Wikipedia:Today's featured article/September 2010
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September 1
Fountain of Time is a sculpture by Lorado Taft, measuring 126 feet 10 inches (38.66 m) in length, at the western edge of the Midway Plaisance within Washington Park in Chicago's South Side. Inspired by Henry Austin Dobson's "Paradox of Time" and with its 100 figures passing before Father Time, Time is a monument to the first 100 years of peace between the United States and Great Britain, resulting from the Treaty of Ghent in 1814. The fountain began running in 1920 and was dedicated in 1922. It contributes to the National Register of Historic Places Washington Park Historic District. Part of a larger beautification plan for the Midway Plaisance, Time was constructed from a new type of molded, steel-reinforced concrete that was claimed to be more durable and cheaper than alternatives, making it the first of any kind of finished works of art made of concrete. Before Millennium Park, it was considered the most important installation in the Chicago Park District. Time is one of several Chicago works funded by Benjamin Ferguson's trust fund. During the late 1990s and early 21st century it underwent repairs that corrected many of the problems caused by earlier restorations. (more...)
Recently featured: Oberon – Bog turtle – Last of the Summer Wine
September 2
The 2005 Texas Longhorns football team represented The University of Texas at Austin during the college football season of 2005–2006, winning the Big 12 Conference Championship and the national championship. The team was coached by Mack Brown, led on offense by quarterback Vince Young, and played its home games at Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium. The team's penultimate game, the 2005 Big 12 Championship Game, was won by the largest margin of victory in Big 12 Championship Game history. Texas finished the season by winning the 2006 Rose Bowl against the University of Southern California Trojans for the national championship. Numerous publications have cited this victory and this team's season as standing among the greatest performances in college football history. The Longhorns finished as the only unbeaten team in NCAA Division I-A football that year, with thirteen wins and zero losses. (more...)
Recently featured: Fountain of Time – Oberon – Bog turtle
September 3
The Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men were five volumes of Dionysius Lardner’s 133-volume Cabinet Cyclopaedia (1829–46). Aimed at the self-educating middle class, this encyclopedia was written during the 19th-century literary revolution in Britain that encouraged more people to read. The Lives formed part of the Cabinet of Biography in the Cabinet Cyclopaedia. The three-volume Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of Italy, Spain and Portugal (1835–37) and the two-volume Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of France (1838–39) consist of biographies of important writers and thinkers of the 14th to 18th centuries. Most of them were authored by the Romantic writer Mary Shelley. Shelley's biographies reveal her as a professional woman of letters, contracted to produce several volumes of works and paid well to do so. Her extensive knowledge of history and languages, her ability to tell a gripping biographical narrative, and her interest in the burgeoning field of feminist historiography are reflected in these works. At times Shelley had trouble finding sufficient research materials and had to make do with fewer resources than she would have liked, particularly for the Spanish and Portuguese Lives. She wrote in a style that combined secondary sources, memoir, anecdote, and her own opinions. (more...)
Recently featured: 2005 Texas Longhorns football team – Fountain of Time – Oberon
September 4
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart toured Italy with his father Leopold three times between 1769 and 1773. The first, financed by performances for the nobility and by public concerts, was an extended tour of 15 months to a number of major Italian cities. The second and third journeys were to Milan, for Wolfgang to complete operas that had been commissioned there on the first visit. From the perspective of Wolfgang's musical development the journeys were a considerable success, and his talents were recognised by honours which included a papal knighthood and memberships in leading philharmonic societies. Each of Wolfgang's operas written for Milan's Teatro Regio Ducal was a critical and popular triumph. In the course of the three visits he met many leading musicians in Italy, including the renowned theorist Giovanni Battista Martini, under whom he studied in Bologna. Leopold also hoped that Wolfgang, and possibly he himself, would obtain a prestigious appointment at one of the Italian Habsburg courts. This objective became more important as Leopold's advancement in Salzburg became less likely; but his persistent efforts to secure employment displeased the imperial court, which precluded any chance of success. The journeys thus ended not with a triumphant return, but on a note of disappointment and frustration. (more...)
