Wikipedia:Main Page history/2013 January 5

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From today's featured article
Kenneth Walker (1898–1943) was a United States Army aviator and an Army Air Forces general who had a significant influence on the development of airpower doctrine. Walker graduated from the Air Corps Tactical School in 1929, then served as an instructor there. He supported the creation of a separate air organization, not subordinate to other military branches, and was a forceful advocate of the efficacy of strategic bombardment. He published articles on the subject, and became part of a clique known as the "Bomber Mafia" which argued for the primacy of bombardment over other forms of military aviation. He advanced the notion that fighters could not prevent a bombing attack, and helped develop the doctrine of industrial web theory, which called for precision attacks against carefully selected critical industrial targets. In 1942, during World War II, Walker was promoted to brigadier general and transferred to the Southwest Pacific. He frequently flew combat missions over New Guinea, for which he received the Silver Star. On 5 January 1943, he was shot down and killed while leading a daylight bombing raid over Rabaul, for which he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. (Full article...) Recently featured: Prosperity theology – State of Vietnam referendum, 1955 – Mauritius Blue Pigeon Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the Japanese racehorse Daiwa Major (pictured) won the Mile Championship by a neck two years in a row? ... that five auspicious events in the life of each Jain Tirthankara are known as Kalyanaka? ... that Green Bay Packers tackle Buford "Baby" Ray was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team for the 1940s? ... that Hero Academy was published in China in a bid to bring more western mobile games to the country? ... that Horus Sa may have been a pharaoh of Egypt? ... that Whitelaw Reid's home still stands near the village of Cedarville, Ohio? ... that skateboarder David González was named Thrasher magazine's 2012 "Skater of the Year"? ... that the hydrozoan Obelia longissima sometimes disperses by rafting? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Switzerland's oldest bank, Wegelin & Co. (headquarters pictured), announces it will close after being fined by U.S. authorities for enabling tax evasion. In chess, Magnus Carlsen achieves the highest FIDE rating of all time. At least 60 people are killed and 200 injured in a stampede after celebrations at Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg, Rwanda, and South Korea join the United Nations Security Council. China officially opens the world's longest high-speed rail route, linking Beijing and Guangzhou. Recent deaths: Rita Levi-Montalcini – Tony Greig – William Rees-Mogg Syrian civil war – Wikinews – More current events...
On this day...
January 5: Twelfth Night (Western Christianity) 1757 – Louis XV of France survived an assassination attempt by Robert-François Damiens, who later became the last person to be executed in the country by drawing and quartering. 1925 – Nellie Tayloe Ross was inaugurated as Governor of Wyoming, the first woman to serve as governor of a U.S. state. 1968 – Alexander Dubček came to power in Czechoslovakia, beginning a period of political liberalization known as the Prague Spring that still enabled the Communist Party to maintain real power. 1975 – The Tasman Bridge (pictured), crossing the Derwent River in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, was struck by the bulk carrier Lake Illawarra, killing seven of the ship's crewmen and five motorists on the bridge. 2003 – London police arrested six people in conjunction with an alleged terrorist plot to release ricin on the London Underground, although only one was eventually convicted. More anniversaries: January 4 – January 5 – January 6 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now January 5, 2013 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The main reading room of the United States Library of Congress, located in the Thomas Jefferson Building, the oldest of its three buildings. Constructed between 1890 and 1897, the Beaux-Arts style building is known for its classicizing facade and elaborately decorated interior, designed during the "American Renaissance".

Photo: Carol M. Highsmith

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