Wikipedia:Today's featured article/June 2011

Today's featured article archive

June 1

The Johnstown Inclined Plane is an 896.5-foot (273.3 m) funicular railway in Johnstown, Cambria County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The funicular is capable of carrying passengers and automobiles up or down a slope with a grade of 70.9 percent. The incline and its two stations connect the city of Johnstown, situated in a valley at the confluence of the Stonycreek and the Little Conemaugh Rivers, to the borough of Westmont on Yoder Hill. The travel time from one station to the other is 90 seconds. After a catastrophic flood in 1889, the Inclined Plane was constructed in 1891 to serve as an escape route for future floods, a task which it has fulfilled twice; once in 1936 and again in 1977. It was operated by Cambria Iron Company and its successor Bethlehem Steel until 1935, when it was sold to the borough of Westmont. The incline was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and was designated a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1994. It had major renovations in 1962 and from 1983 to 1984. (more...)

Recently featured: Gianni Schicchi – Charles Holden – Deinonychus

June 2

Edward Elgar (1857–1934) was an English composer. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works such as the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos for violin and cello, and two symphonies. He also composed choral works, including The Dream of Gerontius, chamber music and songs. He was appointed Master of the King's Musick in 1924. Although his works are regarded as quintessentially English, most of his musical influences were not from England but from continental Europe. A self-taught Catholic composer from a poor background, he nevertheless married the daughter of a senior British army officer. He struggled to achieve success until his forties, when his Enigma Variations proved immediately popular. His following work, The Dream of Gerontius (1900) remains a core repertory work in Britain and elsewhere. One of the first composers to take the gramophone seriously, he conducted a series of recordings of his works between 1914 and 1925. Elgar's music came, in his later years, to be seen as appealing chiefly to British audiences. More recently, some of his works have been taken up again internationally, but the music remains more played in Britain than elsewhere. (more...)

Recently featured: Johnstown Inclined Plane – Gianni Schicchi – Charles Holden

June 3

Casino Royale is the 21st film in the James Bond film series and the first to star Daniel Craig as MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 2006, it was directed by Martin Campbell and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Paul Haggis. Casino Royale is set at the beginning of Bond's career as Agent 007, just as he is earning his license to kill. After preventing a terrorist attack at Miami International Airport, Bond falls for Vesper Lynd, the treasury agent assigned to provide the money he needs to bankrupt terrorist financier Le Chiffre by beating him in a high-stakes poker game. The story arc continues in the following Bond film, Quantum of Solace (2008). The film is a reboot, establishing a new timeline and narrative framework not meant to precede or succeed any previous Bond film. Casting the film involved a widespread search for a new actor to portray James Bond, and significant controversy around Craig when he was selected to succeed Pierce Brosnan. It is the third screen adaptation of Ian Fleming's 1953 novel of the same name. The film received largely positive critical response, with reviewers highlighting Craig's performance and the reinvention of the character of Bond. It earned over $594 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing James Bond film to date. (more...)

Recently featured: Edward Elgar – Johnstown Inclined Plane – Gianni Schicchi

June 4

In California's 12th congressional district election, 1946, the candidates were five-term incumbent Democrat Jerry Voorhis, Republican challenger Richard Nixon, and former congressman and Prohibition Party candidate John Hoeppel. Nixon was elected with 56% of the vote, starting him on the road that would lead, almost a quarter century later, to the presidency. For the 1946 election, Republicans sought a candidate who could unite the party and run a strong race against Voorhis in the Republican-leaning district. After failing to secure the candidacy of General George Patton, they settled on Lieutenant Commander Richard Nixon, who had lived in the district prior to his World War II service. Various explanations have been put forward for Nixon's victory, from national political trends to red-baiting on the part of the challenger. Some historians contend that Nixon received large amounts of funding from wealthy backers determined to defeat Voorhis, while others dismiss such allegations. (more...)

Recently featured: Casino Royale – Edward Elgar – Johnstown Inclined Plane

June 5

The logarithm of a number is the exponent by which a fixed number, the base, has to be raised to produce that number. For example, the logarithm of 1000 to base 10 is 3, because 1000 is 10 to the power 3: 1000 = 10³ = 10 × 10 × 10. Logarithms were introduced by John Napier in the early 17th century as a means to simplify calculations. They were rapidly adopted by scientists and engineers to perform computations using slide rules and logarithm tables. These devices rely on the fact—important in its own right—that the logarithm of a product is the sum of the logarithms of the factors. Logarithmic scales reduce wide-ranging quantities to smaller scopes. For example, the decibel is a logarithmic unit quantifying sound pressure and voltage ratios. Logarithms describe musical intervals, measure the complexity of algorithms, and appear in formulas counting prime numbers. They also inform some models in psychophysics and can aid in forensic accounting. (more...)

