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From today's featured article

Taylor Swift

"How You Get the Girl" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift (pictured) from her fifth studio album, 1989 (2014). She wrote it with its producers, Max Martin and Shellback. An electropop and bubblegum pop song, it is a ballad that features acoustic guitar strums and a heavy disco beat. The lyrics find Swift telling a man how to win his ex-girlfriend back after their breakup. Some critics praised the song as catchy and highlighted the chorus; less enthusiastic reviews considered the production generic and the lyrics lightweight. The track received certifications in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Swift included it in the set list of the 1989 World Tour (2015), with choreography that evoked the musical film Singin' in the Rain (1952). She performed it on some dates of the Reputation Stadium Tour (2018) and the Eras Tour (2023–2024). The track was used in a Diet Coke advertisement prior to its release. (This article is part of a featured topic: 1989 (album).)

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Did you know ...

Abigail Becker, the Angel of Long Point

... that the Angel of Long Point (pictured) saved seventeen lives across five different incidents?
... that Aboriginal Australians who first saw herds of water buffalo interpreted the new animals as a manifestation of their dreaming?
... that the departure of Carl Borgmann from the University of Vermont ended 17 years of scientists serving consecutive terms as president?
... that the walls of the former Lyttelton Gaol are archaeologically significant as one of the first uses of concrete in New Zealand?
... that Aileen Davies sang roles on the first two D'Oyly Carte Opera Company recordings using the new electrical-recording technology?
... that the city of Kikwit, estimated to have a population of at least half a million, had only four paved roads in 2023?
... that Ed McCann chose a career in civil engineering after being dissuaded from other branches of engineering by their military applications?
... that, after moving to Canada to work as a priest, Naboth Manzongo did not see his wife and children in Zimbabwe for three years due to COVID-19–related processing delays?
... that Pink Floyd escaped from its enclosure at the Sedgwick County Zoo in 2005, but continued to be spotted in Texas as late as 2023?

In the news

Catherine Connolly

Timor-Leste joins ASEAN as its 11th member.
Catherine Connolly (pictured) is elected President of Ireland.
Sanae Takaichi is elected as the first female prime minister of Japan by the National Diet.
Eric Lu wins the International Chopin Piano Competition.
Tufan Erhürman is elected President of Northern Cyprus, defeating incumbent Ersin Tatar.

On this day

October 27

Christ Mocked

1674 – Franco-Dutch War: French forces surrender the fortress town of Grave to the Dutch army after a three month siege.
1726 – J. S. Bach led the first performance of Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56, one of few works he called a cantata.
1964 – Actor Ronald Reagan delivered a speech on behalf of Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, launching his own political career, which culminated in him serving two full terms as U.S. president.
2004 – The Boston Red Sox completed a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals to win the 2004 World Series, breaking the so-called "Curse of the Bambino".
2019 – The Mocking of Christ (pictured) by Cimabue sold at auction in France for €19.5 million, a record for a pre-1500 artwork.

Mary Sidney (b. 1561)
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (b. 1945)
Zoya Phan (b. 1980)
Philip French (d. 2015)

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From today's featured list

Sian Beilock, Dartmouth’s 19th president

Nineteen individuals have held the office of President of Dartmouth College, a private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by royal charter, Dartmouth is governed by its board of trustees. Under the board’s bylaws, the president serves as the college’s chief executive officer, is a trustee ex officio, and sits on the board’s executive committee with broad authority over academic and administrative affairs. Dartmouth’s status as a private corporation liable to its trustees under its charter was affirmed by the United States Supreme Court in Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819). The line of presidents, often called the "Wheelock succession", runs from founder Eleazar Wheelock to the current officeholder, Sian Beilock (pictured), who took office on June 12, 2023, and became the college’s first woman president upon her inauguration in September 2023. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Theodore Roosevelt (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919) was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York politics, including serving as the state's 33rd governor for two years. He served as the 25th vice president under President William McKinley for six months in 1901, assuming the presidency after McKinley's assassination at the age of 42, making him the youngest person to assume the position. As president, Roosevelt emerged as a leader of the Republican Party and became a driving force for anti-trust and Progressive Era policies. Polls of historians and political scientists rank him as one of the greatest American presidents. This photograph by the Pach Brothers shows Roosevelt in 1904.

Photograph credit: Pach Brothers; restored by Adam Cuerden

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