Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 April 20

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From today's featured article

Userkaf was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Fifth Dynasty. Before ascending the throne, he may have been a high priest of Ra. He reigned for seven to eight years in the early 25th century BC, during the Old Kingdom period. He built a sun temple, known as the Nekhenre, that mainly functioned as a mortuary temple associated with the setting sun. Rites performed in the temple were primarily concerned with Ra's creator function and his role as father of the king. Userkaf built a pyramid in Saqqara, close to that of Djoser, with a mortuary temple that was much smaller than those built during the Fourth Dynasty. Its mortuary complex was lavishly decorated with fine painted reliefs. Little is known of Userkaf's activities beyond the construction of his pyramid and sun temple. There may have been a military expedition to Canaan or the Eastern Desert, and there probably were trade contacts with the Aegean civilizations. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Collapsed section of the Kobe Route

... that 18 spans of the Kobe Route collapsed in 1995 (pictured) due to the unprecedented strength of the Great Hanshin earthquake and various structural flaws?
... that John Tiedtke, heir to a grocery- and department-store fortune, sponsored a Bach festival and served as its president?
... that in the 0x88 chess-board representation, 8-by-16 boards are used?
... that nephrologist and cellist Leah Lowenstein, an advocate for women in medicine, was the first female dean of a co-educational medical school in the United States?
... that Bahra 1 in Kuwait is the oldest permanent settlement south of Mesopotamia?
... that a vote of no confidence was successfully brought against the Kurti cabinet following a cabinet minister's dismissal over disagreements on how to manage the coronavirus pandemic in Kosovo?
... that the Littlefield Fountain is a war memorial at the University of Texas at Austin commemorating students and alumni who died in World War I?
... that Venezuelan film editor and director Alfredo Hueck became interested in film after learning how to set up his family's Betamax player?

In the news

Coronavirus pandemic

Lee Hae-chan

A mass shooting in Nova Scotia, Canada, leaves at least seventeen people dead.
In the South Korean legislative election, the ruling Democratic Party (leader Lee Hae-chan pictured) and their allies increase their majority in the National Assembly.
Thirty-eight people are killed in a tornado outbreak in the Southeastern United States.

On this day

April 20: First day of Ridván (Baháʼí Faith, 2020); Patriots' Day in various U.S. states (2020); 420 (cannabis culture)

Billie Holiday

1535 – Sun dogs were observed over Stockholm, Sweden, inspiring the painting Vädersolstavlan, the oldest colour depiction of the city.
1809 – War of the Fifth Coalition: Commanded by Napoleon, Franco-German forces defeated a reinforced Austrian corps at the Battle of Abensberg.
1939 – Billie Holiday (pictured) recorded the song "Strange Fruit", which later became an emblem of the civil rights movement.
1968 – Pierre Trudeau was sworn in as prime minister of Canada, succeeding Lester B. Pearson.
2010 – An explosion on Deepwater Horizon, an offshore rig in the Gulf of Mexico, resulted in the largest marine oil spill in history.

Peter Bartholomew (d. 1099)
Dave Bancroft (b. 1891)
Frances Ames (b. 1920)

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Derek Jeter

The Commissioner's Historic Achievement Award is awarded by the Commissioner of Baseball, the chief executive of Major League Baseball (MLB), to a group or person who has made a "major impact on the sport". It is not an annual award; rather, the Commissioner presents it at his discretion. The trophy is a gold baseball sitting atop a cylindrical silver base, created by Tiffany & Co. The award has been presented fourteen times: eleven times to players, once to a team, and twice to a non-player. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were the first to receive the award, for their parts in the 1998 MLB home run record chase. The most recent recipient is Derek Jeter (pictured), who was honored in 2014, the final year of his career, for being "one of the most accomplished shortstops of all-time". The 2001 Seattle Mariners won the award as a team for posting a 116–46 record one season after losing Alex Rodriguez to the Texas Rangers. Roberto Clemente, the 2006 awardee, is the only player to receive the award posthumously. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Duke Humfrey's Library is the oldest reading room in the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford. It is named after Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, a connoisseur of literature, who donated his collection of 281 books to the university at his death in 1447. Books were hand-written at the time and his legacy was considered an extraordinarily generous donation, since the university previously had only 20 books. Only three books from the original donation remain, the rest having been removed in 1550 and probably burnt during the Reformation. The library was restored and restocked by Thomas Bodley from 1598 onwards. The books in the oldest part of the library are accommodated in oak bookcases that are at right angles to the walls on either side, with integrated reading desks. The ceiling consists of panels painted with the coat of arms of the University of Oxford.

This picture shows the interior of Duke Humfrey's Library, looking east along the medieval section towards the arts end.

Photograph credit: David Iliff

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