Recently featured: California's 12th congressional district election, 1946 – Casino Royale – Edward Elgar

June 6

Arular is the 2005 debut album by British musician M.I.A. (pictured). It was released in the US on 22 March 2005 and a month later in the UK, where it had a slightly different track listing. The album's release was preceded in 2004 by two singles and a mixtape. M.I.A. wrote or co-wrote all the songs on the album and created the basic backing tracks using a Roland MC-505 sequencer/drum machine given to her by long-time friend Justine Frischmann. Collaborators included Switch, Diplo, and Richard X. The album's title is the political code name used by her father, Arul Pragasam, during his involvement with Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups, and themes of conflict and revolution feature heavily in the lyrics and artwork. Musically, the album incorporates styles that range from hip hop and electroclash to funk carioca and punk rock. Arular was hailed by critics for its blending of styles and integration of political lyrics into dance tunes. Several publications named it as one of the best albums of the year, and by mid-2007, the album had sold 129,000 copies in the US. Arular spawned the singles "Sunshowers", "Bucky Done Gun" and "Galang", which was released twice. (more...)

Recently featured: Logarithm – California's 12th congressional district election, 1946 – Casino Royale

June 7

Providence is the capital of, and the most populous city in, Rhode Island, and one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the estimated third largest city in the New England region. Despite the city proper only having an estimated population of 178,042 as of 2010, it anchors the 37th largest metropolitan population in the country. With an estimated MSA population of 1,600,856, it exceeds that of Rhode Island itself by about 60% due to its reaching into southern Massachusetts. Situated at the mouth of the Providence River, at the head of Narragansett Bay, the city's small footprint is crisscrossed by seemingly erratic streets and contains a rapidly changing demographic. Providence was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He named the area in honor of "God's merciful Providence", which he believed was responsible for revealing such a haven for him and his followers to settle. One of the first American cities to industrialize, Providence became noted for its jewelry and silverware industry. Today, the city's economy has shifted into the service industries, though it still retains significant manufacturing activity. (more...)

Recently featured: Arular – Logarithm – California's 12th congressional district election, 1946

June 8

Phil Hartman (1948–1998) was a Canadian-born American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and graphic artist. Born in Brantford, Ontario, Hartman and his family moved to the United States when he was ten. After graduating from California State University, Northridge with a degree in graphic arts, he designed album covers for bands such as Poco and America. Hartman joined the comedy group The Groundlings in 1975 and there helped comedian Paul Reubens develop his character Pee-wee Herman. Hartman co-wrote the screenplay for the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure and made recurring appearances on Reubens' show Pee-wee's Playhouse. Hartman became well-known in the late 1980s when he joined the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. He won fame for his impressions, particularly of President Bill Clinton, and stayed on the show for eight seasons. In 1995, after scrapping plans for his own variety show, he starred as Bill McNeal in the NBC sitcom NewsRadio. He also had frequent roles on The Simpsons as Lionel Hutz, Troy McClure, and others. On May 28, 1998, Hartman was shot and killed by his wife while he slept in their California home. In the weeks following his death, Hartman was celebrated in a wave of tributes. Dan Snierson of Entertainment Weekly opined that Hartman was "the last person you'd expect to read about in lurid headlines in your morning paper ... a decidedly regular guy, beloved by everyone he worked with". (more...)

Recently featured: Providence, Rhode Island – Arular – Logarithm

June 9

Ancient Egyptian literature was written in the Egyptian language from Ancient Egypt's pharaonic period until the end of Roman domination. Along with Sumerian literature, it is considered the world's earliest literature. Writing in Ancient Egypt first appeared in the late 4th millennium BC. By the Old Kingdom, literary works included funerary texts, epistles and letters, religious hymns and poems, and commemorative autobiographical texts. It was not until the early Middle Kingdom that a narrative Egyptian literature was created. Middle Egyptian, the spoken language of the Middle Kingdom, became a classical language during the New Kingdom, when the vernacular language known as Late Egyptian first appeared in writing. Scribes of the New Kingdom canonized and copied many literary texts written in Middle Egyptian, which remained the language used for oral readings of sacred hieroglyphic texts. Ancient Egyptian literature has been preserved on a wide variety of media, including papyrus scrolls and packets, limestone or ceramic ostraca, wooden writing boards, monumental stone edifices and coffins. Hidden caches of literature, buried for thousands of years, have been discovered in settlements on the dry desert margins of Egyptian civilization. (more...)

