Wikipedia:Main Page history/2019 April 3

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From today's featured article

The killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) is a large plover found in the Americas. It was described and given its current scientific name in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his Systema Naturae. Subspecies breed from southeastern Alaska and southern Canada to Mexico, in the West Indies, and in and around Peru. The non-breeding habitat includes coastal wetlands, beach habitats, and coastal fields. Although it is a shorebird, it does not necessarily nest close to water. Both parents incubate their eggs for 22 to 28 days on average. The killdeer primarily feeds on insects, although other invertebrates and seeds are eaten. It forages almost exclusively in fields, especially those with short vegetation and with cattle and standing water. It has a range of responses to predation by birds and mammals, including charging at intruders, which can be fatal for the killdeer. The species is declining but not yet threatened. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Memorial to Dortan victims

... that the Wehrmacht killed at least 35 French civilians in the village of Dortan (memorial pictured), and then burned the entire village to the ground?
... that Tang Aoqing is known as the "Father of Quantum Chemistry" in China?
... that telegraphy in the United Kingdom included a system that strung wires from rooftop to rooftop of domestic premises?
... that conservationist Tom Cade was so successful in his efforts to save the peregrine falcon that it was removed from the US Endangered Species List in 1999?
... that Maurice Ravel wrote texts and music for Trois Chansons, his only composition for choir a cappella, in response to the outbreak of World War I?
... that Eleanor Barrow Chase was instrumental in getting Eastern Washington University admitted to the Big Sky Conference in 1987?
... that the Moscow State Jewish Theatre's internationally acclaimed production of King Lear in 1935 contained veiled critiques of Stalin's regime?
... that Austrian ice hockey administrator Hans Dobida was inducted into the German and Slovenian hockey halls of fame?

In the news

Zuzana Čaputová

Zuzana Čaputová (pictured) is elected president of Slovakia, becoming the country's first female president and its youngest.
A Special Counsel investigation, headed by Robert Mueller, concludes and reports its findings to the United States Attorney General.
At least 160 people are killed in attacks against Fulani herdsmen in central Mali.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant loses its last territory in Syria following a defeat by the Syrian Democratic Forces and the U.S.-led coalition.

On this day

April 3

Osborne 1 portable computer

1559 – Henry II of France and Philip II of Spain signed a treaty to end the Italian War of 1551–1559.
1895 – The libel trial instigated by Irish author Oscar Wilde began, eventually resulting in his arrest, trial and imprisonment on charges of gross indecency.
1946 – Imperial Japanese Army officer Masaharu Homma was executed for war crimes relating to the Bataan Death March.
1981 – The Osborne 1 (pictured), the first successful portable computer, was unveiled at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco.
2009 – A gunman opened fire at an American Civic Association immigration center in Binghamton, New York, U.S., killing thirteen and wounding four before committing suicide.

Al-Adil ibn al-Sallar (d. 1154) · Gus Grissom (b. 1926) · Mary Cartwright (d. 1998)

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Today's featured picture

An oil platform in Mittelplate, the largest oil field in Germany. The field is located in the North Sea, around 7 km (4.3 mi) from the shore, in the tidal flats of the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park. It was discovered in 1980 and 1981 when test borings in the Mittelplate vicinity found oil in several sandstone layers. Due to the location of the field in an ecologically sensitive area it was subjected to hydrographic, hydrodynamic and meteorological studies to model storm, wave, and ice-flow conditions. The results led to the construction of an artificial island in 1985, which holds a drilling and production facility. By the 20th anniversary of the start of production, 20 million tonnes of crude had been produced from the field.

Photograph: Ralf Roletschek

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