Wikipedia:Main Page history/2018 February 7

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

U.S. Marines storm ashore on 7 August 1942

In the Guadalcanal Campaign of the Second World War, the Allies reversed the gains of Imperial Japan in the southwest Pacific. U.S. forces had inflicted heavy losses on the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle of Midway in June 1942, but Japan had remained on the offensive, pushing into the Solomon Islands from Rabaul and threatening supply lines to Australia and New Zealand. In August 1942, U.S. Marines landed on Guadalcanal in the southern Solomon Islands. The Japanese had occupied the islands since May, and were building an airfield (later named Henderson Field). The Allies overwhelmed the surprised Japanese defenders and captured the airfield. The Japanese attempted to retake it but were defeated in the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in early November. They abandoned their campaign in December, and evacuated their remaining forces on 7 February 1943. The Allied victories on Guadalcanal, and in New Guinea, marked the transition from defensive operations to a series of offensives that culminated in the Japanese surrender in 1945. (Full article...)

Part of the Guadalcanal Campaign series, one of Wikipedia's featured topics.

Recently featured:

Did you know...

Wainui Falls

... that, in Māori mythology, the severed tail of a taniwha which fell at the base of the Wainui Falls (pictured) is thought to be responsible for staining the rocks downstream reddish-brown with its blood?
... that a "near-riot" broke out after Cory Booker cast the deciding vote to seat Shanique Speight as a member of the Newark, New Jersey city council?
... that HPgV-2 is the second human pegivirus ever discovered?
... that the Easton Area Public Library holds the original Flag of Easton that is believed to have been flown in the town during the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence?
... that fourteen players have scored an international hat-trick for the Wales national football team?
... that King Abdullah II of Jordan, who claims to be a 41st-generation direct descendant of Muhammad, funded the restoration of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 2017?
... that Stuart Mustow recommended that Birmingham City Council lose responsibility for maintaining the city's Inner Ring Road due to construction defects?
... that despite director John Frankenheimer's preference for the first ending he had shot for Ronin, the test audience "hated it"?

In the news

Falcon Heavy

The SpaceX launch vehicle Falcon Heavy (pictured) makes its maiden flight, equipped with Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster as a dummy payload.
In American football, the Philadelphia Eagles defeat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII.
Archaeologists announce the discovery using LiDAR of approximately 60,000 Mayan structures in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala.
A total lunar eclipse occurs, close to perigee and also the second full moon in a month, a coincidence of events not seen for 35 years.
A new genus of lithostrotian sauropod, Mansourasaurus, is discovered in Egypt.

On this day...

February 7

Steve Jobs

1795 – The Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting the ability of U.S. citizens and foreign nationals to sue U.S. states in federal courts, was ratified in order to overrule the Supreme Court decision in Chisholm v. Georgia.
1813 – Napoleonic Wars: Two evenly matched frigates from the French Navy and the British Royal Navy fought for four hours, causing significant damage, but resulting in a stalemate.
1907 – More than 3,000 women in London participated in the Mud March, the first large procession organized by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, seeking women's suffrage in the United Kingdom.
1948 – Neil Harvey became the youngest Australian to score a century in Test cricket.
1997 – Steve Jobs (pictured) returned to Apple Inc. as a consultant after the company purchased his startup NeXT Software.

Bartholomäus Sastrow (d. 1603) · Desmond Doss (b. 1919) · Steve Nash (b. 1974)

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

A honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal prismatic wax cells built by honey bees in their hives to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen. Honey bees consume about 8.4 lb (3.8 kg) of honey to secrete 1 lb (0.5 kg) of wax. As such, many beekeepers attempt to conserve honeycombs where possible.

Photograph: Waugsberg

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.