Recently featured: Phil Hartman – Providence, Rhode Island – Arular

June 10

Luton Town Football Club (home stadium pictured) is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National. Formed in 1885, it was the first club in southern England to turn professional, making payments to players as early as 1890 and turning fully professional a year later. It did not reach the top division of English football until 1955–56, and did not reach a major final until the 1959 FA Cup Final. Relegated from the top division in 1959–60, the team was demoted twice more in the following five years, reaching the Fourth Division for the 1965–66 season, before being promoted back to the top level by 1974–75. Luton Town's most recent successful period began in 1981–82, when the club won the Second Division and was promoted to the First Division. Winning the League Cup in 1987–88, Luton remained a First Division club until relegation in 1991–92 signalled the end of major success. More recently, financial difficulties have caused the club to fall, in just three years, from the second tier of English football to the fifth, ending its 89-year spell as a member of The Football League. (more...)

Recently featured: Ancient Egyptian literature – Phil Hartman – Providence, Rhode Island

June 11

Makinti Napanangka (died January 2011) was a Pintupi-speaking Indigenous Australian artist from Australia's Western Desert region. She lived in the communities of Haasts Bluff, Papunya, and later at Kintore. Kumentje Napanangka began painting contemporary Indigenous Australian art at Kintore in the mid-1990s, encouraged by a community art project. Interest in her work developed quickly, and she is now represented in most significant Australian public art galleries, including the National Gallery of Australia. A finalist in the 2003 Clemenger Contemporary Art Award, Kumentje won the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Award in 2008. Her work was shown in the major Indigenous art exhibition Papunya Tula: Genesis and Genius, at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Working in synthetic polymer on linen or canvas, Kumentje's paintings primarily take as their subjects a rockhole site, Lupul, and an Indigenous story (or "dreaming") about two sisters, known as Kungka Kutjarra. She was a member of the Papunya Tula Artists Cooperative, but her work has been described as more spontaneous than that of her fellow Papunya Tula artists. (more...)

Recently featured: Luton Town F.C. – Ancient Egyptian literature – Phil Hartman

June 12

Alexandra of Denmark (1844–1925) was Queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Empress of India from 1901 to 1910 as the wife of Edward VII. Her family had been relatively obscure until her father, the eventual Christian IX of Denmark, was chosen to succeed Frederick VII to the Danish throne. At the age of sixteen she was chosen as the future wife of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the heir of Queen Victoria. They married eighteen months later. As Princess of Wales from 1863 to 1901, she won the hearts of the British people and became immensely popular. Although she was largely excluded from wielding any political power, she unsuccessfully attempted to sway the opinion of ministers and her family to favour her relations in Greece and Denmark. Her public duties were restricted to uncontroversial involvement in charitable work. On the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, Albert Edward became King-Emperor as Edward VII, with Alexandra as Queen-Empress consort. From Edward's death in 1910 until her own death, she was the Queen Mother, being a queen and the mother of the reigning monarch, George V. She greatly distrusted her nephew, German Emperor Wilhelm II and supported her son during World War I. (more...)

Recently featured: Makinti Napanangka – Luton Town F.C. – Ancient Egyptian literature

June 13

The Caral pyramids in the arid Supe Valley

The Norte Chico civilization was a complex Pre-Columbian society that included as many as 30 major population centers in what is now the Norte Chico region of north-central coastal Peru. It is the oldest known civilization in the Americas and one of the six sites where civilization separately originated in the ancient world. It flourished between the 30th century BC and the 18th century BC. Complex society in Norte Chico arose a millennium after Sumer in Mesopotamia, was contemporaneous with the Egyptian pyramids, and predated the Mesoamerican Olmec by nearly two millennia. In archaeological nomenclature, Norte Chico is a Preceramic culture of the pre-Columbian Late Archaic; it completely lacked ceramics and apparently had almost no art. The most impressive achievement of the civilization was its monumental architecture, including large earthwork platform mounds and sunken circular plazas. Sophisticated government is assumed to have been required to manage the ancient Norte Chico. Archaeologists have been aware of ancient sites in the area since at least the 1940s; early work occurred at Aspero on the coast, a site identified as early as 1905, and later at Caral further inland. (more...)

