Rudolf Caracciola (1901–1959) was a German racing driver who won the European Drivers' Championship, the pre-1950 equivalent of the modern Formula One World Championship, an unsurpassed three times. Caracciola raced for Mercedes-Benz during their original dominating Silver Arrows period, and set speed records for the firm. In 1933, he established the privateer team Scuderia C.C. with Louis Chiron, but a crash in practice for the Monaco Grand Prix left him with multiple fractures of his right thigh, which prevented him from racing for more than a year. He returned to the newly reformed Mercedes-Benz racing team in 1934, with whom he won three European Championships, in 1935, 1937 and 1938. Like most German racing drivers in the 1930s, Caracciola was a member of the Nazi paramilitary group NSKK, but never a member of the Nazi Party. He returned to racing after the Second World War, but crashed in qualifying for the 1946 Indianapolis 500. A second comeback in 1952 was halted by another crash, in a race in Switzerland. After he retired Caracciola worked as a Mercedes-Benz salesman targeting NATO troops stationed in Europe. He is remembered as one of the greatest pre-1939 Grand Prix drivers, a perfectionist who excelled in all conditions. (more...)
CERN's OPERA researchers report the observation of neutrinos appearing to travel faster than the speed of light and request independent investigation to confirm the finding.
The Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame is a collection of plaques(pictured), mounted on a brick wall in the Ashburn Alley section of Citizens Bank Park, the ballpark of the Philadelphia Phillies. From 1978 to 2003, the Phillies inducted one figure from their franchise history and one notable person from the Philadelphia Athletics (A's) organization each year—with the exception of 1983, when the Phillies inducted their Centennial Team. Since 2004, only Phillies are inducted; the team no longer inducts notable Athletics. The original goal of the Wall of Fame was to induct the greatest players in Phillies and Athletics history, but exceptions have been made for non-players who have made significant contributions to the organizations. The first figures to be inducted into the Wall of Fame were Robin Roberts, who was inducted for the Phillies; and Connie Mack, inducted for the A's. The Wall's most recent inductee is John Kruk. (more...)
The Australian Wood Duck (Chenonetta jubata, female shown here) is a dabbling duck found throughout much of Australia. This 45–51 cm (18–20 in) duck looks like a small goose, and feeds on grassland mostly by grazing in flocks. Unusually for a duck, it rarely swims.
This Wikipedia is written in English. Started in 2001 (2001), it currently contains 3,750,613 articles. Many other Wikipedias are available; some of the largest are listed below.
.jpg)
