Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 December 2

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From today's featured article

Sir John Barbirolli, CH (1899–1970) was a British conductor and cellist. He helped save the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester from dissolution in 1943 and was its music director for the rest of his life. He was also Arturo Toscanini's successor as music director of the New York Philharmonic (1936–43), chief conductor of the Houston Symphony (1961–67), and a guest conductor of many other orchestras. Born in London of Italian and French parentage, Barbirolli grew up in a family of professional musicians. After starting out as a cellist, he was given the chance to conduct, from 1926 with the British National Opera Company, and then with Covent Garden's touring company. Although he had less opportunity to work in the opera house after 1943, he conducted productions of works by Verdi, Wagner, Gluck, and Puccini at Covent Garden in the 1950s with such success that he was invited to become its permanent musical director, an invitation he declined. Both in the concert hall and on record, Barbirolli was particularly associated with the music of English composers such as Elgar, Delius and Vaughan Williams. His interpretations of composers such as Mahler, Sibelius, and Schubert are also still admired. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that Harrison B. Tordoff (pictured) said he was passionate about restoring the peregrine falcon because his experience as a fighter pilot "was as close as a human could get to being a peregrine"?
... that the Czech language contains a sound, ř (example: "řeka" (river) (help·info)), that does not occur in any other known language?
... that Smithsonian anthropologist Bruce D. Smith started his study of the origin of agriculture in Eastern North America with a cigar box full of seeds?
... that the song "Do or Die" by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars features the contribution of the band's fans?
... that Baiounitai were one of the Slavic tribes that established a military alliance led by Chatzon and besieged the Byzantine city of Thessaloniki in the mid-610s?
... that Liostenogaster vechti wasps defend their nests from large ants by grasping the ants and then dropping from the edge of the nest to remove them?
... that the comedian anchor of the Emmy-nominated Late Nite News with Loyiso Gola is considered "the reluctant voice of a cynical generation"?

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In the news

In Canadian football, the Calgary Stampeders defeat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to win the Grey Cup.
Australian Test cricketer Phillip Hughes (pictured) dies after being struck in the neck by a ball bowled to him.
A previously unknown William Shakespeare First Folio, dated to 1623, is discovered at a library in Saint-Omer, near Calais, France.
Rioting breaks out in Ferguson, Missouri, and protests occur across the United States, after a grand jury returns no indictment in the case of an unarmed suspect's fatal shooting by a police officer.
Magnus Carlsen defeats Viswanathan Anand to retain the World Chess Championship title.
In motor racing, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton wins the Formula One championship.

Ongoing: Ebola outbreak – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Recent deaths: Chespirito – P. D. James – Pat Quinn

On this day...

December 2: National Day in the United Arab Emirates (1971)

1804 – The coronation of Napoleon (pictured) as Emperor of France was held at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
1848 – Franz Joseph became Emperor of Austria.
1899 – Philippine–American War: A 60-man Filipino rear guard was defeated in the Battle of Tirad Pass, but delayed the American advance long enough to ensure Emilio Aguinaldo's escape.
1956 – Cuban Revolution: The yacht Granma, carrying Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and 80 other members of the 26th of July Movement, reached the shores of Cuba.
2001 – Less than two months after disclosing accounting violations, Texas-based energy firm Enron filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, evaporating nearly $11 billion in shareholder wealth.

More anniversaries: December 1 – December 2 – December 3

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It is now December 2, 2014 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture

A Buller's albatross (Thalassarche bulleri) in flight, with a short-tailed shearwater in the background, as photographed east of the Tasman Peninsula, Tasmania, Australia. This small mollymawk species, named for the ornithologist Walter Buller, breeds on islands around New Zealand. It is classified as near-threatened, though the population is increasing.

Photograph: JJ Harrison

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