Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 September 6

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Today's featured article
Avery Brundage (1887–1975) was the fifth president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), serving from 1952 to 1972. Brundage attended the University of Illinois to study engineering and became a track star. In 1912, he competed in the Summer Olympics, contesting the pentathlon and decathlon; both events were won by Jim Thorpe. Following his retirement from athletics, Brundage became a sports administrator, rising rapidly through the ranks in United States sports groups. As leader of America's Olympic organizations, he fought zealously against a boycott of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Nazi Germany. Although Brundage was successful in getting a team to the Games, its participation was controversial, and has remained so. Brundage was elected to the IOC that year, and quickly became a major figure in the Olympic movement. Elected IOC president in 1952, Brundage fought strongly for amateurism and against commercialization of the Olympic Games. His final Olympics as president, at Munich in 1972, was marked by controversy: at the memorial service following the murder of 11 Israeli athletes by terrorists, Brundage decried the politicization of sports, and refused to cancel the remainder of the Olympics, declaring "the Games must go on". (more...) Recently featured: Sebastian Shaw – 1740 Batavia massacre – Authentic Science Fiction Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the Mexican burrowing caecilian (pictured) is viviparous, with the young feeding on glandular secretions in the oviduct? ... that Lindsey Berg was twice named the USA Volleyball Indoor Female Athlete of the Year? ... that the Hanajira tribe inhabited the area between Gaza and Beersheba before being expelled to the Gaza Strip during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War? ... that in 1915, British ship-owner Joseph Hoult offered a reward of £500 each to the next four British merchant ships that sank German U-boats? ... that Georgian daba Manglisi has been a mountain resort area for the people of Tbilisi since the 19th century? ... that 2012 Australian Paralympian Rachael Dodds, who has cerebral palsy, was introduced to athletics by her physiotherapist? ... that during the Albanian Revolt of 1432–36, forces under Gjergj Arianiti defeated 10,000 Ottoman troops under Ali Bey near the valley of Shkumbin? ... that Mike Kenny is the most successful British Paralympian, having twice retained his gold medals in three swimming events? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
The ENCODE project announces the creation of an "encyclopedia" of the human genome, publishing a coordinated series of 30 papers in Nature, Genome Biology, and Genome Research. A Bahraini court upholds sentences up to life in prison for 13 opposition leaders. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church, dies at the age of 92. In Mali, Islamist militants seize control of Douentza, ousting the local secular militia. The pardoning of convicted murderer Ramil Safarov, upon his repatriation from Hungary to Azerbaijan, leads Armenia to sever ties with Hungary. A national emergency is declared in Sierra Leone after a cholera outbreak causes the deaths of more than 300 people. At least 36 people are presumed dead after Hurricane Isaac (satellite image pictured) strikes the Gulf Coast of the United States, Lesser Antilles, Greater Antilles and the Bahamas. Syrian civil war – Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
September 6 1781 – American Revolutionary War: General Benedict Arnold led British forces to victory in the Battle of Groton Heights. 1930 – Argentine President Hipólito Yrigoyen (pictured) was deposed in a military coup by José Félix Uriburu. 1946 – United States Secretary of State James F. Byrnes announced that with regard to postwar Germany, the U.S. would from thereafter follow a policy of economic reconstruction. 1952 – A prototype aircraft crashed at the Farnborough Airshow in Hampshire, England, killing 29 spectators and the two on board. 1966 – South African Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, the "architect of apartheid", was stabbed to death by Dimitri Tsafendas. 2000 – The Millennium Summit, a meeting of world leaders to discuss the role of the United Nations at the turn of the 21st century, opened in New York City. More anniversaries: September 5 – September 6 – September 7 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now September 6, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

A dhow, a traditional sailing vessel that originated in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea areas, sailing past the East African island of Zanzibar. Dhows are characterised by one or more masts with lateen sails and typically have long, thin hulls. Even to the present day, dhows make commercial journeys between the Persian Gulf and East Africa.

Photo: Muhammad Mahdi Karim

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