Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 November 23

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From today's featured article

Franklin Pierce (1804–1869) was the 14th President of the United States (1853–57), whose inability to calm tensions over slavery kept the country on the path to the Civil War. A northern Democrat from New Hampshire, Pierce served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate and took part in the Mexican–American War as a brigadier general before becoming the Democrats' compromise candidate in the 1852 presidential election. He saw the abolitionist movement as a fundamental threat to the unity of the nation. He was a Young America expansionist who signed the Gadsden Purchase of land from Mexico and led a failed attempt to acquire Cuba from Spain. His polarizing actions in signing the Kansas–Nebraska Act and enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act failed to stem intersectional conflict. Although Pierce expected to be renominated by the Democrats, he was abandoned by his party and failed in his bid to be re-elected. His wife Jane suffered from illness and depression for much of her life, and all of their children died young. Pierce, a heavy drinker for much of his life, died of cirrhosis of the liver. Today he is widely regarded as one of the worst presidents in U.S. history. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that the original pioneering settlement of Wyangala, Australia, was submerged on completion of Wyangala Dam (pictured) in 1935?
... that Singaporean swimmer Samantha Yeo was twelve years old when she competed at the 2009 Southeast Asian Games?
... that after 1832, John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company dominated the fur trade in Montana on the upper Missouri River by using the paddle steamer to transport goods?
... that Candidula spadae, a snail native to Central Italy, is at risk in part because of tourist activities?
... that every member of the Cambridge crew that won the March 1849 University Boat Race came from Trinity College?
... that the Sutton Heritage Mosaic, one of the largest examples of wall art in Britain, consists of over 100,000 pieces?
... that asking prices for the poorly received video game Cubic Ninja jumped to as much as $500 after it was used for the first Nintendo 3DS homebrew exploit?

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In the news

Opposition candidate Klaus Iohannis (pictured) is elected President of Romania.
The 9th G-20 summit concludes in Brisbane, following discussions focusing primarily on economic issues.
With world leaders from 21 Pacific Rim countries attending, the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting concludes in Beijing.
The Philae lander, deployed from the European Space Agency's Rosetta probe, reaches the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.
In Mexico City, thousands protest the disappearance of 43 students after the discovery of mass graves.
The ALMA radio telescope array shows a protoplanetary disk around the star HL Tauri.

Ongoing: Ebola outbreak – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Recent deaths: Mike Nichols – Alexander Grothendieck – Ken Takakura

On this day...

November 23: St George's Day in Georgia; Labor Thanksgiving Day in Japan

1499 – Perkin Warbeck, a pretender to the English throne during the reign of King Henry VII, was hanged after reportedly attempting to escape from the Tower of London.
1876 – William "Boss" Tweed, a New York City politician who had been arrested for embezzlement, was handed to US authorities after having escaped from prison to Spain.
1924 – Edwin Hubble (pictured) published evidence in a newspaper that the Andromeda Nebula, previously believed to be part of the Milky Way, is actually another galaxy, one of many in the universe.
1934 – An Anglo-Ethiopian boundary commission in the Ogaden encountered a garrison of Somalis in Italian service at Walwal, which led to the Abyssinia Crisis.
2009 – A crowd of people on their way to register the candidacy of Esmael Mangudadatu in the upcoming election for Governor of Maguindanao, Philippines, were attacked by supporters of his rival, resulting in at least 57 deaths.

More anniversaries: November 22 – November 23 – November 24

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It is now November 23, 2014 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture

The musk duck (Biziura lobata) is a duck native to southern Australia and the only extant member of its genus. Named for the peculiar musky odour that it gives off during breeding season, this duck is highly aquatic, preferring deep, still lakes and wetlands with areas of both open water and reed beds. The musk duck feeds primarily on water beetles, yabbies, water snails, and freshwater shellfish, supplemented with a variety of aquatic plants and a few fish.

Photograph: JJ Harrison

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