Wikipedia:Main Page history/2013 June 23

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From today's featured article

Laura Secord (1775–1868) was a Canadian heroine of the War of 1812, who undertook a 20-mile (32 km) walk out of American-occupied territory to warn British forces of an impending American attack. Secord's husband James was wounded at the Battle of Queenston Heights in 1812, and was still recovering when the Americans invaded the Niagara Peninsula in 1813. During the occupation, Secord learned of a planned American attack, and stole away on the morning of 23 June to inform Lieutenant James FitzGibbon in the territory still controlled by the British. The information helped the British and their Mohawk warrior allies repel the invading Americans at the Battle of Beaver Dams. Her contribution to the war was little known during her lifetime, but since her death she has been frequently honoured by Canada. Honours bestowed on her include schools and a chocolate company named after her, as well as monuments, a museum, a memorial stamp, and a statue at the Valiants Memorial in the Canadian capital. Her story has taken on mythological overtones in her home country, with many embellished versions of the tale, and she is the subject of books, poetry, and plays. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's newest content:

... that the recording of "Faith of the Heart" by tenor Russell Watson (pictured) was played four times on Space Shuttle missions?

... that Gavin Arthur, grandson of United States President Chester A. Arthur, worked as an astrologer and sexologist in San Francisco in the 1960s?

... that Roy Lichtenstein's Masterpiece is regarded as an ironic jest that accurately forecast Lichtenstein's career?

... that the Keith Car & Manufacturing Company built coffins for bodies exhumed during the building of the Cape Cod Canal, which was also responsible for the demolition of the plant when it was widened?

... that Johann Hugo von Wilderer's Missa in G minor was copied out and performed by Bach?

... that Jack Torrance held the world record in shot put for almost fourteen years?

... that garlic ice cream, according to garlic restaurant The Stinking Rose's recipe, is basically vanilla ice cream with garlic?

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In the news

A flooded portion of central Calgary

Flooding in Alberta, Canada, results in at least three deaths and the evacuation of thousands (central Calgary pictured).

Flash floods and landslides in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh in India kill more than 550 people and trap thousands.

In basketball, the Miami Heat defeat the San Antonio Spurs to win the NBA Finals.

Smoke from slash-and-burn cultivation in Indonesia causes the worst haze ever recorded in Singapore.

Protests, initially against rising public transportation fares, intensify across Brazil, with demonstrations in dozens of cities.

China's Tianhe-2 heads the TOP500 list of the world's fastest supercomputers.

Recent deaths: James Gandolfini – Slim Whitman

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On this day...

June 23: Pentecost (Eastern Christianity, 2013); Victory Day in Estonia; Jāņi in Latvia; Grand Duke's Official Birthday in Luxembourg

1280 – Reconquista: Troops of the Emirate of Granada defeated those of the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of León in the Battle of Moclín.

1780 – American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army victory in the Battle of Springfield effectively put an end to British ambitions in New Jersey.

1926 – The College Board administered the first SAT, a major standardized test for university and college admissions in the United States.

1956 – Gamal Abdel Nasser (pictured) became President of Egypt, a post he would hold until his death in 1970.

1991 – The video game Sonic the Hedgehog was first released, propelling the Sega Genesis 16-bit console into mass popularity.

More anniversaries: June 22 – June 23 – June 24

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Today's featured picture

The Second of May 1808, also known as The Charge of the Mamelukes, is a painting by Francisco de Goya. It was completed in 1814, two months before its companion work The Third of May 1808. The painting depicts a scene during the Dos de Mayo Uprising, at the Calle de Alcalá near Puerta del Sol, that sparked the Peninsular War.

Painting: Francisco de Goya

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