Wikipedia:Main Page history/2015 July 21

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

The Basement Tapes (1975) is an album recorded by Bob Dylan and the Band (pictured), the sixteenth studio album for Dylan. After the Band (then known as the Hawks) backed Dylan during his world tour of 1965–66, four of them moved to be near Dylan in Woodstock, New York, to collaborate with him on music and film projects. They recorded more than 100 tracks together in 1967, including original compositions, contemporary covers and traditional material. The world tour had controversially mixed folk and rock; Dylan's new style moved away from rock, and from the urban sensibilities and extended narratives of his most recent albums, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. The new songs covered a range of genres, with lyrics expressing humor, alienation, betrayal, and a quest for salvation. Many of the songs circulated widely in unofficial form before the album's release, and for some critics, they mounted a major stylistic challenge to rock music in the late sixties. When released in 1975, the album included sixteen songs taped by Dylan and the Band in 1967 and eight songs recorded solely by the Band since then. Critically acclaimed upon release, The Basement Tapes reached number seven on the Billboard 200 album chart. (Full article...)

Recently featured:
- Telopea oreades
- The Coral Island
- Red Skelton

Did you know...

... that the crayfish Cherax pulcher (pictured) was popular in aquariums worldwide before even being recognized as a new species?
... that in the 1955 election, Philadelphians chose a veteran of World War I for mayor and a veteran of both World Wars for district attorney?
... that Nrisimha Tapaniya Upanishad is one of the first sectarian theologies of Hinduism which focuses on Nrisimha's three forms of Om, Atman, and Brahman?
... that mezzo-soprano Ruth Sandhoff performed a soprano part in the Magnificat by Johann Sebastian Bach and an alto part in his son's Magnificat?
... that Neepaulakating Creek, New Jersey, was apparently unnamed until 2004?
... that Alex Tillman of the BC Lions returned both an interception and a punt over 90 yards for touchdowns in the same season?
... that an upcoming untitled film is the directorial debut by brothers Mark & Robb Cullen?
... that family quarrels led to a riot at Covent Garden in 1802?

In the news

An explosion in the Turkish district of Suruç, Şanlıurfa, kills at least 31 people and injures more than 100 others.
The United States and Cuba restore full diplomatic relations after 54 years.
Formula One driver Jules Bianchi (pictured in 2012) dies at the age of 25, nine months after an accident at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix left him in a coma.
At least 120 people are killed and 130 injured by a suicide bombing in Diyala Province, Iraq.
An agreement is announced between the P5+1 countries and Iran regarding its nuclear program.
Scientists at CERN's Large Hadron Collider announce the observation of pentaquarks.

Ongoing events:
- Greek debt crisis
Recent deaths:
- Yoichiro Nambu

On this day...

July 21: Belgian National Day (1831)

356 BC – The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was destroyed in an act of arson by a man named Herostratus.
1831 – In Brussels, Leopold I (pictured) was inaugurated as the first King of the Belgians.
1865 – In one of the few recorded instances of a "quick draw" gun duel in the American Old West, Wild Bill Hickok shot and killed Davis Tutt over a poker debt.
1925 – American high school biology teacher John T. Scopes was found guilty of violating Tennessee's Butler Act by teaching evolution in class.
1995 – The Chinese People's Liberation Army began firing missiles into the waters north of Taiwan, starting the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis.

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

The Kavrayskiy VII projection is a map projection invented by Vladimir V. Kavrayskiy in 1939 as a general purpose pseudocylindrical projection. It produces maps with low overall distortion, despite its straight, evenly-spaced parallels and a simple formulation.

Map: Strebe, using Geocart

Recently featured:

Archive
More featured pictures...

Other areas of Wikipedia

Community portal – Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.
Help desk – Ask questions about using Wikipedia.
Local embassy – For Wikipedia-related communication in languages other than English.
Reference desk – Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
Site news – Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
Village pump – For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.