Wikipedia:Main Page history/2018 February 17

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From today's featured article

Isabelle Eberhardt (17 February 1877 – 21 October 1904) was a Swiss explorer and writer. As a teenager, she published short stories under a male pseudonym. She became interested in North Africa, and was considered a proficient writer on the region despite learning about it only through correspondence. Eberhardt moved to Algeria in 1897, where she converted to Islam, dressed as an Arabic man and adopted a male name. Her unorthodox behaviour made her an outcast to European settlers and the French administration. Her acceptance by the Qadiriyya, an Islamic order, convinced the French that she was a spy or an agitator. In 1901 she survived an assassination attempt and was ordered to leave Algeria, but was allowed to return the following year after marrying her long-time partner, an Algerian soldier. In 1904, aged 27, she was killed by a flash flood in Aïn Sefra. Her manuscripts were collected and published posthumously, receiving critical acclaim. Streets were named after her in Béchar and Algiers. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

An inscribed oracle bone from Yinxu

... that in the poll for China's 100 major archaeological discoveries in the 20th century, the Shang dynasty capital Yinxu (oracle bone pictured) received the highest number of votes?
... that before a distraught Marilyn Bergeron disappeared ten years ago today, a friend says she told him what was bothering her was worse than witnessing a murder or being raped, but would not say what?
... that long face syndrome may be associated with sleep apnea?
... that siblings Thomas, Glen, and Eve Muirhead are all competing in curling for Great Britain at the 2018 Winter Olympics?
... that during the Vietnam War, Pacific Architects and Engineers provided cover for the CIA's Phoenix Program?
... that the announcement of the reopening of the Embassy of Poland in Manila coincided with Poland's decision to expand its economic involvement in Asia?
... that Mu-ming Poo led a team of scientists that created the world's first primate clones with the same technique used to create Dolly the sheep?

In the news

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

A gunman kills 17 people and injures 15 others at a school (pictured) in Parkland, Florida, United States.
Scientists announce the discovery of malacidins, a new class of antibacterial chemicals.
Cyclone Gita strikes Tonga, becoming the strongest storm to hit the nation in over 60 years, and causes widespread property damage.
All 71 people on board are killed when Saratov Airlines Flight 703 crashes near Moscow, Russia.
In Hong Kong, 19 people are killed in a bus accident.
The Winter Olympics open in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

On this day...

February 17: Independence Day in Kosovo (2008)

Armory Show poster

1621 – Myles Standish was elected as the first commander of the Plymouth Colony militia.
1814 – War of the Sixth Coalition: Napoleon led a French army to a crushing victory in the Battle of Mormant, nearly destroying a Russian division.
1913 – In the U.S. National Guard's 69th Regiment Armory in New York City, the Armory Show opened (poster pictured), introducing Americans to avant-garde and modern art.
1978 – The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a bomb at the La Mon restaurant near Belfast, Northern Ireland, killing twelve people and injuring thirty others.
2011 – Arab Spring: Bahrain security forces launched a pre-dawn raid on protesters at the Pearl Roundabout in Manama, killing four of them, and in Libya, a "Day of Rage" took place with protests across the country against the government of Muammar Gaddafi.

María de las Mercedes Barbudo (d. 1849) · Karen O'Connor (b. 1958) · Ed Sheeran (b. 1991)

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Today's featured picture

Nikolay Kovalev (R) attacks Áron Szilágyi (L) in the semi-finals of the men's sabre event at the 2013 World Fencing Championships. Although Kovalev won, he lost in the final against Veniamin Reshetnikov.

Held in Budapest, Hungary, from 5 to 12 August, the 2013 Championships saw 827 fencers from 101 countries compete. Russia won the most medals (11), followed by Italy (6) and Ukraine (4).

Photograph: Marie-Lan Nguyen

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