Recently featured: Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men – 2005 Texas Longhorns football team – Fountain of Time
September 5
Stephens City, Virginia, is the second-oldest municipality in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, United States. It is located in southern Frederick County, with an estimated population of 1,503 in 2009. The town was founded in the early 1730s by German immigrant Peter Stephens and was chartered by Peter's son, Lewis, on September 21, 1758. A settlement, that became known as Crossroads, was established by free blacks about a mile east of Stephens City in the late 1850s and lasted until the American Civil War began, when some fled but others were forced to fight for the South. In June 1864, Union Major Joseph K. Stearns of the 1st New York Cavalry arrived under orders to burn it down, but spared it after seeing the remaining population consisted mostly of women, children and the elderly. Over the course of its existence, it has been renamed five times, almost winding up as "Pantops". The construction of Interstate 81 passed just to the east of the town in the early 1960s. In 1992, a large section of the town, called the Newtown-Stephensburg Historic District, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Stephens City celebrated its 250th anniversary on October 12, 2008. (more...)
Recently featured: Mozart in Italy – Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men – 2005 Texas Longhorns football team
September 6
Night is a work by Elie Wiesel (pictured) about his experience with his father in the Nazi concentration camps at Auschwitz and Buchenwald in 1944–1945. In just over 100 pages of a narrative described as devastating in its simplicity, Wiesel writes about the death of God and his own increasing disgust with humanity, reflected in the inversion of the father-child relationship as his father declines to a helpless state and Wiesel becomes his resentful caregiver. He was 16 years old when Buchenwald was liberated by the U.S. Army in April 1945, too late for his father who died in the camp after a beating. After some difficulty finding a publisher, Wiesel's work appeared in Yiddish in 1955 and French in 1958, and in September 1960 was published in English by Hill and Wang. Fifty years later it is regarded as one of the bedrocks of Holocaust literature. It is the first book in a trilogy—Night, Dawn, Day—marking Wiesel's transition from darkness to light, according to the Jewish tradition of beginning a new day at nightfall. "In Night," he said, "I wanted to show the end, the finality of the event. Everything came to an end—man, history, literature, religion, God. There was nothing left. And yet we begin again with night." (more...)
Recently featured: Stephens City, Virginia – Mozart in Italy – Lives of the Most Eminent Literary and Scientific Men
September 7
Hastings Ismay (1887–1965) was a British soldier and diplomat, remembered primarily for his role as Winston Churchill's chief military assistant during World War II and his service as the head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the 1950s. After serving with the Camel Corps during World War I, Ismay became an Assistant Secretary of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, he became the Secretary of the Committee of Imperial Defence and began planning for the impending war. In May 1940, when Churchill became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, he selected Ismay as his chief military assistant and staff officer. In that capacity, Ismay served as the principal link between Churchill and the Chiefs of Staff Committee. He also accompanied Churchill to many of the Allied war conferences. After the war, Ismay remained in the British Armed Forces and helped reorganise the Ministry of Defence. When Churchill again became Prime Minister in 1951, he appointed Ismay Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations. Six months later, Ismay resigned to become the first Secretary General of NATO. He served as Secretary General from 1952 to 1957. After retiring from NATO, Ismay wrote his memoirs, The Memoirs of General Lord Ismay. (more...)
