Wikipedia:Main Page history/2019 May 3

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From today's featured article

Scientific Detective Monthly was a pulp magazine published by Hugo Gernsback, first appearing in January 1930. It was intended to focus on detective and mystery stories with a scientific element, but there were also one or two science fiction stories in every issue. The title was changed to Amazing Detective Tales with the June 1930 issue, perhaps to avoid the word "scientific", which may have given readers the impression of "a sort of scientific periodical", in Gernsback's words, rather than a magazine intended to entertain. At the same time, the editor—Hector Grey—was replaced by David Lasser, who was already editing Gernsback's other science fiction magazines. The title change apparently did not make the magazine a success, and Gernsback closed it down in October after releasing 10 issues. He sold the title to publisher Wallace Bamber, who produced at least five more issues in 1931 under the title Amazing Detective Stories. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

The Messenger of Peace

... that the missionary ship Messenger of Peace (pictured) was built in 15 weeks using scrap metal, ropes made of hibiscus, and sails made of matting?
... that before joining AMD and then Intel, Raja Koduri developed hardware that enabled Apple to launch its Retina displays?
... that the burrow of the spoon worm Maxmuelleria lankesteri is sometimes modified by fish and crustaceans that take up occupancy there?
... that Liselotte Hammes, a soprano with the Cologne Opera, appeared as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier at the Glyndebourne Festival alongside Teresa Żylis-Gara in the title role and Montserrat Caballé as the Marschallin?
... that recent research has shown the presence of a deep water cycle all the way down through the Earth's lower mantle?
... that Polish nun and supercentenarian Maria Roszak was named a Righteous Among the Nations for helping shelter Jewish refugees during the Holocaust?
... that to emphasize the pseudo-Japanese style of Doki Doki Literature Club! the characters were given Japanese names, with the exception of Monika, who was given an English name to hint at her individual nature?
... that Wayne Gretzky offered journalist Jay Greenberg a private interview after the latter was unable to ask questions during a press conference following "The Trade"?

In the news

Pedro Sánchez

In a snap general election, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (leader Pedro Sánchez pictured) wins the most seats in both houses of the Cortes Generales.
Flooding and winds from Cyclone Kenneth kill at least 45 people, injure more than 200 others, and cause serious damage in Mozambique and the Comoro Islands.
An earthquake in Luzon, the Philippines, kills at least 18 people.
Volodymyr Zelensky wins the Ukrainian presidential election.

On this day

May 3: World Press Freedom Day; Constitution Day in Japan (1947) and Poland (1791)

Erich Honecker

1791 – The Polish–Lithuanian Constitution of May 3, the oldest codified national constitution in Europe, was adopted by the Great Sejm.
1855 – American adventurer William Walker and a group of mercenaries sailed from San Francisco to conquer Nicaragua.
1939 – Subhas Chandra Bose formed the All India Forward Bloc of the Indian National Congress in opposition to Gandhi's tactics of nonviolence.
1971 – Erich Honecker (pictured) was elected First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, remaining in power until 1989.
1999 – A Doppler on Wheels team measured the fastest winds recorded on Earth (301 ± 20 mph, or 484 ± 32 km/h) in a tornado near Bridge Creek, Oklahoma, U.S.

Élisabeth of France (b. 1764) · Jacob Riis (b. 1849) · John O'Connor (d. 2000)

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From today's featured list

Dadasaheb Phalke

The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The recipient is honoured for their "outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema" and is selected by a committee consisting of eminent personalities from the Indian film industry. The award comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, a shawl and a cash prize. First presented in 1969 to actress Devika Rani, the award was introduced by the Government of India to commemorate the work of Dadasaheb Phalke (pictured). Phalke (1870–1944), who is popularly known as the "father of Indian cinema", was an Indian film-maker who directed India's first full-length feature film, Raja Harishchandra (1913). As of 2017^[update], there have been 49 awardees. Among those, the only posthumous recipients are actors Prithviraj Kapoor (1971) and Vinod Khanna (2017), the latest recipient. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

The Basaltic Prisms of Santa María Regla are tall columns of basalt near Huasca de Ocampo in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, lining a ravine through which water runs from the San Antonio Dam. The walls of the canyon, called the Barranca de Alcholoya, are lined by polygonal columns between 30 and 50 metres (98 and 164 ft) high, with five or six sides each. The basalt columns were created by the slow cooling of volcanic lava. There are two waterfalls at the site. The canyon has been improved by the addition of stairs, walkways and hanging bridges for easier access.

Photograph credit: Diego Delso

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