Wikipedia:Main Page history/2019 March 22

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Xixiasaurus is a genus of troodontid dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous. The only known specimen (a partial skull, jaw with teeth, and forelimb) was discovered in Xixia County, Henan Province, in central China, and was given a species description in 2010. Xixiasaurus is estimated to have been 1.5 metres (5 ft) long and to have weighed 8 kilograms (18 lb). As a troodontid with some similarities to Byronosaurus, the genus would have been bird-like and lightly built, with grasping hands and an enlarged sickle-shaped claw on the second toe. Its skull was long, with a long, low snout that formed a tapering U-shape when seen from below. The frontal bone of the forehead was dome-like in side view, indicating an enlarged braincase. Troodontids had keen senses and were probably agile. The lack of serrated teeth indicates that Xixiasaurus and some other troodontids were herbivorous, as they had lost the ability to slice meat. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know...

Margit Bokor

... that the soprano Margit Bokor (pictured) created the role of Zdenka in Arabella by Richard Strauss at the Semperoper in Dresden in 1933, and performed the role in the UK premiere at the Royal Opera House?
... that the wildlife of Sweden is likely to be affected by global warming, with the tree line moving to higher altitudes and forests replacing tundra?
... that Yury Karandin was the first Soviet referee to officiate matches involving National Hockey League players?
... that Sharlene San Pedro and Nash Aguas, the lead actors of the 2018 thriller Class of 2018, worked together on a sketch comedy show when they were children?
... that according to historian An Zuozhang, the governing principle of the Western Han dynasty of ancient China was "doing nothing against nature"?
... that the children's poetry book The Great Migration: Journey to the North reflects author Eloise Greenfield's own childhood experiences?
... that Percy Furnivall, Britain's first heart surgeon, was also a champion amateur bicyclist, tricyclist, and tandemist?
... that the University of Mississippi band was asked to stop playing "From Dixie with Love" because fans kept chanting, "The South will rise again"?

In the news

Nursultan Nazarbayev

Nursultan Nazarbayev (pictured) resigns as the first President of Kazakhstan after a 29-year tenure, appointing Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as interim president.
Karen Uhlenbeck becomes the first woman to be awarded the Abel Prize in mathematics.
A gunman kills three people and injures five others in a shooting in Utrecht, Netherlands.
More than 90 people are killed by a flash flood and landslide in Jayapura Regency and Jayapura, Indonesia.

On this day

March 22: World Water Day; Shushan Purim in Jerusalem and Susa (Judaism, 2019)

Amerigo Vespucci

1508 – Ferdinand II of Aragon appointed Amerigo Vespucci (pictured) to the post of Chief Navigator of Spain.
1638 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony expelled Anne Hutchinson from its ranks for dissenting from Puritan orthodoxy.
1913 – Phan Xích Long, the self-proclaimed Emperor of Vietnam, was arrested for organising a revolt against the colonial rule of French Indochina, which was nevertheless carried out by his supporters the following day.
1942 – Second World War: The Royal Navy confronted Italy's Regia Marina at the Second Battle of Sirte in the Mediterranean Sea near the Gulf of Sirte.
2014 – A massive landslide in Oso, Washington, killed 43 people after engulfing a rural neighborhood, the largest death toll for a standalone landslide in U.S. history.

Caroline Norton (b. 1808) · Juan Uribe (b. 1979) · Bebo Valdés (d. 2013)

More anniversaries:

From today's featured list

Ellie Goulding

English singer and songwriter Ellie Goulding has recorded songs for three studio albums and guest features. After signing a contract with record label Polydor Records in July 2009, Goulding began to work on her debut studio album, Lights, which was ultimately released in February 2010. The first single released from the album was "Under the Sheets", which Goulding wrote in collaboration with Starsmith. In November 2010, the singer re-released Lights as Bright Lights, which included the standard version of the album and several new songs. Goulding released her second studio album, Halcyon, in October 2012. In addition to reuniting with writers with whom she had previously worked, the singer collaborated with several new writers and producers. She also appeared as a featured artist on "I Need Your Love" by Calvin Harris from his third studio album 18 Months (2012). (Full list...)

Recently featured:

Today's featured picture

Mochtar Lubis (1922–2004) was an Indonesian Batak journalist and novelist who co-founded Indonesia Raya and monthly literary magazine Horison. His novel Senja di Jakarta (Twilight in Jakarta in English) was the first Indonesian novel to be translated into English. Born on Sumatra, he began writing as a child, with his children's stories published in a local newspaper. After spells as a teacher, a banker, and a translator for the occupying Japanese forces during World War II, he became a journalist after the country's independence in 1945. He was a critic of the first Indonesian president, Sukarno, who imprisoned him without a trial from 1957 to 1966. He was also imprisoned for a few months by President Suharto in 1975. He spoke out frequently in favour of press freedom in the country.

Photograph: Rob Bogaerts; restoration: Chris Woodrich

Recently featured:

Other areas of Wikipedia

Community portal – Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.
Help desk – Ask questions about using Wikipedia.
Local embassy – For Wikipedia-related communication in languages other than English.
Reference desk – Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
Site news – Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
Village pump – For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.