Wikipedia:Main Page history/2017 October 23

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From today's featured article

Blackbeard (Edward Teach, c. 1680 – 1718) was an English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of the American colonies. He was probably born in Bristol, but little is known about his early life. He may have served on privateer ships during Queen Anne's War before he joined the crew of Benjamin Hornigold, a pirate who operated from the Caribbean island of New Providence. In the Queen Anne's Revenge, a renamed merchant vessel, Teach blockaded the port of Charles Town, South Carolina, with an alliance of pirates. After successfully ransoming its inhabitants, he settled in Bath Town, but soon returned to piracy. He was attacked and killed near Ocracoke Island by a crew seeking the reward for his capture. A shrewd and calculating leader, he avoided the use of force, and there are no accounts that he ever harmed his captives. Following his death, his image was romanticised, becoming the inspiration for a variety of pirate-themed works of fiction. (Full article...)

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In the news

Andrej Babiš

The ANO party, led by Andrej Babiš (pictured), wins the most seats in the Czech legislative election.
Jacinda Ardern is set to become Prime Minister of New Zealand after forming a Labour–NZ First coalition government.
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders wins the Man Booker Prize.
The Philippines declares victory over ISIS in the Battle of Marawi.
The Syrian Democratic Forces declare victory in the Battle of Raqqa.
The first observation of a neutron star merger in gravitational waves – as well as gamma rays, visible light, and other forms of electromagnetic radiation – is announced.

On this day...

October 23: Mole Day

Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis

1850 – The first National Women's Rights Convention, presided over by Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis (pictured), was held in Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
1942 – World War II: Japanese forces began their ill-fated attempt to recapture Henderson Field from the Americans.
1956 – The Hungarian Revolution began as a peaceful student demonstration which attracted thousands as it marched through central Budapest to the Parliament building.
2002 – Chechen separatists seized a crowded theater in Moscow, taking approximately 700 patrons and performers hostage.

Anne Oldfield (d. 1730) · Stefano Franscini (b. 1796) · Annabel Breuer (b. 1992)

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From today's featured list

Barry Bonds

The 500 home run club is a group of Major League Baseball (MLB) batters who have hit 500 or more regular-season home runs in their careers. On August 11, 1929, Babe Ruth became the first member of the club. Ruth ended his career with 714 home runs, a record which stood from 1935 until Hank Aaron surpassed it in 1974. Aaron's ultimate career total, 755, remained the record until Barry Bonds (pictured) set the current mark of 762 during the 2007 season. Twenty-seven players are members of the 500 home run club. Of these 27 players, 14 were right-handed batters, 11 were left-handed, and 2 were switch hitters. The San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox are the only franchises to see four players reach the milestone while on their roster. Five 500 home run club members—Aaron, Willie Mays, Eddie Murray, Rafael Palmeiro, and Alex Rodriguez—are also members of the 3,000 hit club. (Full list...)

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The interior of the dining hall at Keble College in Oxford, England. Established in 1870 as a monument to John Keble, a leading member of the Oxford Movement, the college is the largest (by rooms) of constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. Its neo-gothic red-brick buildings, designed by William Butterfield, housed 433 undergraduates and 245 graduate students in the 2011/12 academic year.

Photograph: David Iliff

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