Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 February 1

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From today's featured article

On 1 February 1800, a battle took place between the American frigate USS Constellation and the French frigate La Vengeance, ending in the American ship forcing her French opponent to flee. The Quasi-War (an undeclared war) had begun between the two countries in 1798 due to French seizures of American merchantmen. As part of an effort to deter French attacks, an American naval squadron was dispatched to the Lesser Antilles under Commodore Thomas Truxtun (pictured). Learning that regular French naval forces were in the region, Truxton set out in his flagship Constellation and sailed to Guadeloupe to engage them. On 1 February 1800, while nearing the French colony, Constellation met François Marie Pitot's frigate La Vengeance. Although Pitot attempted to flee, his frigate was drawn into a heavy engagement. The French frigate struck her colors (surrendered) twice but Constellation was unable to take her as a prize. Eventually La Vengeance escaped to Curaçao, though only after sustaining severe casualties and damage. Truxton's ship also suffered heavy damage and was forced to sail to Jamaica for repairs before returning home to a hero's welcome. (Full article...)

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In the news

Amidst ongoing anti-government riots, Ukrainian prime minister Mykola Azarov (pictured) resigns.
At the 56th Grammy Awards, four awards are won by Daft Punk, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year.
Tunisia's National Constituent Assembly approves a new constitution following the 2011 Tunisian Revolution.
SN 2014J, located in the nearby galaxy Messier 82, becomes the closest type Ia supernova discovered since 1972.

Recent deaths: Pete Seeger

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On this day...

February 1: Feast day of St. Brigit of Kildare (Western Christianity); Black History Month begins in Canada and the United States; Tsagaan Sar begins in Mongolia (2014); LGBT History Month begins in the United Kingdom

1709 – Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk was rescued by English captain Woodes Rogers and the crew of the Duke after spending four years as a castaway on an uninhabited island in the Juan Fernández archipelago, providing the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe.
1814 – The most destructive eruption of the Mayon Volcano occurred, killing over 2,000 people on the island of Luzon in the Philippines.
1957 – Invented by German mechanical engineer Felix Wankel, the first working prototype of the Wankel rotary engine (pictured) ran for the first time at the research and development department of German manufacturer NSU Motorenwerke AG.
1978 – After having served 42 days in prison for the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl, Polish film director Roman Polanski skipped bail and fled the United States to France.
2004 – During the halftime show of Super Bowl XXXVIII, Janet Jackson's breast was exposed by Justin Timberlake in what was later referred to as a "wardrobe malfunction", resulting in an immediate crackdown and widespread debate on perceived indecency in U.S. broadcasting.

More anniversaries: January 31 – February 1 – February 2

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Today's featured picture

The crew of Space Shuttle mission STS-107 conducted international scientific investigations on the Space Shuttle Columbia. The shuttle disintegrated during atmospheric reentry on 1 February 2003 and the STS-107 crew perished. Tributes to the crew were made throughout the world.

Rear (L-R): David Brown, Laurel Clark, Michael Anderson, Ilan Ramon;
Front (L-R): Rick Husband, Kalpana Chawla, William McCool

Photograph: NASA

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