15 – September 16 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now September 15, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

Shown here is a three-dimensional rendering of a high-end espresso tamper with an integral bubble level, created using Cobalt, a computer-aided design computer program published by Ashlar-Vellum. The program can be used in either direct-modeling mode to create and edit objects, or the highly structured, history-driven parametric way. Cobalt's interface was designed in 1988 by Martin Newell (who created the Utah teapot in 1975 and went on to work at Xerox PARC, where the WIMP paradigm for graphical user interfaces was invented) and Dan Fitzpatrick.

Image: Greg L

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