Recently featured: Night – Stephens City, Virginia – Mozart in Italy
September 8
The Canadian federal election of 1957 was held on June 10, 1957, to select the 265 members of the House of Commons of Canada. The Liberal Party had won five consecutive elections since 1935. Under Prime Ministers William Lyon Mackenzie King and Louis St. Laurent, the government gradually built a welfare state. During the Liberals' fifth term in office, the opposition parties depicted them as arrogant and unresponsive to Canadians' needs. Controversial events, such as the 1956 "Pipeline Debate" over the construction of the Trans-Canada Pipeline, had hurt the government. The Progressive Conservative Party ran a campaign centered on their new leader, John Diefenbaker (pictured), who attracted large crowds to rallies and made a strong impression on television. The Liberals ran a lackluster campaign, and St. Laurent made few television appearances. Abandoning their usual strategy of trying to make inroads in Liberal-dominated Quebec, the Conservatives focused on other provinces. They were successful; though they gained few seats in Quebec, they won 112 seats overall to the Liberals' 105, with the remaining seats won by other parties. In one of the great upsets in Canadian political history, the Conservatives' plurality in the House of Commons made Diefenbaker Prime Minister and ended 22 years of Liberal rule in Canada. (more...)
Recently featured: Hastings Ismay – Night – Stephens City, Virginia
September 9
Tokyo Mew Mew is a Japanese shōjo manga series written by Reiko Yoshida and illustrated by Mia Ikumi. It was originally serialized in Nakayoshi from September 2000 to February 2003, and later published in seven tankōbon volumes by Kodansha from February 2001 to April 2003. It focuses on five girls infused with the DNA of rare animals that gives them special powers and allows them to transform into "Mew Mews". Led by Ichigo Momomiya, the girls protect the earth from aliens who wish to "reclaim" it. The series was quickly adapted into a fifty-two episode anime series by Studio Pierrot. It debuted in Japan on April 6, 2002, on both TV Aichi and TV Tokyo; the final episode aired on March 29, 2003. A two-volume sequel to the manga, Tokyo Mew Mew a la Mode, was serialized in Nakayoshi from April 2003 to February 2004. The sequel introduces a new Mew Mew, Berry Shirayuki, who becomes the temporary leader of the Mew Mews whilst Ichigo is on a trip to England. Two video games were also created for the series. (more...)
Recently featured: Canadian federal election, 1957 – Hastings Ismay – Night
September 10
The 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack was the food poisoning of more than 750 individuals in The Dalles, Oregon, United States, through the deliberate contamination of salad bars at ten local restaurants with salmonella. A leading group of followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (now known as Osho) had hoped to incapacitate the voting population of the city so that their own candidates would win the 1984 Wasco County elections. The incident was the first and single largest bioterrorist attack in United States history. It is one of only two confirmed terrorist uses of biological weapons to harm humans. Having previously gained political control of Antelope, Oregon, Rajneesh's followers based in nearby Rajneeshpuram sought election to two of the three seats on the Wasco County Circuit Court which were up for election in November 1984. Fearing they would not gain enough votes, Rajneeshpuram officials decided to incapacitate voters in The Dalles, the largest population center in Wasco County. (more...)
Recently featured: Tokyo Mew Mew – Canadian federal election, 1957 – Hastings Ismay
September 11
Roy of the Rovers is a British comic strip about the life and exploits of a fictional footballer named Roy Race, who played for Melchester Rovers. The strip first appeared in the Tiger in 1954, before giving its name to a weekly (and later monthly) comic magazine, published by IPC and Fleetway from 1976 until 1995, in which it was the main feature. The weekly strip ran until 1993, following Roy's playing career until its conclusion after he lost his left foot in a helicopter crash. When the monthly comic was launched later that year, the focus switched to Roy's son, Rocky, who also played for Melchester. This publication folded after only 19 issues. The adventures of the Race family were subsequently featured from 1997 until May 2001 in the monthly Match of the Day football magazine, in which father and son were reunited as manager and player respectively. Football-themed stories were a staple of British comics from the 1950s onwards, and Roy of the Rovers was one of the most popular. To keep the strip exciting, Melchester was almost every year either competing for major honours or struggling against relegation to a lower division. The strip followed the structure of the football season, thus there were several months each year when there was no football. (more...)