Recently featured: Alexandra of Denmark – Makinti Napanangka – Luton Town F.C.

June 14

Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall is the sixth album (and first live album) by the Canadian-American singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright (pictured), released through Geffen Records in December 2007. The album consists of live recordings from his sold-out June 14–15, 2006 tribute concerts at Carnegie Hall to the legendary American actress and singer Judy Garland. Garland's 1961 double album, Judy at Carnegie Hall, a comeback performance with more than 25 American pop and jazz standards, was highly successful, initially spending 95 weeks on the Billboard charts and garnering five Grammy Awards. For his album, Wainwright was also recognized by the Grammy Awards, earning a 2009 nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. While the tribute concerts were popular and the album was well-received by critics, album sales were limited. Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall managed to chart in three nations, peaking at number 84 in Belgium, number 88 in the Netherlands, and number 171 on the United States' Billboard 200. (more...)

Recently featured: Norte Chico civilization – Makinti Napanangka – Luton Town F.C.

June 15

Hòa thượng Thích Quảng Đức (1897–1963) was a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who burned himself to death on 11 June 1963. Thích Quảng Đức was protesting against the persecution of Buddhists by South Vietnam's Ngô Đình Diệm administration. Photos of his self-immolation were circulated widely across the world and brought attention to the policies of the Diệm regime. After his death, his body was re-cremated, but his heart remained intact. This was interpreted as a symbol of compassion and led Buddhists to revere him as a bodhisattva, heightening the impact of his death on the public psyche. Thích Quảng Đức's act increased international pressure on Diệm and led him to announce reforms. However, the promised reforms were implemented either slowly or not at all, leading to a deterioration in the dispute. With protests continuing, the Special Forces launched nationwide raids on Buddhist pagodas, seizing Thích Quảng Đức's heart and causing deaths and widespread damage. Several Buddhist monks followed Thích Quảng Đức's example and burned themselves to death. Eventually, an Army coup toppled and killed Diệm in November. The self-immolation is widely seen as the turning point of the Vietnamese Buddhist crisis, which led to the change in regime. (more...)

Recently featured: Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall – Norte Chico civilization – Makinti Napanangka

June 16

Myst is a graphic adventure video game designed and directed by the brothers Robyn and Rand Miller. It was developed by Cyan (now Cyan Worlds), a studio based in Spokane, Washington, and was published by Brøderbund. The Millers began working on Myst in 1991, Cyan's largest project to date, and released it for the Macintosh computer in 1993. Myst puts the player in the role of the "Stranger", who uses a special book to travel to the island of Myst. There, the player uses other special books written by an artisan and explorer named Atrus to travel to worlds known as "Ages". Clues found in each Age help to reveal the back-story of the game's characters. The game has several endings, depending on the player's course of action. On release, Myst was a surprise hit, with critics lauding its ability to immerse the player in a fictional world. The game was the best-selling PC game of all time—until The Sims exceeded its sales in 2002—and helped to drive the adoption of the then-nascent CD-ROM format. Myst's success spawned four direct video-game sequels and several spin-off games and novels. (more...)

Recently featured: Thích Quảng Đức – Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall – Norte Chico civilization

June 17

Tropical Storm Alberto was the first tropical cyclone of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. Forming on June 10 in the northwestern Caribbean Sea, the storm moved generally to the north, reaching a maximum intensity of 70 mph (110 km/h) before weakening and moving ashore in the Big Bend area of Florida on June 13. Alberto then moved through eastern Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia as a tropical depression before becoming extratropical on June 14. Across the western Caribbean, the storm produced heavy rainfall, causing minor damage. In Florida, a moderate storm tide caused coastal damage and flooding, while Alberto's outer rainbands produced several tornadoes. Alberto was indirectly responsible for two drownings off the coast of Tampa Bay. In North Carolina, heavy rainfall caused locally severe flooding (pictured), and one child drowned after being sucked into a flooded storm drain near Raleigh. The remnants of Alberto produced strong winds and left four people missing in Atlantic Canada. Overall, damage was minor along Alberto's path. (more...)

