Wikipedia:Main Page history/2013 November 26

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From today's featured article

The 13th Airborne Division was a U.S. Army airborne formation in World War II. Although it was active between August 1943 and February 1946, it never saw combat. The division's training was disrupted by providing reinforcements for the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions and by a lack of transport aircraft for training exercises, as divisions in combat had priority for their use. The division was combat-ready by January 1945 and was transferred to France, but arrived too late to participate in Operation Market Garden, the third major airborne operation conducted by the Allies. The division was selected for Operation Varsity, supporting 21st Army Group crossing the River Rhine, but there were insufficient transport aircraft to carry it into combat. Several other operations were planned for the division, but these were cancelled because of the rapid advance of Allied ground forces. After the end of the conflict in Europe, it was shipped home before the planned invasion of Japan, but the conflict in the Far East ended before it was required. After deactivation of the division, combat personnel transferred to the 82nd Airborne Division. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that Fort Al Jalali (pictured) was built in Muscat, Oman by the Portuguese after attacks by Ottoman forces?
... that according to Frank Moraes, Rou Shi was executed by being buried alive?
... that the Tęcza in Warsaw has been vandalized several times, most commonly due to anti-LGBT sentiments?
... that Swedish comedian Nour El-Refai will host Melodifestivalen 2014?
... that the paintings The Kongouro from New Holland and Portrait of a Large Dog were barred from being taken to Australia by the British Department of Culture on the grounds of their national importance?
... that the original owner of the Albert S. Sholes House worked with Edward Schulmerich, whose house was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places?
... that the remains of two Presidents of Czechoslovakia are in Vinohrady Cemetery; one had a state funeral, the other's name was not put on his grave?

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In the news

In Canadian football, the Saskatchewan Roughriders defeat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to win the 101st Grey Cup.
Iran signs an interim agreement with the P5+1 countries, limiting its nuclear program in exchange for reduced sanctions.
Magnus Carlsen (pictured) defeats Viswanathan Anand to win the World Chess Championship.
A roof collapse at a grocery store in Riga, Latvia, kills more than 50 people.
British biochemist and two-time Nobel Prize winner Frederick Sanger dies at the age of 95.
A double suicide bombing at the Iranian embassy in Beirut kills 23 people.
NASA launches the MAVEN probe to Mars.

Recent deaths: Maurice Vachon

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On this day...

November 26: Feast day of John Berchmans (Roman Catholic Church); Constitution Day in India (1949)

1805 – The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, the longest and highest aqueduct in Great Britain, opened.
1922 – Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon became the first people to enter the tomb (burial chamber pictured) of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in over 3,000 years.
1950 – Korean War: With the battles of Chosin Reservoir and the Ch'ongch'on River, China launched a massive counterattack against United Nations forces.
1983 – Six robbers broke into the Brink's-MAT warehouse at London Heathrow Airport and stole three tonnes (6,612 lb) of gold bullion, much of which has never been recovered.
2008 – A coordinated group of shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai began, ultimately killing a total of 173 people and wounding more than 300 others.

More anniversaries: November 25 – November 26 – November 27

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It is now November 26, 2013 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture

An artificially grown bismuth crystal, illustrating the stairstep crystal structure, with a 1-cm cube of bismuth metal for comparison. The iridescent surface here is a very thin layer of oxidation.

Photo: Heinrich Pniok

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