Wikipedia:Main Page history/2017 December 18
From today's featured articleGalaxy Science Fiction was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by World Editions and sold two years later to Robert Guinn, the magazine's printer. Its first editor, H. L. Gold, rapidly made Galaxy the leading science fiction magazine of its time, focusing on stories about social issues rather than technology, including Ray Bradbury's "The Fireman" (later expanded as Fahrenheit 451), Robert A. Heinlein's The Puppet Masters, and Alfred Bester's The Demolished Man. Frederik Pohl, who had been doing most of the production work for some time, took over as editor officially in 1961. Until his departure in 1969, Galaxy had continued success, regularly publishing fiction by writers such as Cordwainer Smith, Jack Vance, Harlan Ellison, and Robert Silverberg. At its peak, Galaxy greatly influenced the science fiction field. Gold brought a "sophisticated intellectual subtlety" to magazine science fiction, according to Pohl. Historian David Kyle suggests that Gold's new direction led to the experimental New Wave, the defining science fiction literary movement of the 1960s. (Full article...)
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On this day...December 18: National Day in Qatar (1878)
James Watney (b. 1800) · Ty Cobb (b. 1886) · Alexei Kosygin (d. 1980)
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The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of the Government of the United Kingdom, and chairs Cabinet meetings. There is no specific date when the office of Prime Minister first appeared, as the role was not created but rather evolved over a period of time. The term was used in the House of Commons in 1805 and it was certainly in parliamentary use by the 1880s, and in 1905 the post of Prime Minister was officially given recognition in the order of precedence. Modern historians generally consider Sir Robert Walpole (pictured), who led the government of Great Britain from 1721 to 1742, as the first Prime Minister. Walpole is also the longest-serving Prime Minister by this definition. However, Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman was the first Prime Minister and Margaret Thatcher the longest-serving Prime Minister to have been officially referred to as such. Due to the gradual evolution of the post of Prime Minister, the title is applied to early Prime Ministers only retrospectively; this has sometimes given rise to academic dispute. (Full list...)
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A black plastic comb. Toothed devices used for styling, cleaning and managing hair and scalp, combs have been used since prehistoric times, and examples date back to 5,000 years. Combs vary in shape according to function, and can be made out of a number of materials. Most combs are plastic, metal, or wood; ivory combs were also once common. Photograph: Chris Woodrich
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