Recently featured: Myst – Thích Quảng Đức – Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall

June 18

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are flashes of gamma rays associated with extremely energetic explosions in distant galaxies. GRBs are the most luminous electromagnetic events known to occur in the universe. A burst typically lasts 20–40 seconds, but can last from ten milliseconds to several minutes. The initial burst is usually followed by a longer-lived "afterglow" emitted at longer wavelengths. Most observed GRBs are believed to be a narrow beam of intense radiation released during a supernova event, as a rapidly rotating, high-mass star collapses to form a neutron star or black hole. The sources of most GRBs are billions of light years from Earth, implying that the explosions are both extremely energetic and extremely rare. GRBs were first detected in 1967 by the Vela satellites, but it was not until 1997 that they were better understood, with the detection of the first X-ray and optical afterglows and the use of optical spectroscopy to directly measure their redshifts. (more...)

Recently featured: Tropical Storm Alberto – Myst – Thích Quảng Đức

June 19

Adrian Cole (1895–1966) was a founding member of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1921, and became one of its senior commanders. Having joined the army at the outbreak of World War I, Cole transferred to the Australian Flying Corps in 1916 and flew with No. 1 Squadron in the Middle East and No. 2 Squadron on the Western Front. He became an "ace", credited with victories over 10 enemy aircraft, and earned the Military Cross and the Distinguished Flying Cross. In 1935, "King" Cole gained promotion to group captain. The following year he was appointed as the first commanding officer of Headquarters RAAF Station Richmond. During World War II, Cole led North-Western Area Command in Australia's most northerly city, Darwin, and held a series of overseas posts in North Africa, England, Northern Ireland, and Ceylon. As Forward Air Controller during the Dieppe Raid in 1942, he was wounded in action and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. Cole died in 1966 at the age of 70. (more...)

Recently featured: Gamma-ray burst – Tropical Storm Alberto – Myst

June 20

The First Roumanian-American congregation is an Orthodox Jewish congregation that for more than 100 years occupied a historic building (pictured) at 89–93 Rivington Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York. Those who organized the congregation in 1885 were part of a wave of Romanian-Jewish immigrants who settled mostly in this precinct. The building had previously been a church, then a synagogue, and then a church again. It was transformed into a synagogue for a second time and extensively remodeled when the First Roumanian-American congregation purchased it in 1902. The synagogue's high ceiling, good acoustics, and seating for up to 1,800 people made it famous as the "Cantor's Carnegie Hall". The congregation's membership was in the thousands in the 1940s, but by the early 2000s had declined to around 40 as Jews moved out of the Lower East Side. Though its building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998, the congregation was reluctant to accept outside assistance in maintaining it. In January 2006, the roof collapsed and the building was demolished two months later. (more...)

Recently featured: Adrian Cole – Gamma-ray burst – Tropical Storm Alberto

June 21

Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis is a condition featuring attacks of muscle weakness in the presence of hyperthyroidism (overactivity of the thyroid gland pictured). Hypokalemia (decreased potassium levels in the blood) is usually present during attacks. The condition may be life-threatening if weakness of the breathing muscles leads to respiratory failure, or if the low potassium levels lead to cardiac arrhythmias (irregularities in the heart rate). If untreated, it is typically recurrent in nature. The condition has been linked with genetic mutations in genes that code for certain ion channels that transport electrolytes (sodium and potassium) across cell membranes. Treatment of the hypokalemia, followed by correction of the hyperthyroidism, leads to complete resolution of the attacks. It occurs predominantly in males of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipino, and Korean descent. Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis is one of several conditions that can cause periodic paralysis. (more...)

Recently featured: First Roumanian-American congregation – Adrian Cole – Gamma-ray burst

June 22

Cerro Azul is an active stratovolcano in the Maule Region of central Chile, immediately south of Descabezado Grande. Part of the South Volcanic Zone of the Andes, it rises 3,788 meters (12,428 ft) and is capped by a summit crater 500 meters (1,600 ft) wide that opens to the north. Cerro Azul is responsible for South America's largest recorded eruptions, in 1846 and 1932. In 1846, an effusive eruption formed the vent at the site of present-day Quizapu Crater on the northern flank of Cerro Azul and sent lava flowing down the sides of the volcano, creating a lava field of 8–9 square kilometers (3–3.5 square miles). In 1932, one of the largest explosive eruptions of the 20th century occurred at Quizapu Crater and sent 9.5 cubic kilometers (2.3 cu mi) of ash into the atmosphere. The volcano's most recent eruption was in 1967. The South Volcanic Zone has a long history of eruptions and poses a threat to the surrounding region. Any volcanic hazard—ranging from minor ashfalls to pyroclastic flows—could pose a significant risk to humans and wildlife. Despite its current inactivity, Cerro Azul could produce another major eruption. (more...)

