Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 January 28

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Today's featured article
The Temple at Thatch is an unpublished novel by the British author Evelyn Waugh, his first adult attempt at full-length fiction. He began writing it in 1924 at the end of his final year as an undergraduate at Hertford College, Oxford, and continued to work on it intermittently in the following 12 months. After his friend Harold Acton commented unfavourably on the novel in June 1925, Waugh burned the manuscript. In a fit of despondency from this and other personal disappointments, he then made a half-hearted suicide bid before returning to his senses. In the absence of a manuscript or printed text, the only information as to the novel's subject comes from Waugh's diary entries and later reminiscences. The story was evidently semi-autobiographical, based around Waugh's Oxford experiences. The protagonist was an undergraduate and the work's main themes were madness and black magic. Some of the novel's ideas were incorporated into Waugh's first commercially published work of fiction, the 1925 short story "The Balance", which includes several references to a country house called "Thatch" and, like the novel, is partly structured as a film script. Acton's severe judgement did not deter Waugh from his intention to be a writer, but it affected his belief that he could succeed as a novelist. For a time he turned his attention away from fiction, but with the gradual recovery of his self-confidence he was able to complete his first novel, Decline and Fall, which was published with great success in 1928. (more...) Recently featured: Temple of Eshmun – Hurricane Kyle – Little Thetford Archive – By email – More featured articles...
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From Wikipedia's newest articles: ... that RAAF Air Vice-Marshal Alan Charlesworth (pictured) once survived an accident with future Governor of New South Wales Eric Woodward when their aircraft landed upside down on a fence? ... that the Mayo Clinic argued in Mayo v. United States that medical residents, who work up to 80 hours a week and are paid approximately $50,000 a year, should be considered students instead of employees? ... that International Commission of Control, established on October 15, 1913, to assume the administration of Albania, was composed of the representatives of each Great Power and one Albanian? ... that while Oregon's Willamette Valley is known primarily for Pinot noir, Cristom Vineyards in the Eola-Amity Hills has been growing Syrah since 2002? ... that Congregation Dorshei Emet is the first synagogue in Canada and the third in the world to receive a Torah scroll handwritten by a woman? ... that the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis completed a clinical trial to test whether hypothermia (cooling) within the first few hours of a traumatic spinal cord or brain injury makes a difference in the severity of injury? ... that an 11-year-old girl beat the video game Diva Starz: Mall Mania in 42 minutes? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Anti-government protests across Egypt intensify, as the Egyptian government suspends internet access and SMS networks nationwide. The Sumatran Orangutan (pictured) becomes the third hominid species to have its genome sequenced, following humans and chimpanzees. The Federal Assembly of Russia approves the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, a month after its ratification by the United States Senate. Bomb attacks in the Iraqi cities of Baghdad and Karbala kill 27 people and injure over 70 others. At least 35 people are killed and more than 100 others wounded in a bombing at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow. The Irish Green Party withdraws from the country's coalition government, leaving it without an overall majority. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
January 28 1077 – Walk to Canossa: Pope Gregory VII lifted the excommunication of Henry IV after the Holy Roman Emperor made his trek from Speyer to Canossa Castle to beg the pope for forgiveness for his actions in the Investiture Controversy. 1547 – Nine-year-old Edward VI (pictured) became the first Protestant ruler of England, during whose reign Protestantism was established for the first time in the country with reforms that included the abolition of clerical celibacy and the mass. 1887 – The largest-ever snowflakes, measuring 15 in (38 cm) in diameter and 8 in (20 cm) thick, were observed in Fort Keough, Montana, US. 1896 – Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent, England, was the first person ever convicted of exceeding the speed limit. He was travelling 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) when the limit was 2 mph (3.2 km/h), and he was fined one shilling. 1933 – Choudhary Rahmat Ali published a pamphlet entitled "Now or Never" in which he called for the creation of a Muslim state in northwest India that he termed "Pakstan". 1964 – An unarmed USAF T-39 Sabreliner on a training mission was shot down over Erfurt, East Germany, by a Soviet MiG-19, killing all three aboard. More anniversaries: January 27 – January 28 – January 29 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now January 28 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) is the most common gull seen in Australia. It is found throughout the continent, having adapted well to urban environments and thriving around shopping centres and garbage dumps. The Silver Gull should not be confused with the Herring Gull (Larus argentatus), which is called "silver gull" in many other languages.

Photo: Fir0002

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