Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 August 6

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Today's featured article
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved. A Microsoft Windows version of the game, developed by Microsoft Game Studios, was released on May 31, 2007. The player alternately assumes the roles of the human Master Chief and the alien Arbiter in a 26th-century conflict between the human United Nations Space Command and genocidal Covenant. Time constraints forced a series of cutbacks in the size and scope of the game, including the campaign mode's cliffhanger ending, which drew widespread criticism. On release, Halo 2 was the most popular video game on Xbox Live, holding that rank until the release of Gears of War for the Xbox 360 nearly two years later. Halo 2 is the best-selling first-generation Xbox game, with at least 6.3 million copies sold in the United States alone. Critical reception was generally positive, with most publications lauding the strong multiplayer component. (more...) Recently featured: Stamata Revithi – Song Thrush – Melville Island Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that C. Ferris White designed more than 1,100 buildings in the U.S. state of Washington (example pictured) and over 300 more in the company town of Potlatch, Idaho? ... that U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler Ellis Coleman is known for the "Flying Squirrel" takedown move in which he jumps over his opponent and grabs him from behind while flying over his back? ... that in Liechtenstein, although there are exemptions, religious education is mandatory? ... that "Sweet Life", the third single in Frank Ocean's debut album Channel Orange, was released a few days after he came out as a bisexual? ... that in addition to being a competitive discus thrower, 2012 British Olympian Abdul Buhari works two days a week for investment bank Credit Suisse? ... that Ettore Petrolini is considered one of the most important figures of avanspettacolo, vaudeville, and revue? ... that the Gibraltar North Mole Lighthouse shares its name with the breakwater on which it stands in Gibraltar Harbour? ... that Heather Stanning's gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics was predicted in her school yearbook? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
NASA's Curiosity rover (artist's rendering pictured) lands on the surface of Mars. In rugby union, the Chiefs defeat the Sharks to win their first Super Rugby title. The World Health Organization states that an outbreak of Ebola virus in the Kibaale District of Uganda has been controlled. American author and playwright Gore Vidal dies at the age of 86. American swimmer Michael Phelps breaks the record set in 1964 by Larisa Latynina for the greatest number of medals won at the Olympics. Irish novelist Maeve Binchy dies at the age of 72. Olympics summary – Wikinews – Recent deaths More current events...
On this day...
August 6: Feast of the Transfiguration (Gregorian calendar); Independence Day in Bolivia (1825) and Jamaica (1962); Civic Holiday in most areas of Canada (2012) 1506 – Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania achieved one of the greatest Lithuanian victories against the Tatars in the Battle of Kletsk. 1930 – New York City judge Joseph Force Crater mysteriously disappeared, eventually earning him the title of "The Missingest Man in New York". 1956 – DuMont, one of the world's first television networks, aired its last program. 1962 – Jamaica gained full independence from the United Kingdom, more than 300 years after the English captured it from Spanish colonists in 1655. 1991 – British computer programmer Tim Berners-Lee (pictured) first posted files describing his ideas for a system of interlinked, hypertext documents accessible via the Internet, to be called a "World Wide Web". 2008 – Mauritanian President Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was ousted from power by a group of high-ranking generals that he had dismissed from office several hours earlier. More anniversaries: August 5 – August 6 – August 7 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now August 6, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured list

Olympic records in athletics have been recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) every four years at the modern Summer Olympic Games since the first Games in 1896. The athletics events, which take place at each Games, are divided into four groups: track events, field events, road events (such as walks and the marathon) and combined events (the heptathlon and the decathlon). Olympic records for each event have existed since the first Games, although some were later rescinded by the IOC. In 1988, Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson broke the Olympic and world record in the 100 metres, but he was subsequently disqualified after it was discovered that he had used anabolic steroids to enhance his performance. His record was expunged and the gold medal was instead awarded to American Carl Lewis. Usain Bolt (pictured) holds the current Olympic record in the 100 metres, set at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The longest-standing modern Olympic athletics record is Bob Beamon's achievement in the men's long jump at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, which also stood as the world record for 23 years until Beamon's compatriot, Mike Powell, jumped farther at the 1991 World Championships in Athletics in Tokyo. (more...)

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Today's featured picture

A panoramic view of Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic, as viewed from the Petřín Lookout Tower. The view is approximately 180 degrees, from north on the left to south on the right. The area on which Prague was founded was settled as early as the Paleolithic age. By the year 800 there was a simple fort with wooden buildings, occupying about two-thirds of the area that is now Prague Castle. Prague was an important seat for trading where merchants from all of Europe settled, and it especially flourished during the reign of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor.

Photo: David Iliff

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