Recently featured: 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack – Tokyo Mew Mew – Canadian federal election, 1957
September 12
The Symphony No. 8 in E-flat major by Gustav Mahler is one of the largest choral works in the classical concert repertory. Mahler himself conducted its first performance, in Munich on 12 September 1910. Apart from the unusual scale of the work, its architecture is unconventional; instead of the standard four-movement symphonic framework, the piece is in two long sections or parts. The first is based on the Latin text of a ninth-century Christian hymn for Pentecost, Veni creator spiritus ("Come, Creator Spirit"); Part II is a setting of the words from the closing scene of Goethe's Faust. The two parts are related by the shared idea, expressed musically, of redemption through the power of love. Renouncing the pessimism that had marked much of his earlier music, Mahler offered the Eighth as an expression of confidence in the eternal human spirit. After a period during which performances were rare, from the mid-20th century onwards the symphony has been heard regularly in concert halls all over the world, and has been recorded many times. Modern critics have expressed divided opinions on the work; some find its optimism unconvincing and consider it inferior to Mahler's other symphonies, while others compare it to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony as a defining human statement for its century. (more...)
Recently featured: Roy of the Rovers – 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack – Tokyo Mew Mew
September 13
Interstate 15 in Arizona is part of Interstate 15 (I-15), a transcontinental Interstate Highway from San Diego, California, to the Canadian border. The highway segment passes through Mohave County in the far northwest corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. Despite its length of 29.43 miles (47.36 km) and isolation from the rest of the state in the remote Arizona Strip, it is notable for the scenic section through the Virgin River Gorge. The highway heads in a northeasterly direction from the Nevada border northeast of Mesquite, Nevada, to the Utah border southwest of St. George, Utah. The southern portion of the routing of I-15 was built close to the alignment of the old U.S. Route 91, but the northern section through the Virgin River Gorge was built along an alignment that previously had no road. The southern section of the highway was complete and opened in the early 1960s, while the section through the gorge did not open to traffic until 1973. When it opened, the portion of I-15 through the Virgin River Gorge was the most expensive section of rural Interstate per mile. (more...)
Recently featured: Symphony No. 8 (Mahler) – Roy of the Rovers – 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack
September 14
The Rosetta Stone is part of an Ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele with engraved text that provided the key to modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphs. The inscription records a decree that was issued at Memphis in 196 BCE on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three texts: the upper one is in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle one in Egyptian demotic script, and the lower text in ancient Greek. Originally displayed within a temple, the stele was probably moved during the early Christian or medieval period, and eventually used as building material in the construction of a fort at the town of Rashid (Rosetta) in the Nile delta. It was rediscovered there in 1799 by a soldier of the French expedition to Egypt. As the first known bilingual text, the Rosetta Stone aroused wide public interest with its potential to decipher the hitherto untranslated ancient Egyptian languages. Lithographic copies and plaster casts began circulating amongst European museums and scholars. Meanwhile, British troops defeated the French in Egypt in 1801, and the original stone came into British possession under the Capitulation of Alexandria. Transported to London, it has been on public display at the British Museum since 1802. It is the most-visited object in the British Museum. (more...)
Recently featured: Interstate 15 in Arizona – Symphony No. 8 (Mahler) – Roy of the Rovers
September 15
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind is a single-player computer role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios, and published by Bethesda Softworks and Ubisoft. It is the third installment in The Elder Scrolls series of games. It was released in North America in 2002 for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox. Well-received publicly and critically, with over four million sales and 60 awards (including Game of the Year), Morrowind holds an average review score of 89% from both Metacritic and Game Rankings. The game spawned two expansion packs for the PC: Tribunal and Bloodmoon. Both were eventually repackaged into a full set containing all three, Morrowind: Game of the Year Edition, which shipped on October 30, 2003, for both PC and Xbox. The main story takes place on Vvardenfell, an island in the Dunmer province of Morrowind, which lies in the empire of Tamriel and is far from the more civilized lands to the west and south that typified Daggerfall and Arena. The central quests concern the deity Dagoth Ur, housed within the volcanic Red Mountain, who seeks to gain power and break Morrowind free from Imperial reign. Morrowind was designed with an open-ended free-form style of gameplay in mind, with a lessened emphasis on the game's main plot. This choice received mixed reviews in the gaming press, though such feelings were tempered by reviewers' appreciation of Morrowind's expansive and detailed game world. (more...)
