Wikipedia:Main Page history/2019 November 26

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From today's featured article

The sole remaining monastic building of Littlemore Priory

The Littlemore Priory scandals of 1517 and 1518 involved accusations of sexual immorality and brutal violence. The Benedictine priory in Oxfordshire, England, was very small and poor and had a history of troubled relations with its bishop. Katherine Wells, the prioress of Littlemore, was accused of putting nuns in the stocks for extended periods and physically assaulting them. She entertained men in her parlour, had a baby by the priory's chaplain and pawned the priory's jewels to pay for the child's upbringing; at least one other nun also had a child. On one occasion several nuns broke out of the priory through a window and escaped into the surrounding villages. The bishop launched an investigation, and in 1525 the priory was closed. It was one of the priories that Cardinal Wolsey suppressed during the 1520s. The house became a farmstead and was gradually pulled down; only one original building survived into the 21st century. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Painting of lotus flowers
and birds by Li Yin

... that Li Yin's paintings (example shown) were so sought after that as many as forty imitators in her area turned out fakes of her work?
... that British submarine HMS Sceptre towed an X-class midget submarine tasked with attacking German battleships off Norway?
... that Carolyn F. Ulrich, who began her career with no formal library training, eventually became the chief of the periodicals division at the New York Public Library?
... that England's 2019 Tree of the Year, the Allerton Oak, was reportedly damaged in an 1864 gunpowder explosion?
... that Aaron Hawkins uses nail polish to guide laser light into optofluidic devices to detect antibiotic resistance?
... that the southern black korhaan, native to South Africa, is becoming rarer due to loss of its natural habitat to agriculture?
... that Reuben Hill is considered the "founding father" of the sociology of the family discipline?
... that after recording material later compiled into the album Breaking It Up!, Louis Prima left Columbia Records in a disagreement over "Come On-a My House"?

In the news

Andrew Harris

Several hundred diamonds and jewelled items are stolen from Dresden Castle, Germany.
In Canadian football, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers defeat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to win the Grey Cup (MVP Andrew Harris pictured).
Klaus Iohannis of the National Liberal Party is re-elected as President of Romania in a runoff election.
In Hong Kong, the pro-democracy camp wins control of 17 of the 18 district councils in local elections.
In association football, the Copa Libertadores concludes with Flamengo defeating River Plate in the final.

On this day

November 26: Feast day of Saint Sylvester Gozzolini (Catholicism); Constitution Day in India (1949)

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

1805 – The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (pictured), the longest aqueduct in Great Britain and the highest canal aqueduct in the world, opened.
1917 – Being unable to resolve disputes with Eddie Livingstone, owner of the Toronto Blueshirts, the other ice hockey clubs of Canada's National Hockey Association officially agreed to break away and form the National Hockey League.
1939 – The Soviet Red Army shelled the village of Mainila and then claimed that the fire originated from Finland, giving them a casus belli to launch the Winter War a few days later.
2011 – NASA launched the Mars Science Laboratory mission from Cape Canaveral, carrying the Curiosity rover onboard.

William Derham (b. 1657) · Tina Turner (b. 1939) · Fatima Massaquoi (d. 1978)

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Today's featured picture

The Indian roller (Coracias benghalensis) is a member of the bird family Coraciidae, the rollers. It occurs widely from the Arabian Peninsula to the Indian subcontinent and is designated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The bird is best known for the aerobatic displays of males during the breeding season. It is commonly found in open grassland and scrub forest habitats, and is often seen perched on roadside bare trees and wires, which give it a good view of the ground below where it finds its prey. Its diet consists mainly of insects such as beetles and grasshoppers, but also includes spiders, scorpions, amphibians and small reptiles. The largest population occurs in India, and several states in India have chosen it as their state bird.

This picture shows an Indian roller of the benghalensis subspecies, photographed in Kanha Tiger Reserve in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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