Wikipedia:Main Page history/2018 April 21

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Neferirkare Kakai was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the third king of the Fifth Dynasty. The eldest son of the previous pharaoh, Sahure, he reigned for eight to eleven years, sometime in the early-to-mid 25th century BCE. His contemporaries viewed him as a kind and benevolent ruler, willing to intervene on behalf of his courtiers. During his rule the number of administration and priesthood officials increased, and they used their expanded wealth to build sophisticated mastabas (tombs) where they recorded their biographies for the first time. He was the last pharaoh to significantly modify the royal naming conventions, separating the throne name from the birth name, in front of which he added the "Son of Ra" epithet. In the royal necropolis of Abusir he started a pyramid for himself conceived as a step pyramid, a form not seen since the Third Dynasty about 120 years earlier. A modified plan represented the monument as a true pyramid, the largest in Abusir, but this pyramid was never completed. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know...

St. Edward's
Catholic Church

... that locals claimed St. Edward's Catholic Church (pictured) to be the first church in the world to have electric lighting?
... that Colonel Chen Xiaolu publicly confessed and apologized for torturing and persecuting his teachers and school officials, one of whom committed suicide, during the Cultural Revolution?
... that archaeologists believe the cultural memory of the burial site at the Alepotrypa cave may have become associated with the mythological entrance to Hades?
... that Jos has been called the "home of country music" in Nigeria?
... that para-alpine skier Mehmet Çekiç has twice been flag bearer for Turkey at the Paralympics?
... that Psalm 84 about God's lovely dwellings was set to music by Heinrich Schütz, by Brahms in the centre of Ein deutsches Requiem, and as Wilhelm Kempff's Op. 1?
... that recording a "ghost" helped lead to Peter van Geersdaele's appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire?
... that Groom Mine has a view over Area 51?

In the news

Miguel Díaz-Canel

Miguel Díaz-Canel (pictured) succeeds Raúl Castro as President of Cuba.
In horse racing, Tiger Roll wins the Grand National at Aintree Racecourse in the United Kingdom.
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.

On this day...

April 21

Mausoleum of four Shia Imams

43 BC – During the Battle of Mutina, forces led by Mark Antony killed Decimus Brutus, one of Julius Caesar's assassins.
1509 – Henry VIII became King of England, following the death of his father Henry VII, eventually becoming a significant figure in the history of the English monarchy.
1926 – Al-Baqi cemetery, former site of the mausoleum (pictured) of four of the Twelve Imams of Shia Islam, was demolished by Wahhabis.
1970 – In response to a dispute over wheat production quotas, the Principality of Hutt River proclaimed its secession from Western Australia.
2010 – Ukraine and Russia signed the Kharkiv Pact to extend the Russian lease on naval facilities in Crimea.

Bajkam (d. 941) · Jan Boeckhorst (d. 1668) · Ignatius Zakka I Iwas (b. 1931)

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

A runway is a strip of land prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft. It may use an artificial surface (asphalt, concrete, or a mixture) or a natural one (grass, dirt, gravel, ice, or salt). The runway shown here is one of two at Palm Springs International Airport, outside of Palm Springs, California.

Photograph: D Ramey Logan

Recently featured:

Other areas of Wikipedia

Community portal – Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.
Help desk – Ask questions about using Wikipedia.
Local embassy – For Wikipedia-related communication in languages other than English.
Reference desk – Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
Site news – Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
Village pump – For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.