Recently featured: Rosetta Stone – Interstate 15 in Arizona – Symphony No. 8 (Mahler)
September 16
Murray Maxwell (1775–1831) was a British Royal Navy officer who served with distinction in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, particularly during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Maxwell first gained recognition as one of the British captains involved in the successful Adriatic campaign of 1807–1814, during which he was responsible for the destruction of a French armaments convoy at the Action of 29 November 1811. As a result of further success in the Mediterranean, Maxwell was given increasingly important commissions and, despite the loss of his ship HMS Daedalus off Ceylon in 1813, was specially selected to escort the British Ambassador to China in 1816. The voyage to China subsequently became famous when Maxwell's ship HMS Alceste was wrecked in the Gaspar Strait, and he and his crew became stranded on a nearby island. The marooned sailors suffered from shortages of food and were repeatedly attacked by Malay pirates, but thanks to Maxwell's leadership no lives were lost. Eventually rescued by an Honourable East India Company ship, the party returned to Britain as popular heroes, Maxwell being especially commended. He was knighted for his services, and made a brief and unsuccessful foray into politics before resuming his naval career. In 1831 Maxwell was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island, but fell ill and died before he could take up the post. (more...)
Recently featured: The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind – Rosetta Stone – Interstate 15 in Arizona
September 17
The Ormulum is a 12th-century work of biblical exegesis, written in early Middle English verse by a monk named Orm (or Ormin). Because of the unique phonetic orthography adopted by the author, it preserves many details of English pronunciation at a time when the language was in flux after the Norman Conquest. Consequently, and in spite of its lack of literary merit, it is invaluable to philologists in tracing the development of the language. Orm was concerned with priests' ability to speak the vernacular, and developed an idiosyncratic spelling system to guide his readers to pronounce each vowel. He composed using a strict poetic meter which ensured that readers would know which syllables were stressed. Modern scholars use these two features to reconstruct Middle English as Orm spoke it. (more...)
Recently featured: Murray Maxwell – The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind – Rosetta Stone
September 18
If was an American science fiction magazine launched in March 1952 by Quinn Publications, owned by James L. Quinn. After a series of editors, including Paul W. Fairman, Larry T. Shaw, and Damon Knight, Quinn sold the magazine to Robert Guinn at Galaxy Publishing and in 1961 Frederik Pohl became editor. Under Pohl, If won the Hugo Award for best professional magazine three years running from 1966 to 1968. In 1969 Guinn sold all his magazines to Universal Publishing and Distribution (UPD). The magazine was not as successful with Ejler Jakobsson as editor and circulation plummeted. In early 1974 Jim Baen took over from Jakobsson as editor, but increasing paper costs meant that UPD could no longer afford to publish both Galaxy and If. Galaxy was regarded as the senior of the two magazines, so If was merged into Galaxy after the December 1974 issue, its 175th issue overall. Over its 22 years, If published many award-winning stories, including Robert A. Heinlein's novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, and Harlan Ellison's short story "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream". Several well-known writers sold their first story to If; the most successful was Larry Niven, whose story "The Coldest Place" appeared in the December 1964 issue. (more...)
