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From today's featured article

Maya Angelou

The Heart of a Woman (1981) is the fourth of seven autobiographies by American writer Maya Angelou (pictured). She recounts events in her life between 1957 and 1962, as she travels to California, New York, Cairo and Ghana, and raises her teenage son. She becomes a published author active in the US civil rights movement, and is romantically involved with a South African freedom fighter. The book explores Angelou's theme of motherhood, and ends as she looks forward to newfound independence and freedom when her son leaves for college. Although most critics consider Angelou's first autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings more favorably, The Heart of a Woman has received positive reviews and was chosen as an Oprah's Book Club selection in 1997. The title is taken from a poem by Harlem Renaissance poet Georgia Douglas Johnson. "Faithful to the ongoing themes of survival, sense of self, and continuing education," according to critic Lyman B. Hagen, "The Heart of a Woman moves its central figures to a point of full personhood". (Full article...)

Part of the Maya Angelou autobiographies series, one of Wikipedia's featured topics.

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Did you know...

Gutenberg Bible in the Diocesan Museum

... that the Gutenberg Bible held by the Diocesan Museum in Pelplin (pictured) survived World War II in Canada, kept in a vault at the Bank of Montreal until 1959?
... that the severed head of Andrew Báthory, Prince of Transylvania, was sewn back on?
... that Cascade Valley Hospital was the last independent hospital in Snohomish County, Washington, until it was acquired in 2016?
... that cricketer Georgia Redmayne's 87-year-old grandfather vaulted the boundary fence and embraced her after she had become the first player to hit a WNCL century for Tasmanian Roar?
... that the theme song for the television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is actually called "Yo Home to Bel-Air"?
... that New York Mets fans once booed the Home Run Apple for over two minutes because it was not raised for a Mets home run?
... that mezzo-soprano Claudia Mahnke appeared as Dido in Les Troyens by Berlioz, and according to a reviewer, in the final 25 minutes convincingly ranged from hurt vulnerability to furious despair?
... that termites developed agriculture some 31 million years ago?

In the news

Saint Petersburg Metro station

A bombing in the Saint Petersburg Metro (pictured) kills at least 14 people and injures more than 45 others.
The Boat Races are held in London, with Oxford winning the men's race and Cambridge winning the women's race.
The Venezuelan Supreme Tribunal of Justice reverses its decision to strip the National Assembly of legislative power.
Landslides and flooding in Mocoa, Colombia, kill more than 250 people, including 43 children.
Protesters set fire to the Congress of Paraguay after the Senate passes legislation to end presidential term limits.
The United Kingdom invokes Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, beginning the formal process of Brexit.

On this day...

April 4

World Trade Center

1841 – William Henry Harrison became the first U.S. President to die in office, sparking a brief constitutional crisis regarding questions of presidential succession that were left unanswered by the U.S. Constitution.
1949 – Twelve nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty, creating NATO, an organization that constitutes a system of collective defense whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party.
1973 – The World Trade Center (pictured) in New York City was officially dedicated, about a year after the second of the building complex's twin towers was completed.
1976 – Norodom Sihanouk abdicated from the role of leader of Cambodia and was arrested by the Khmer Rouge.
2002 – The Angolan government and UNITA rebels signed a peace treaty, agreeing to follow the 1994 Lusaka Protocol and ending the decades-long Angolan Civil War.

Liu Yin (d. 911) · Robert III of Scotland (d. 1406) · Jonathan Agnew (b. 1960)

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Today's featured picture

The Larabanga Mosque was built in the Sudanese architectural style in the village of Larabanga, Ghana. It is the oldest mosque in the country and one of the oldest in West Africa, and has been called the "Mecca of West Africa". It has undergone restoration several times since it was founded. The World Monuments Fund has contributed substantially to its restoration, and lists it as one of the 100 most endangered sites.

Photograph: Sathyan Velumani

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