Wikipedia:Main Page history/2018 April 18

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Famous Fantastic Mysteries was an American science fiction and fantasy pulp magazine published from 1939 to 1953, edited by Mary Gnaedinger. It was launched by the Munsey Company to reprint stories from their magazines, including Argosy. Frequently reprinted authors included George Allan England, A. Merritt, and Austin Hall. The artwork, including some of the best work of Virgil Finlay and Lawrence Stevens, contributed to the success of the magazine. In late 1942 Popular Publications acquired the title from Munsey, and Famous Fantastic Mysteries stopped reprinting short stories from the earlier magazines. It continued to reprint longer works, including titles by G. K. Chesterton, H. G. Wells, and H. Rider Haggard. Original short fiction also began to appear, including Arthur C. Clarke's "Guardian Angel", which later formed the first section of his novel Childhood's End. In 1951 the publishers experimented briefly with a large digest format, but returned quickly to the original pulp layout. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Airliner Number 4

... that Norman Bel Geddes claimed that his Airliner Number 4 (design pictured) would be able to fly from Chicago to London in 42 hours using in-air refueling over Newfoundland?
... that the Thai Buddhist temple Wat Phra Dhammakaya broke a Guinness World Record for organizing the longest journey walking over flower petals?
... that Nicholas Muellner was in the Caribbean when he decided to photograph acquaintances in Russia?
... that Puerto Rican anarchists opposed the consumption of alcohol and as a consequence distanced themselves from the European concept of the anarchist "beer hall"?
... that congressman Duan Yihe was executed for blowing up his mistress, in one of the most shocking crimes involving a Chinese official?
... that Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Malawi has a filling station to generate income and train students in business management?
... that Colin Robert Chase's major work on the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf was called "one of the most important inconclusions in the study of Old English"?
... that the former QBx1 bus route in New York City had ten route variants depending on the time of day?

In the news

Augusta National Golf Club

The United States, United Kingdom and France strike multiple government targets in Syria in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack in Douma.
At least 257 people are killed as an Algerian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft crashes in Algeria.
In golf, Patrick Reed wins the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club (pictured) in the United States.
In the Hungarian parliamentary election, a coalition led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wins its third consecutive supermajority in the Hungarian National Assembly.

On this day...

April 18: Yom Hazikaron in Israel (2018)

Ezra Pound

1738 – By royal decree, Philip V of Spain established the Real Academia de la Historia.
1915 – World War I: French aviator Roland Garros landed his aircraft behind enemy lines and was taken prisoner.
1938 – Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, made his debut in Action Comics #1, the first true superhero comic book.
1958 – Controversial American poet Ezra Pound (pictured) was released from St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he had been incarcerated for twelve years.
1996 – Israeli forces shelled Qana, Lebanon, during Operation Grapes of Wrath, killing at least 100 civilians and injuring more than 110 others at a UN compound.

Stephen Lekapenos (d. 963) · Ludwig Levy (b. 1854) · Bertha Isaacs (b. 1900)

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The Doolittle Raid was an April 18, 1942, air raid by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo and other places on the island of Honshu. It was the first air operation during World War II to strike the Japanese home islands, demonstrating that Japan itself was vulnerable to American air attack. As a symbolic retaliation for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, it provided an important boost to American morale. The raid was planned and led by Lieutenant Colonel James "Jimmy" Doolittle of the United States Army Air Forces, and involved 16 B-25B Mitchells, each with a crew of five. Of these eighty men, seven died during the raid or after being captured. The raid caused more than 450 casualties, including about 50 deaths, but minimal material damage.

Film: Castle Films

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