Recently featured: Ormulum – Murray Maxwell – The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
September 19
Terry Fox (1958–1981) was a Canadian humanitarian, athlete and cancer research activist. He was a distance runner and basketball player, and continued both pursuits after his right leg was amputated upon being diagnosed with osteosarcoma in 1977. His experiences in chemotherapy inspired Fox to attempt the Marathon of Hope, a cross-Canada run, in the hopes of raising C$1 for every person in the country for cancer research. He began on April 12, 1980, at St. John's, Newfoundland, and ran west for 143 days and 5,373 kilometres – the equivalent of a marathon a day – until forced to stop near Thunder Bay, Ontario, after cancer returned in his lungs. Fox captivated the country; he was named Newsmaker of the Year in both 1980 and 1981, and was the youngest person ever named a Companion of the Order of Canada. His run and subsequent battle with the disease united the nation and led to millions of dollars in donations. He inspired the Terry Fox Run, held in over 60 countries and the world's largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research; over $500 million has been raised in his name. Considered a national hero, many buildings, roads and parks have been named in his honour across Canada. (more...)
Recently featured: If (magazine) – Ormulum – Murray Maxwell
September 20
The Australian Magpie is a medium-sized black and white passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. A member of the Artamidae, it is closely related to the butcherbirds. At one stage, the Australian Magpie was considered to be three separate species, although zones of hybridisation between forms reinforced the idea of a single species with several subspecies, nine of which are now recognised. The adult Australian Magpie is a fairly robust bird ranging from 37 to 43 cm (14.5 to 17 in) in length, with distinctive black and white plumage, red eyes and a solid wedge-shaped bluish-white and black bill. Described as one of Australia's most accomplished songbirds, the Australian Magpie has an array of complex vocalisations. Common and widespread, it has adapted well to human habitation and is a familiar bird of parks, gardens and farmland in Australia and New Guinea. Magpies were introduced into New Zealand in the 1860s and are proving to be a pest by displacing native birds. Spring in Australia is magpie season, when a small minority of breeding magpies, mostly males, become aggressive and swoop and attack anyone, such as pedestrians and cyclists, approaching their nests. This species is commonly fed by households around the country and is the mascot of several Australian sporting teams. (more...)
Recently featured: Terry Fox – If (magazine) – Ormulum
September 21
Sherlock Holmes Baffled is a very short silent film created between 1900 and 1903, with cinematography by Arthur Marvin. It is the earliest-known film to feature the character of Sherlock Holmes, albeit in a form unlike later screen incarnations of Conan Doyle's detective. The inclusion of the character also makes it the first recorded detective film. In the film, a thief who can appear and disappear at random steals a sack of items from Sherlock Holmes. At each point, Holmes' attempts to thwart the intruder end in failure. Originally intended to be shown on the Mutoscope, an early motion picture device which provided viewing to only one person at a time, Sherlock Holmes Baffled has a running time of 30 seconds. Although probably produced in April 1900, it was only registered in 1903, and a copyright notice stating this is seen on some prints. The identities of the first screen Holmes and his assailant are not recorded. Assumed to be lost for several years, the film was rediscovered in 1968 as a paper print in the Library of Congress. It is estimated that Sherlock Holmes has become the most prolific screen character in the history of cinema. (more...)
Recently featured: Australian Magpie – Terry Fox – If (magazine)
September 22
The SR Leader class was a class of experimental 0-6-6-0 articulated steam locomotive, produced to the design of the innovative engineer Oliver Bulleid. Intended as a replacement for the ageing fleet of M7 class, the Leader was an attempt to extend the life of steam traction on the Southern Railway by eliminating many of the operational drawbacks associated with existing steam locomotives. Design work began in 1946, and development continued after the nationalisation of the railways in 1948, under the auspices of British Railways. The Leader project was part of Bulleid's desire to modernise the steam locomotive based on experience gained with the Southern Railway's fleet of electric stock. The design incorporated many novel features, such as the use of thermic siphons, bogies, and cabs at either end of the locomotive, resulting in its unique appearance. Several of its innovations proved to be unsuccessful however, partly accounting for the project's cancellation in the early 1950s. Five Leader locomotives were begun, although only one was completed. Problems with the design, indifferent reports on performance, and political pressure surrounding spiralling development costs, led to all locomotives of the class being scrapped by 1951. (more...)
