Wikipedia:Main Page history/2016 September 12

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Subway Sadie is a comedy-drama film that premiered in New York on September 12, 1926. It was adapted from Mildred Cram's 1925 short story "Sadie of the Desert" and directed by Alfred Santell. The silent film focuses on a relationship between New York salesgirl Sadie Hermann (Dorothy Mackaill) and subway guard Herb McCarthy (Jack Mulhall), who meet on a subway and become engaged. After Sadie receives a promotion, she must choose between her new job and marrying Herb. The cast includes Charles Murray, Peggy Shaw, Gaston Glass, and Bernard Randall. The film began production in May 1926 and was distributed by First National Pictures. Arthur Edeson served as cinematographer, shooting scenes in a nightclub and a casino, and at Cleopatra's Needle in Central Park. Many publications wrote positively of the film, praising its acting and Santell's direction. Today, it remains unclear if a print of Subway Sadie has survived. A poster of the film can be seen at the New York Transit Museum. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know...

Common paradise kingfisher

... that the Numfor and Biak paradise kingfishers are island species that have diverged from the common paradise kingfisher (pictured)?
... that Turkish Paralympian Handan Biroğlu earned a spot in archery at the 2016 Rio Paralympics despite only taking up the sport in 2013?
... that actor Kit Harington publicly apologized for "lying to everyone" about the onscreen fate of his Game of Thrones character Jon Snow?
... that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opened its first foreign-speaking mission in French Polynesia?
... that after sacking his deputy as Governor of Barbados, Lord Willoughby wrote "My late Deputy Coll: Codrington hath harrassed them to death wth heedless improssitions"?
... that after Razer announced a partnership with Riot Games, a League of Legends style Razer Naga Hex was released?
... that Sarajevo-born musician Tomo Miličević emigrated to the United States and played in a number of local bands, including Morphic, before joining Thirty Seconds to Mars?
... that Changes, a 1987 advert for the Volkswagen Golf, is said to have "spawned a new era in car advertising"?

In the news

Artist's impression of OSIRIS-REx

Passenger services begin on the 54-kilometre (34 mi) Moscow Central Circle.
North Korea conducts its fifth and largest nuclear test to date.
NASA launches OSIRIS-REx (artist's impression pictured), a probe sent to return samples from the asteroid 101955 Bennu.
Genetic analysis shows that the giraffe genus, previously thought to contain one extant species, actually consists of four.
The Summer Paralympics open in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The IUCN reclassifies the giant panda as a vulnerable species, and the eastern gorilla as critically endangered.

On this day...

September 12: National Day in Cape Verde

Leó Szilárd

1309 – Reconquista: Forces of the Kingdom of Castile captured Gibraltar from the Emirate of Granada, although they would lose control of it 24 years later.
1848 – Switzerland became a federal state with the adoption of a new constitution.
1933 – Hungarian-American physicist Leo Szilard (pictured) conceived of the idea of the nuclear chain reaction while waiting for a traffic light in Bloomsbury, London.
1942 – A U-boat sank RMS Laconia with a torpedo off the coast of West Africa and attempted to rescue the passengers, which included some 80 civilians, 160 Polish and 268 British soldiers and about 1800 Italian POWs.
1980 – The Turkish Armed Forces ousted Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel and would rule the country for three years before democracy was restored.

More anniversaries:

From today's featured list

The Victoria Cross

There have been 26 recipients of the Victoria Cross (VC) who served with the British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas. The VC is a military decoration bestowed upon members of the British or Commonwealth armed forces for acts of valour or gallantry performed in the face of the enemy; it is the highest award a soldier can receive for actions in combat. The Gurkhas are units composed of Nepalese soldiers—although they were originally only commanded by British officers—which has been a part of the Army since 1815. The first award was made in 1858 to a British officer of the Gurkhas, John Tytler, during the campaigns that followed the Indian Rebellion of 1857, while the first award to a native Gurkha, Kulbir Thapa, was in 1915 during the First World War. The most recent award was made in 1965 to Rambahadur Limbu, during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. (Full list...)

Recently featured:

Today's featured picture

The Death of Socrates is a 1787 oil-on-canvas painting by the French painter Jacques-Louis David depicting the story of the execution of Socrates, as told by Plato in his Phaedo. The painting is now held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Painting: Jacques-Louis David

Recently featured:

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.