Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 June 2

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Today's featured article
Edward Elgar (1857–1934) was an English composer. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works such as the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos for violin and cello, and two symphonies. He also composed choral works, including The Dream of Gerontius, chamber music and songs. He was appointed Master of the King's Musick in 1924. Although his works are regarded as quintessentially English, most of his musical influences were not from England but from continental Europe. A self-taught Catholic composer from a poor background, he nevertheless married the daughter of a senior British army officer. He struggled to achieve success until his forties, when his Enigma Variations proved immediately popular. His following work, The Dream of Gerontius (1900) remains a core repertory work in Britain and elsewhere. One of the first composers to take the gramophone seriously, he conducted a series of recordings of his works between 1914 and 1925. Elgar's music came, in his later years, to be seen as appealing chiefly to British audiences. More recently, some of his works have been taken up again internationally, but the music remains more played in Britain than elsewhere. (more...) Recently featured: Johnstown Inclined Plane – Gianni Schicchi – Charles Holden Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the soft coral dead man's fingers (pictured) can live for 20 years? ... that theologian David F. Ford of the University of Cambridge once applied for jobs at British Steel and Rolls-Royce? ... that every two years, an award named after German civil engineer Erich Lackner is presented to young engineers for their "outstanding contributions in scientific and technical work"? ... that Eugene Linden hitchhiked from Portland, Oregon, to Tacoma, Washington, at age 21 to establish the Tacoma Philharmonic? ... that the secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization described Filipino seamen as "the unsung heroes of an unsung industry"? ... that Al Green earned the only Grammy Award for Best Soul Gospel Performance, Male or Female in 1990 for the song "As Long as We're Together"? ... that the direct-to-video 1999 family comedy The Prince and the Surfer (with Linda Cardellini) was the directorial debut of stage and film actor Arye Gross? ... that the England cricketer Ken Barrington died in Bridgetown, Barbados, where he had made his first Test century 21 years before? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Sepp Blatter Sepp Blatter (pictured) is re-elected President of FIFA amid corruption allegations within association football's world governing body. One of the largest outbreaks of E. coli ever recorded strikes Germany and several other European countries. Germany permanently closes eight nuclear plants and announces plans to abandon nuclear power by 2022. President of Abkhazia Sergei Bagapsh dies from complications of surgery in Moscow. In auto racing, Sebastian Vettel wins the Monaco Grand Prix and Dan Wheldon wins the Indianapolis 500. A referendum to introduce divorce passes in Malta. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
June 2: Ascension Thursday (Christianity, 2011) 1774 – Intolerable Acts: To restore imperial control over the Thirteen Colonies, the Parliament of Great Britain passed a second Quartering Act, reenacting a law requiring colonists to provide housing for British soldiers. 1805 – Napoleonic Wars: A Franco-Spanish fleet recaptured Diamond Rock (pictured), an uninhabited island at the entrance to the bay leading to Fort-de-France, from the British. 1910 – Charles Rolls, co-founder of Rolls-Royce Limited, became the first man to make a non-stop double crossing of the English Channel by plane. 1919 – First Red Scare: Anarchist followers of Luigi Galleani set off eight bombs in eight cities across the United States. 1983 – After an emergency landing because of an in-flight fire, twenty-three passengers aboard Air Canada Flight 797 were killed when a flashover occurred as the plane's doors opened. 1999 – Bhutan ended its status as the only country in the world to prohibit television when the state-run Bhutan Broadcasting Service came on the air. More anniversaries: June 1 – June 2 – June 3 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now June 2, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

An 1880 political cartoon depicts Senator Roscoe Conkling over a "presidential puzzle" consisting of some of the potential Republican nominees as pieces of a sliding puzzle. Conkling held significant influence over the party during the 1880 Republican National Convention and attempted to use that to nominate Ulysses S. Grant, only to lose out to "dark horse" candidate James A. Garfield.

Artist: James Albert Wales; Lithography: Mayer, Merkel, & Ottmann; Restoration: Jujutacular

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