Wikipedia:Main Page history/2016 July 11

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Satoru Iwata speaking at Game Developers Conference 2011

Satoru Iwata (December 6, 1959 – July 11, 2015) was a Japanese game programmer and businessman who became the fourth president and chief executive officer of Nintendo in 2002. Born in Sapporo, Japan, Iwata expressed interest in video games from an early age and later majored in computer science at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. He joined the game developer HAL Laboratory in 1980 and became its president in 1993. Joining Nintendo as the head of its corporate-planning division in 2000, he brought growth to the company. A self-declared gamer, he focused on expanding the appeal of video games across all demographics and increasing the market space. He also built a strong relationship with Nintendo fans through social media and his regular appearances in Iwata Asks and Nintendo Direct, becoming the public face of the company. Under his direction, Nintendo developed the profitable Nintendo DS and Wii video game consoles, but the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U dropped net sales by two-thirds from 2009 to 2012, leaving the company with its first operating losses in 30 years. Iwata voluntarily halved his salary as an apology in 2011 and 2014. (Full article...)

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Ham and eggs
Ham and eggs

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July 11: Day of the Flemish Community of Belgium; Naadam begins in Mongolia

William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
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Croatian Special Police logo
Croatian Special Police logo

The order of battle of the Croatian Special Police in 1991–95 included up to 30 individual special forces units subordinated to the Ministry of the Interior. The special police (logo pictured) was created around the Ministry of the Interior's existing airborne special forces unit following an open revolt of the Croatian Serbs against the Government of Croatia in August 1990. It further developed with the increasing involvement of the Yugoslav People's Army in the conflict, supporting the Croatian Serbs. The conflict escalated into the Croatian War of Independence in 1991. The special police took part in the first clashes of the war in Pakrac and at the Plitvice Lakes. As Croatia had no army, the 3,000-strong special forces became the country's most effective fighting force. Even though several special police units were transformed into the Croatian National Guard (later renamed the Croatian Army) in 1991, the special police continued to operate throughout the war as special forces units supporting virtually all army operations. (Full list...)

Today's featured picture

Gabrielle et Jean

Gabrielle et Jean, an 1895-1896 painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It depicts the artist's son, Jean Renoir, as an infant, with his nanny Gabrielle Renard. Renard (1878–1959) moved to the Renoir household at the age of sixteen, shortly before Jean's birth, and remained with the family until after all three of the Renoir children were adults. Over the years, Renard developed a bond with Jean which lasted the remainder of her life, and she frequently served as a model for Pierre-Auguste.

Painting: Pierre-Auguste Renoir

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