Recently featured: Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis – First Roumanian-American congregation – Adrian Cole

June 23

The Holy Thorn Reliquary was probably created in the 1390s in Paris for John, Duke of Berry for a relic of the Crown of Thorns, and entered the British Museum in 1898. It is one of a small number of major goldsmiths' works from the extravagant world of the courts of the Valois royal family around 1400. It is in solid gold, lavishly decorated with jewels and pearls, and contains a total of 28 enamel figures. The front shows the end of the world and Last Judgement, with the Trinity and saints above and the resurrection of the dead below, and the relic of a single long thorn believed to come from the Crown of Thorns; the rear is mostly decorated in plain gold relief. It was in the Habsburg collections until the 1860s, when it was replaced by a forgery during a restoration by an art dealer, which was not discovered until the 1920s. The reliquary has been described as "one of the supreme achievements of medieval European metalwork", and is currently part of a special exhibition of medieval religious treasures at the British Museum, which opens today. (more...)

Recently featured: Cerro Azul – Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis – First Roumanian-American congregation

June 24

The Peregrine Falcon is a cosmopolitan bird of prey in the family Falconidae. The Peregrine reaches speeds of over 320 km/h (200 mph) during its characteristic hunting stoop, making it the fastest extant member of the animal kingdom. The world's most widespread bird of prey, it can be found nearly everywhere on Earth, except extreme polar regions, very high mountains, and most tropical rainforests; the only major ice-free landmass from which it is entirely absent is New Zealand. While its diet consists almost exclusively of medium-sized birds, the Peregrine Falcon will occasionally hunt small mammals, small reptiles or even insects. Reaching sexual maturity at one year, it mates for life and nests in a scrape, normally on cliff edges or, in recent times, on tall human-made structures. The Peregrine Falcon became an endangered species in many areas due to the use of pesticides, especially DDT. Since the ban on DDT from the beginning of the 1970s, the populations recovered, supported by large scale protection of nesting places and releases to the wild. (more...)

Recently featured: Holy Thorn Reliquary – Cerro Azul – Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis

June 25

Coenred was king of Mercia from 704 to 709. He was a son of the Mercian king Wulfhere, whose brother Æthelred succeeded to the throne in 675 on Wulfhere's death. In 704 Æthelred abdicated in favour of Coenred to become a monk. Coenred's reign is poorly documented, but a contemporary source records that he faced attacks from the Welsh. The same threat may later have led Æthelbald to build Wat's Dyke, a defensive earthwork on the northern Welsh frontier. Coenred is not known to have married or had children, although later chronicles describe him as an ancestor of Wigstan, a 9th-century Mercian king. In 709 Coenred abdicated and went on pilgrimage to Rome, where he later died. Æthelred's son Ceolred succeeded Coenred as king of Mercia. (more...)

Recently featured: Peregrine Falcon – Holy Thorn Reliquary – Cerro Azul

June 26

SMS Baden was a Bayern class dreadnought battleship built for the German Imperial Navy during World War I. Launched in October 1915 and completed in March 1917, she was the last battleship completed for use in the war. The ship mounted eight 38-centimeter (15 in) guns in four twin turrets, displaced 32,200 metric tons (31,700 long tons; 35,500 short tons) at full combat load, and had a top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). Along with her sister, Bayern, Baden was the largest and most powerfully armed German battleship. On being commissioned into the High Seas Fleet, Baden replaced Friedrich der Grosse as the fleet flagship. Baden saw little action during her short career; the only major sortie in April 1918 ended without combat. Following the German collapse in November 1918, Baden was interned with most of the High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow by the British Royal Navy. On 21 June 1919, Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter ordered the scuttling of the fleet. However, British sailors in the harbor managed to board Baden and beach her to prevent her sinking. The ship was re-floated, thoroughly examined, and eventually sunk in extensive gunnery testing by the Royal Navy in 1921. (more...)

