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From today's featured article

Thomas J. Hudner Jr. (1924–2017) was a United States Navy officer and naval aviator. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions in trying to save the life of his wingman, Ensign Jesse L. Brown, during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War. Born in Fall River, Massachusetts, Hudner attended Phillips Academy in Andover and the United States Naval Academy. Initially uninterested in aviation, he eventually took up flying and joined Fighter Squadron 32, flying the F4U Corsair at the outbreak of the Korean War. Arriving near Korea in October 1950, he flew support missions from the aircraft carrier USS Leyte. He later served in the Vietnam War. After retiring as a captain in 1973, he worked for various veterans' organizations in the United States. He is interred at Arlington National Cemetery. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner is named for him. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

O'Bajan

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... that the French Army initially named the Saint-Cyr class of 2016–2019 after Georges Loustaunau-Lacau, but backed down after a public outcry?
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... that one assessment concluded the Bohu laser facility is the primary site for China's directed-energy weapon research and development?
... that a speech written by Wisaksono Wirjodihardjo for Indonesian president Sukarno presciently warned against converting prime rice fields into golf courses?
... that the screenplay for the 2002 film Pure was inspired following script writer Alison Hume's interviews with recovering heroin addicts?
... that Vinanda Prameswati, at the age of 26, became Indonesia's youngest sitting regional leader in 2025?
... that Gunbuster is considered a forerunner to the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion?
... that Sweet Martha's Cookies bakes around three million cookies on the busiest days of the Minnesota State Fair?

In the news

Robert Redford

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign an agreement to defend each other against attacks.
American actor and filmmaker Robert Redford (pictured) dies at the age of 89.
In boxing, Terence Crawford defeats Canelo Álvarez, becoming undisputed world champion in three weight classes.
In television, The Studio wins best comedy and The Pitt wins best drama at the Primetime Emmy Awards.

On this day

September 22

Damage from the great fire of Smyrna

1586 – Eighty Years' War: Spanish forces defeated an Anglo-Dutch army at the Battle of Zutphen.
1914 – World War I: German naval forces bombarded Papeete in French Polynesia and sank a French gunboat.
1922 – After nine days, the great fire of Smyrna was extinguished (aftermath pictured), having caused at least ten thousand deaths.
1975 – Sara Jane Moore attempted to assassinate U.S. president Gerald Ford, but failed due to unfamiliarity with her weapon.
2014 – The NASA spacecraft MAVEN entered into orbit around Mars to study the planet's atmosphere.

Selim I (d. 1520)
John Biddle (d. 1662)
Gladys Berejiklian (b. 1970)
Coco Yoshizawa (b. 2009)

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From today's featured list

Side-by-side of insect species from 15 different orders

Insecta is a class of invertebrates that consists of around 30 individual orders. Orders are the fifth taxonomic rank used to classify living organisms, below the rank of class, but above the rank of family. With around 1 million insect species having been formally described and assigned a binomial name, insects are the most diverse group of animals, comprising approximately half of extant species on Earth. The total insect biodiversity has been estimated at around 6 million species. The most diverse orders are Coleoptera (beetles), Hymenoptera (wasps, bees, ants and sawflies), Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), Diptera (flies) and Hemiptera (true bugs). Taxonomists disagree on the exact number of orders, with opinions ranging from 26 to 32 distinct extant orders. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

The Australian brushturkey (Alectura lathami) is a species of bird in the Megapode family, Megapodiidae. It is found in eastern Australia, from Far North Queensland to the South Coast region of New South Wales, as well as on Kangaroo Island in South Australia, where it is an introduced species. The Australian brushturkey inhabits wet forests, as well as drier scrubs and open areas, and lives in both mountainous and lowland areas. It is also common in urban environments including on domestic properties in the cities of Brisbane and Sydney. A black-feathered bird with a red head, the Australian brushturkey is typically a large bird, with a total length of around 60–75 cm and a wingspan of around 85 cm, although the subspecies A. l. purpureicollis from the northern Cape York Peninsula is somewhat smaller. The species is known for its mound-building, which is carried out by a dominant male and visited by a succession of local females, for mating and egg-laying. It uses a large nest on the ground made of leaves, other compostable material, and earth. This female Australian brushturkey was photographed in Crater Lakes National Park, Queensland.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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