Wikipedia:Main Page history/2019 October 3

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Bronze bust of Michael Hordern

Michael Hordern (3 October 1911 – 2 May 1995) was an English stage and film actor best known for his Shakespearean roles, especially King Lear, whom he played on stage in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1969 and London in 1970 and on television five years later. Hordern came to prominence in the 1950s with the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre where he played Caliban in The Tempest and Jaques in As You Like It. With Michael Benthall's company at the Old Vic, he played Polonius in Hamlet, and the title role in King John. In 1958 he won a best actor award at the British Academy Television Awards for his role as the barrister in John Mortimer's courtroom drama The Dock Brief. He appeared in nearly 140 cinema roles, including Cleopatra (1963) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966). His television credits include Paradise Postponed, the BAFTA-award-winning Memento Mori, and the BBC adaptation of Middlemarch. He was knighted in 1983. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know...

Former Stasi prison

... that the occupation of the Stasi district headquarters and Stasi prison (pictured) in Erfurt was a milestone in the Peaceful Revolution?
... that television producer J. Michael Mendel won three Primetime Emmy Awards for The Simpsons and another for Rick and Morty?
... that Walter Burkert described the conclusion on Greek mythology in The Homeric Gods as a "sublime private religion"?
... that Edgardo Labella, the mayor of Cebu City, survived the 1998 sinking of a passenger ferry during Typhoon Vicki, staying afloat for 36 hours in a life vest?
... that the New York City neighborhood of Mill Basin, once a desolate swampland, now contains multi-million-dollar homes?
... that Elizabeth, Lady Echlin, a correspondent of the author, wrote a revised ending to Samuel Richardson's Clarissa in which the rape that was central to the original version is averted?
... that the Samsung Galaxy Fit smartwatch can be charged wirelessly through near-field communication?
... that footballer Tom Farquharson was believed to carry a gun in his kitbag?

In the news

Martín Vizcarra

Peruvian president Martín Vizcarra (pictured) dissolves Congress, resulting in a constitutional crisis.
An earthquake strikes Maluku, Indonesia, killing at least 30 people.
During a prolonged period of haze over Southeast Asia, more than 800,000 people endure respiratory diseases.
An earthquake in Kashmir kills 38 people and injures more than 700 others.

On this day

October 3

Allen Ginsberg

1952 – The United Kingdom successfully completed a nuclear test to become the world's third nuclear power.
1957 – A California Superior Court judge ruled that "Howl", a poem by Allen Ginsberg (pictured), was of "redeeming social importance" and thus not obscene.
1963 – Oswaldo López Arellano replaced Honduran president Ramón Villeda Morales in a violent coup, initiating two decades of military rule.
1989 – Major Moisés Giroldi of the Panama Defense Forces failed in his attempt to overthrow dictator Manuel Noriega.
2013 – A boat carrying migrants from Libya to Italy sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa, resulting in more than 360 deaths.

Pierre Bonnard (b. 1867) · Sophie Treadwell (b. 1885) · Olivia Shakespear (d. 1938)

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

Ruth Muskrat Bronson (October 3, 1897 – June 12, 1982) was a Cherokee poet, educator and Indian rights activist. After completing her education, Bronson became the first Guidance and Placement Officer of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She served as executive secretary for the National Congress of American Indians, which was founded in 1944, and created their legislative news service. After a decade of work in Washington, D.C., Bronson moved to Arizona. There she served as a health education specialist for the Indian Health Service. Upon her retirement from the government, she received the Oveta Culp Hobby Service Award from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. She continued working for Native American rights, promoting their development and leadership in the private sector until her death. This picture shows Bronson in 1923, at the age of 26.

Photograph credit: National Photo Company; restored by Adam Cuerden

Recently featured:

Other areas of Wikipedia

Community portal – Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.
Help desk – Ask questions about using Wikipedia.
Local embassy – For Wikipedia-related communication in languages other than English.
Reference desk – Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
Site news – Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
Village pump – For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.