Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 October 23

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From today's featured article

The Conte di Cavour-class battleships were a group of three dreadnoughts built for the Royal Italian Navy. The ships were completed during World War I, but did not see action. Leonardo da Vinci was sunk by a magazine explosion in 1916 and later sold for scrap. Conte di Cavour (pictured) and Giulio Cesare supported operations during the Corfu Incident in 1923 and were extensively reconstructed between 1933 and 1937 to add more powerful guns, armor and speed. Both ships participated in the Battle of Calabria in July 1940, when Giulio Cesare was lightly damaged. They were both present when British torpedo bombers attacked the fleet at Taranto in November 1940, and Conte di Cavour was torpedoed; repairs were not completed before the Italian surrender in September 1943, and she was scrapped in 1946. Giulio Cesare escorted convoys and participated in the Battle of Cape Spartivento in late 1940 and the First Battle of Sirte in late 1941. She was designated as a training ship in early 1942, and escaped to Malta after Italy surrendered. The ship was transferred to the Soviet Union in 1949 and used for training until she was sunk by a mine in 1955 and scrapped. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that during work on a predecessor to the Royal Air Force's Airborne Interception radar, Mark VIII (pictured), Herbert Skinner would use its klystron as a cigarette lighter?
... that The GNOME Project's Free and Open Source Software Outreach Program for Women started because no women were among the 181 applicants to a student mentorship program in 2006?
... that populations of the Chinese goral are declining, probably due to over-hunting?
... that in putting together episodes of Off the Air, series creator Dave Hughes seeks clips "with some kind of truth or integrity to them"?
... that the Polish inventor and bridge designer Marian Lutosławski was killed in a mass execution by the Bolsheviks several days before his trial was supposed to take place?
... that in order to write the novel Strike Zone, author Peter David spoke with actress Marina Sirtis to gain insight into her character in Star Trek: The Next Generation?
... that Theora mesopotamica was once given the name Abra cadabra, because a scientist believed it "had been dead for a long time, and could be described as a cadaver"?

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In the news

Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege (pictured) is awarded the Sakharov Prize for helping victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Comet Siding Spring makes a very close approach to Mars and is observed by means of surface rovers and satellites.
At least 41 people are killed in Nepal's worst snowstorm disaster around the mountains of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri.
Jean Tirole is awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his analysis of market power and regulation.
Cyclone Hudhud strikes India and Nepal, killing at least 84 people.
Evo Morales is re-elected for a third term as President of Bolivia.

Ongoing: Ebola outbreak – Hong Kong protests – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Recent deaths: Gough Whitlam – Oscar de la Renta

On this day...

October 23: Diwali; Mole Day

1641 – Irish Catholic gentry in Ulster tried to seize control of Dublin Castle, the seat of English rule in Ireland to force concessions to Catholics.
1850 – The first National Women's Rights Convention, presided over by Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis (pictured), was held in Worcester, Massachusetts, US.
1956 – The Hungarian Revolution began as a peaceful student demonstration which attracted thousands as it marched through central Budapest to the Parliament building.
1989 – A massive explosion and fire ripped through the Phillips 66 Houston Chemical Complex, killing 23 employees and injuring 314 others.
2001 – The iPod, the line of portable media players designed and marketed by Apple, was launched.

More anniversaries: October 22 – October 23 – October 24

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It is now October 23, 2014 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture

"Weird Al" Yankovic (b. 1959) is an American musician known for his humorous songs which make light of popular culture and often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts. His parodies often extend to his music videos, which may at times be scene-for-scene reinterpretations of the originals. He has won three Grammy Awards, sold more than 12 million albums between 1976 and 2007, and recorded over 150 songs.

Photograph: Kyle Cassidy

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