Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 December 22

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From today's featured article

Sir Colin Hannah (1914–1978) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and a Governor of Queensland. Born in Western Australia, he joined the RAAF in 1935 and served as a pilot in Nos. 22 and 23 Squadrons. During World War II, he was the RAAF's Deputy Director of Armament, saw action in the South West Pacific as commander of No. 6 Squadron and, later, No. 71 Wing, and ended the war in charge of Western Area Command in Perth. During the Malayan Emergency, he was senior air staff officer at RAF Far East Air Force Headquarters, Singapore. His other post-war appointments included Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Operational Command, and AOC Support Command. In January 1970, he was promoted to air marshal and became Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), the RAAF's senior position. Knighted in 1971, Hannah concluded his three-year appointment as CAS a year early, in March 1972, to become Governor of Queensland, where he attracted controversy by making comments critical of the Federal government. The British government refused to agree to his term being extended. He retired in March 1977, and died the following year. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that Thorleiv Røhn (pictured), a gold medal–winning Norwegian gymnast at the 1906 Intercalated Games, was convicted of treason after the Second World War?
... that Kolejka, a popular Polish educational board game about shortages in the communist shortage economy, has itself been in short supply?
... that a New York Times Magazine writer described Ellen Page's performance in the 2005 film Hard Candy as her artistic breakthrough performance that "almost no one noticed"?
... that William of Orange stayed in Gayton Hall, Wirral, in 1690 on his way to Ireland?
... that the 2014 Swedish Cabinet crisis led to the planning of the first extra election in Sweden since 1958?
... that Richard Dawson was inspired to write The Glass Trunk after performing a database search in Tyne and Wear archives for "death"?
... that the owners of the Cereal Killer Cafe came up with the idea for the business after being hung over?

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In the news

India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III successfully completes its first flight, carrying the crew vehicle demonstrator CARE.
U.S. aid worker Alan Gross and three members of the Cuban Five are released by Cuba and the United States, respectively, as both nations move to resume diplomatic relations.
In an effort to curtail the rapid decline of the ruble, the Central Bank of Russia raises interest rates to 17%.
At least 141 people are killed as Taliban gunmen storm a school in Peshawar, Pakistan.
Gunman Man Haron Monis and two hostages are killed when a siege ends at a café in Sydney.
In Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito coalition secures a two-thirds majority following a snap general election.

Ongoing: Ebola outbreak – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

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On this day...

December 22: Mother's Day in Indonesia

1769 – Having been soundly defeated in battle, the Qing dynasty agreed to terms of truce, ending the Sino-Burmese War.
1920 – The 8th Congress of Soviets approved the GOELRO plan, the first Soviet plan for national economic recovery and development.
1939 – Members of the All-India Muslim League observed a "Day of Deliverance" to celebrate the resignations of members of the Indian National Congress over the decision to enter the Second World War at the request of the United Kingdom.
1964 – The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird (pictured), the United States Air Force's long-range, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft and the world's fastest air-breathing manned aircraft, made its first flight.
1984 – While riding a New York City Subway train, Bernhard Goetz shot four African American youths who attempted to rob him, sparking a nationwide debate on vigilantism, racism, and the legal limits of self-defense.

More anniversaries: December 21 – December 22 – December 23

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From today's featured list

Plantations that operated within the present-day boundaries of West Virginia initially carried over the practice of slavery from other plantations of the Piedmont and Tidewater regions of Virginia. Harewood (pictured), which was designed by John Ariss for George Washington's brother Samuel Washington, is an early instance of a plantation in present-day West Virginia that had a grand home. The West Virginia Legislature passed an act abolishing slavery in West Virginia on February 3, 1865, thus ending the institution of the plantation in West Virginia. Since the 1960s, many of West Virginia's plantation houses have acquired places on the National Register of Historic Places, the United States government's official list of sites, buildings, and structures deemed worthy of preservation. The house at Traveller's Rest is West Virginia's sole plantation house designated as a National Historic Landmark for its national-level historical significance. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

A diagram showing different characteristics of leaves which are visible to the naked eye or under slight magnification. These can be used for identifying the species on which the leaves are found. This chart shows three aspects of leaves that can be differentiated: the shape and arrangement of the leaf, its edge (or margin), and the pattern of its veins.

Diagram: Debivort and McSush

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