Wikipedia:Main Page history/2021 March 31

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Lou Spence (1917–1950) was a fighter pilot and squadron commander in the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II and the Korean War. In 1941 he was posted to North Africa with No. 3 Squadron, which operated P-40 Tomahawks and Kittyhawks; he was credited with shooting down two German aircraft and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). He commanded No. 452 Squadron in 1944, flying Supermarine Spitfires in defence of Australia's North-Western Area against the Japanese, and was mentioned in despatches. In February 1950 he took command of No. 77 Squadron, operating P-51 Mustangs as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan. He led his squadron in the opening months of the Korean War, and was awarded a bar to his DFC, as well as the US Legion of Merit and the US Air Medal, for his leadership. Spence was killed during a low-level mission over South Korea in September 1950. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

Siuro railway station

... that the Siuro railway station (pictured), located in the Finnish town of Nokia, was proclaimed a nationally significant built cultural environment by the Finnish Heritage Agency?
... that physician Roopa Dhatt has highlighted the disproportionate number of women working on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic?
... that British singer Rita Ora and Kazakh DJ Imanbek collaborated with translators over videotelephony software Zoom to record their collaborative EP Bang?
... that Andy Crosby captained Scunthorpe United to victory in the 2009 League One play-off Final, the last match of his 715-game career?
... that the encrusting bryozoan Chorizopora brongniartii has a strategy for avoiding being overgrown by worm tubes?
... that although Peter Doyle was Walt Whitman's intimate companion for over twenty years, he was almost not permitted to attend Whitman's funeral?
... that the elderly Widow Mulchrone baked griddlecakes at the Kelly homestead for Princess Grace and Prince Rainier?
... that Richard W. Wells claimed that before he brought several eastern brown snake eggs into the office of a local newspaper, the species had never been photographed hatching?

In the news

Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal

Dozens of civilians are killed and 35,000 others displaced after Islamist rebels seize the city of Palma in Mozambique.
Former President of Madagascar Didier Ratsiraka dies at the age of 84.
The cargo ship Ever Given is freed after it had run aground, blocking the Suez Canal (satellite image shown) for six days and resulting in a traffic jam of more than 350 vessels.
A fire at the Rohingya refugee camp near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, kills at least 15 people and injures hundreds of others.

On this day

March 31: Cesar Chavez Day in various U.S. states (1927)

Eiffel Tower

1521 – Ferdinand Magellan and fifty members of his crew went ashore to present-day Limasawa to participate in the first Catholic Mass in the Philippines.
1761 – Lisbon experienced its second major earthquake in six years, with effects felt as far north as Scotland.
1889 – The Eiffel Tower (pictured) in Paris was inaugurated.
1921 – The Australian Air Force was formed, replacing the short-lived Australian Air Corps and separating it from the army.
1995 – American singer-songwriter Selena, known as the "queen of Tejano music", was murdered by the president of her fan club, Yolanda Saldívar, in Corpus Christi, Texas, deeply affecting the Latino community.

Anne Hyde (d. 1671)
Panoutsos Notaras (b. 1740 or 1752)
Mary Greyeyes (d. 2011)

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

The SOCATA TBM (now Daher TBM) is a family of high-performance single-engine turboprop business and utility light aircraft manufactured by Daher. This SOCATA TBM 900 was photographed in flight during the 2015 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The aircraft features a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-64 engine, and a five-blade carbon-fiber propeller, which increases performance and decreases cabin noise. In a passenger configuration, the pressurized cabin is typically fitted with highly finished interiors, featuring luxury materials such as leather and wood veneers.

Photograph credit: Michael Mainiero

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.