Recently featured: Sherlock Holmes Baffled – Australian Magpie – Terry Fox
September 23
The Battle of Svolder was a naval battle fought in September 999 or 1000 in the western Baltic between King Olaf Tryggvason of Norway and an alliance of his enemies. King Olaf was sailing home after an expedition to Wendland (Pomerania), when he was ambushed by an alliance of Svein Forkbeard, King of Denmark, Olaf Eiríksson, King of Sweden, and Eirik Hákonarson, Jarl of Lade. Olaf had only 11 warships in the battle against a fleet of at least 70. His ships were cleared one by one, last of all the Long Serpent, which Jarl Eirik captured as Olaf threw himself into the sea. After the battle, Norway was ruled by the Jarls of Lade as a fief of Denmark and Sweden. The most detailed sources on the battle, the kings' sagas, were written approximately two centuries after it took place. Historically unreliable, they offer an extended literary account describing the battle and the events leading up to it in vivid detail. (more...)
Recently featured: SR Leader class – Sherlock Holmes Baffled – Australian Magpie
September 24
The Liberty Bell is an iconic symbol of American independence. It was commissioned from the London firm of Lester and Pack (today the Whitechapel Bell Foundry) in 1752, and was inscribed with part of a verse from the Book of Leviticus: "Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." It originally cracked when first rung after arrival in Philadelphia, and was twice recast by local workmen. The bell hung for years in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (today known as Independence Hall), and was used to summon lawmakers to legislative sessions and to alert citizens to public meetings and proclamations. Bells were rung to mark the reading of the American Declaration of Independence on July 8, 1776, and while there is no contemporary account of the Liberty Bell ringing, most historians believe it was one of the bells rung. It acquired its distinctive large crack sometime in the early 19th century—a widespread story claims it cracked while ringing after the death of Chief Justice John Marshall in 1835. The bell was moved from its longstanding home in Independence Hall to a nearby glass pavilion on Independence Mall in 1976, and then to the larger Liberty Bell Center adjacent to the pavilion in 2003. (more...)
Recently featured: Battle of Svolder – SR Leader class – Sherlock Holmes Baffled
September 25
Diocletian (244–311) was Roman Emperor from 284 to 305. Acclaimed emperor by the army, his ascension to power ended the Crisis of the Third Century. Diocletian appointed Maximian his Augustus, his senior co-emperor, in 285. In 293, he appointed Galerius and Constantius as Caesars, junior co-emperors. Under this "Tetrarchy", each emperor would rule over a quarter-division of the empire. In campaigns against Sarmatian and Danubian tribes (285–90), the Alamanni (288), and usurpers in Egypt (297–98), Diocletian secured the empire's borders and purged it of threats to his power. In 299, Diocletian led negotiations with Persia, the empire's traditional enemy, and achieved a lasting and favorable peace. He also separated and enlarged the empire's civil and military services and reorganised the provincial divisions, establishing the largest and most bureaucratic government in Roman history. Not all Diocletian's plans were successful; the Edict on Maximum Prices was counterproductive and quickly ignored. The Diocletianic Persecution failed to destroy the empire's growing Christian community. His Tetrarchic system collapsed after his abdication. Despite his failures, Diocletian's reforms fundamentally changed the structure of Roman government, enabling an empire that had seemed near the brink of collapse in Diocletian's youth to remain essentially intact for another century. (more...)
Recently featured: Liberty Bell – Battle of Svolder – SR Leader class
September 26
The 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final was played on September 2, 2009, at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, D.C. The match determined the winner of the 2009 edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, a tournament open to amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation. This was the 96th edition of the oldest competition in United States soccer. The match was won by Seattle Sounders FC, who defeated D.C. United 2–1. Seattle became the second expansion team in Major League Soccer history to win the tournament in their inaugural season. D.C. United entered the tournament as the competition's defending champions. Both Sounders FC and D.C. United had to play through two qualification rounds for MLS teams before entering the official tournament. Prior to the final, there was a public dispute between the owners of the two clubs regarding the selection of D.C. United to host it at their home field, RFK Stadium. As the tournament champions, Sounders FC earned a berth in the preliminary round of the 2010–11 CONCACAF Champions League. The club also received a $100,000 cash prize, while D.C. United received $50,000 as the runner-up. (more...)
