Wikipedia:Main Page history/2018 October 6

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From today's featured article

The tree swallow is a migratory bird of the family Hirundinidae. Found in the Americas, it was first described in 1807 by French ornithologist Louis Vieillot as Hirundo bicolor. It has since been moved to the genus Tachycineta, where its phylogenetic placement is in debate. It has glossy blue-green upperparts, with the exception of the blackish wings and tail, and white underparts. The bill is black, the eyes are dark brown, and the legs and feet are pale brown. The tree swallow breeds in the US and Canada. It winters in the West Indies and from the southern US coasts to Panama and the northwestern coast of South America. It nests in isolated pairs or loose groups, in both natural and artificial cavities. Breeding can start as soon as early May (although this date is advancing because of climate change), and can end as late as July. The species is generally socially monogamous, with high levels of extra-pair paternity. An aerial insectivore, the tree swallow forages alone and in groups. (Full article...)

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Exterior of Langer's Deli

... that American surgeon Dallas B. Phemister created a bone grafting technique which now bears his name?
... that Velters Cornewall Berkeley infuriated his fellow British officers by failing to engage the 130-gun Santisima Trinidad?
... that the release of Led Zeppelin III was held up for two months because of its volvelle-based sleeve design?
... that an Indonesian billionaire became the oldest medal winner for that country at the 2018 Asian Games?
... that Cruz Pérez Cuéllar ran for Governor of Chihuahua, Mexico, in 2016 on a platform that called for voters to decide if the governor should be removed midway through his term?
... that the sandalled anemone reproduces by longitudinal fission?
... that two years after winning the throne of the Byzantine Empire in battle, Isaac I voluntarily abdicated and retired to a monastery?
... that the No. 19 pastrami on rye at Langer's Deli (pictured) in Los Angeles has been called "the Marilyn Monroe of pastrami sandwiches"?

In the news

Denis Mukwege

Denis Mukwege (pictured) and Nadia Murad are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict".
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to Frances Arnold for her work on directed evolution of enzymes and to George Smith and Greg Winter for their work on phage display of peptides and antibodies.
Arthur Ashkin, Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland are awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on laser science.
James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo are awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on cancer immunotherapy.

On this day

October 6: German-American Day in the United States

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618 – Wang Shichong's army defeated that of Li Mi, allowing Wang to consolidate his power and soon depose China's Sui dynasty.
1762 – Seven Years' War: The Battle of Manila concluded with a British victory over Spain, leading to a short British occupation of Manila.
1934 – Catalonia's autonomous government declared a general strike, an armed insurgency, and the establishment of the Catalan State in reaction to the inclusion of conservatives in the republican regime of Spain.
1998 – University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard was attacked and fatally wounded for being gay near Laramie, Wyoming, U.S., dying six days later.
2010 – Instagram (current logo pictured) released the initial version of its mobile application for iOS devices.

Sarah Crosby (b. 1729) · Goh Keng Swee (b. 1918) · Babasaheb Bhosale (d. 2007)

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Today's featured picture

An automatic watch, also called a self-winding watch, is a mechanical watch in which the natural motion of the wearer provides energy to run the watch, making manual winding unnecessary. The watch contains an oscillating weight that turns on a pivot, which is attached to a ratcheted winding mechanism. The earliest credible evidence for a successful automatic watch is the watch made by the Swiss watchmaker Abraham-Louis Perrelet in late 1776 or early 1777.

Photograph: Petar Milošević

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