Recently featured: Coenred of Mercia – Peregrine Falcon – Holy Thorn Reliquary

June 27

The main buildings of Jesus College, one of the colleges of the University of Oxford, are located in the centre of Oxford, England. There are eleven listed buildings on the site. Jesus College was founded by Elizabeth I, upon the petition of a Welsh clergyman, Hugh Price. Her foundation charter of 27 June 1571 gave the college the land and buildings of White Hall, a defunct academic hall, to which new buildings were added. The first quadrangle, which includes the principal's lodgings and chapel, was completed between 1621 and 1630; it has been described as "small and pretty", with "a curious charm". The chapel was extensively altered in 1864; one historian of the college described the work as "ill-considered". Construction of the second quadrangle began in the 1630s and was completed around 1712. It includes the Fellows' Library, restored in 2007, which contains 11,000 antiquarian books. Further buildings were erected in a third quadrangle during the 20th century, including science laboratories, a new library, and additional accommodation. A project to build new student and teaching rooms opposite the college was completed in 2010. (more...)

Recently featured: SMS Baden – Coenred of Mercia – Peregrine Falcon

June 28

Ariel is the brightest and third most massive of the 27 known moons of Uranus. Discovered on 24 October 1851 by William Lassell, it is named for a sky spirit in Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock and Shakespeare's The Tempest. Like its parent planet, Ariel orbits on its side, giving it an extreme seasonal cycle. As of 2011, almost all knowledge of Ariel derives from a single flyby of Uranus performed by the spacecraft Voyager 2 in 1986, which managed to image 35% of the moon's surface. There are no plans at present to return to study the moon in more detail. After Miranda, Ariel is the second-smallest of Uranus's five round satellites, and the second-closest to its planet. Among the smallest of the Solar System's 19 known spherical moons (it ranks 14th among them in diameter), Ariel is composed of roughly equal parts ice and rocky material. Like all of Uranus's moons, Ariel probably formed from an accretion disk that surrounded the planet shortly after its formation, and, like other large moons, it may be differentiated, with an inner core of rock surrounded by a mantle of ice. Ariel has a complex surface comprising extensive cratered terrain cross-cut by a system of scarps, canyons and ridges. The surface shows signs of more recent geological activity than other Uranian moons, most likely due to tidal heating. (more...)

Recently featured: Buildings of Jesus College, Oxford – SMS Baden – Coenred of Mercia

June 29

Theoren Fleury is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player for the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL), Tappara of the SM-liiga, and the Belfast Giants of the Elite Ice Hockey League. One of the smallest players of his generation, Fleury played a physical style that often led to altercations; he was at the centre of the infamous Punch-up in Piestany, a brawl that resulted in the disqualification of Canada and the Soviet Union from the 1987 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He was selected 166th overall by the Flames in the 1987 draft and played over 1,000 NHL games between 1989 and 2003. A seven-time all-star, Fleury scored over 1,000 points in his NHL career and won the Stanley Cup with the Flames in 1989. He twice represented Canada at the Winter Olympics, winning a gold medal in 2002. He battled drug and alcohol addictions throughout his career, and in his 2009 autobiography Playing with Fire made allegations that he had been sexually abused by former coach Graham James. Since overcoming his addictions, Fleury has become a businessman, played two professional baseball games for the Calgary Vipers and embarked on a career as a motivational speaker encouraging sexual abuse victims to speak out. (more...)

Recently featured: Ariel – Buildings of Jesus College, Oxford – SMS Baden

June 30

Alexander of Lincoln was a medieval English Bishop of Lincoln. He was the nephew of Roger of Salisbury, a Bishop of Salisbury and Chancellor of England under King Henry I, and was also related to Nigel, Bishop of Ely. Unlike his relatives, he held no office in the government before his appointment as Bishop of Lincoln in 1123. Alexander became a frequent visitor to King Henry's court after his elevation to the episcopate, and he served as a royal justice. Although Alexander was known for his ostentatious and luxurious lifestyle, he founded a number of religious houses in his diocese and was an active builder and literary patron. He also attended church councils and reorganized his diocese by increasing the number of archdeaconries and setting up prebends to support his cathedral clergy. Under Henry's successor, King Stephen, Alexander was imprisoned in 1139. He subsequently briefly supported Stephen's rival, Matilda, but by the late 1140s Alexander was once again working with Stephen. He spent much of the late 1140s at the papal court in Rome, but died in England in early 1148. Alexander was the patron of medieval chroniclers Henry of Huntingdon and Geoffrey of Monmouth, and served as an ecclesiastical patron of the medieval hermit Christina of Markyate and Gilbert of Sempringham, founder of the Gilbertines. (more...)

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