Recently featured: Diocletian – Liberty Bell – Battle of Svolder
September 27
The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around what is now Greater Manchester, England. The victims were five children aged between 10 and 17, and at least four of them were sexually assaulted. The murders are so named because two of the victims were discovered in graves dug on Saddleworth Moor (pictured); a third grave was discovered on the moor in 1987, more than 20 years after Brady and Hindley's trial in 1966. The body of a fourth victim is also suspected to be buried there, but as of 2010, it remains undiscovered. The investigation was reopened in 1985, after Brady was reported in the press as having confessed to two of the murders. Brady and Hindley were taken separately to Saddleworth Moor to assist the police in their search for the graves, both by then having confessed to the additional murders. Hindley later made several appeals against her life sentence, claiming she was a reformed woman and no longer a danger to society, but she was never released. She later died in 2002 at the age of 60. Brady was declared criminally insane in 1985, since when he has been confined in the high-security Ashworth Hospital. He has made it clear that he never wants to be released, and has repeatedly asked that he be allowed to die. (more...)
Recently featured: 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final – Diocletian – Liberty Bell
September 28
The AMX-30 is a main battle tank designed by GIAT, first delivered to the French Army in 1966. The production version of the AMX-30 weighed 36 metric tons (40 short tons), and sacrificed protection for increased mobility. The French believed that it would have required too much armor to protect against the latest anti-tank threats, thereby reducing the tank's maneuverability. The tank's firepower was manifested through its 105 mm (4.1 inch) cannon, firing an advanced high explosive anti-tank warhead known as the Obus G. Speed was provided by the 720 horsepower (540 kW) HS-110 diesel engine, although the troublesome transmission adversely affected the tank's performance. As the French Army began to modernize its fleet of tanks, a new transmission, a new fin-stabilized kinetic energy penetrator, and other improvements were later introduced. As early as 1969, the AMX-30 and variants were ordered by Greece, soon followed by Spain. In the coming years, the AMX-30 would be exported to Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Cyprus and Chile. By the end of production, 3,571 units of AMX-30s and its variants had been manufactured. In the 1991 Gulf War, AMX-30s were deployed by both the French and Qatari armies, and Qatari AMX-30s saw action against Iraqi forces at the Battle of Khafji. (more...)
Recently featured: Moors murders – 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final – Diocletian
September 29
The Tower of London is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It was founded in 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078, and was a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite. Since at least 1100, the castle has been used as a prison, although that was not its primary purpose. The Tower of London has played a prominent role in England's history. It was besieged several times and controlling it has been important to controlling the country. The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public records office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom. The zenith of the castle's use as a prison came in the 16th and 17th centuries, when many figures fallen into disgrace, such as Elizabeth I before she became queen, were held within its walls. Today the Tower of London is a popular tourist attraction. It is cared for by the charity Historic Royal Palaces and is protected as a World Heritage Site. (more...)
Recently featured: AMX-30 – Moors murders – 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup Final
September 30
Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936, and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin Roosevelt. Its construction was the result of a massive effort involving thousands of workers, and cost over a hundred lives. The winning bid to build the dam was submitted by a consortium called Six Companies, Inc., which began construction on the dam in early 1931. Such a large concrete structure had never been built before, and some of the techniques were unproven. The torrid summer weather and the lack of facilities near the site also presented difficulties. Nevertheless, Six Companies turned over the dam to the Federal government on March 1, 1936, more than two years early. Hoover Dam impounds Lake Mead, and is located near Boulder City, Nevada, a municipality originally created for workers on the construction project, about 30 mi (48 km) south of Las Vegas, Nevada. Although mainly intended to control floods and provide irrigation water, the dam's generators provide power for public and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona and California. (more...)
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