Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 April 26

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Today's featured article
Richard Hakluyt (c. 1552 – 1616) was an English writer. He is principally remembered for his efforts in promoting and supporting the settlement of North America by the English through his works, notably Divers Voyages Touching the Discoverie of America (1582) and The Principal Navigations, Voiages, Traffiques and Discoueries of the English Nation (1589–1600). Educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, between 1583 and 1588 Hakluyt was chaplain and secretary to Sir Edward Stafford, English ambassador at the French court. An ordained priest, Hakluyt held important positions at Bristol Cathedral and Westminster Abbey and was personal chaplain to Sir Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, principal Secretary of State to Elizabeth I and James I. He was the chief promoter of a petition to James I for letters patent to colonize Virginia, which were granted to the London Company and Plymouth Company (referred to collectively as the Virginia Company) in 1606. (more...) Recently featured: Harry Chauvel – Iguanodon – Wage reform in the Soviet Union, 1956–1962 Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that Indonesian journalist Marco Kartodikromo (pictured) was arrested several times by the Dutch colonial government and ultimately died in exile? ... that although a Spanish treasure convoy was captured at the Action of 26 April 1797, the cargo had already been smuggled to safety aboard a fishing boat? ... that the 1937 Alabama Crimson Tide football team won the SEC championship after Hayward Sanford kicked a fourth quarter, game-winning field goal against Vanderbilt? ... that when Thomas M. Messer retired in 1988, after 27 years as director of the Guggenheim Foundation, he had served longer than any other major museum director in New York City? ... that thieves have recently stolen the memorial plaques from the Livesey Hall War Memorial? ... that Helen Jonas-Rosenzweig, Holocaust survivor and one of the Schindlerjuden, appeared in a documentary with the daughter of Amon Goeth, her Nazi tormentor? ... that Winston Churchill's father once owned "Abscess on the Jaw"? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Two trains collide in Amsterdam, killing one person and severely injuring dozens more (aftermath pictured). Bhoja Air Flight 213 crashes on its final approach in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing all 127 people on board. India successfully test launches the Agni-V intercontinental ballistic missile. American broadcaster, television producer and music promoter Dick Clark dies at the age of 82. Jim Yong Kim is elected President of the World Bank. Amid a dispute with Repsol and the government of Spain, Argentina announces re-nationalisation of the oil company YPF. Taur Matan Ruak is elected President of East Timor. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
April 26: Feast Day of Our Lady of Good Counsel (Roman Catholic Church); Yom Ha'atzmaut in Israel (2012) 1958 – The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's Royal Blue, one of the first major railway electrification systems in the United States, made its final Washington, D.C., to New York City run. 1981 – Dr. Michael R. Harrison of the University of California, San Francisco performed the world's first human open fetal surgery. 1982 – In one of the deadliest spree killings in modern history, former South Korean police officer Woo Bum-kon killed a total of 57 people in one night, including himself. 1986 – The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Chernobyl, Ukrainian SSR, suffered a steam explosion, resulting in a fire, a nuclear meltdown, and the evacuation and resettlement of over 336,000 people around Europe. 2007 – Controversy surrounding the relocation of the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn (pictured), a Soviet Red Army World War II memorial in Tallinn, Estonia, erupted into mass protests and riots. More anniversaries: April 25 – April 26 – April 27 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now April 26, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

Husband and wife Steven Archer and Donna Lynch of the American darkwave/industrial rock band Ego Likeness. Taking their name from Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel Dune, the band formed in 1999 and has been touring and recording albums since.

Photo: Kyle Cassidy

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