Wikipedia:Main Page history/2019 February 12

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From today's featured article

The goldcrest (Regulus regulus) is a very small bird in the kinglet family. Named for its colourful golden crest feathers, it is called the "king of the birds" in European folklore. Several subspecies are recognised across a very large distribution range that includes much of Eurasia and the islands of Macaronesia. This kinglet has greenish upper-parts and whitish under-parts, with two white wingbars. It has a bright head crest, orange and yellow in the male and yellow in the female, which is displayed during breeding. The song is a repetition of high thin notes. It breeds in coniferous woodland and gardens, building its compact, three-layered nest on a tree branch. Ten to twelve eggs are incubated by the female alone, and the chicks are fed by both parents; second broods are common. The bird is constantly on the move as it searches for insects to eat. Because of its large range and population, it presents no significant conservation concerns. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Kamehameha III, c. 1849

... that Hawaiian king Kamehameha III (pictured) relied on American and British advisors to fill his cabinet?
... that after recapturing escaped Luftwaffe prisoners, the British officer Guy Dury is said to have remarked: "one really has to take off one's hat to them ... I really regret having to lock them up"?
... that a river will be diverted for the construction of Hohhot Shengle International Airport?
... that William Hoskins, the co-inventor of modern billiard chalk, also invented the electric heating coil, used to create the first electric toasters?
... that the cypress aphid is a vector for cypress canker?
... that soprano Ildikó Raimondi, who appeared at the Vienna State Opera in more than 40 roles including Pamina and Mimì, sang the role of Marzelline in the opening season of the Valencia Opera?
... that the first discovered fossil of the dinosaur Weewarrasaurus was noted for being preserved in green-blue opal?
... that Stephen Godin was a steward of a house of penitent prostitutes?

In the news

Alfonso Cuarón

Roma (writer and director Alfonso Cuarón pictured) wins four awards, including Best Film, at the British Academy Film Awards.
Bruce McArthur pleads guilty to eight serial killings in Toronto, Canada, and is sentenced to life in prison.
In American football, the New England Patriots defeat the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl.
Both the United States and Russia suspend the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

On this day

February 12: Red Hand Day; Darwin Day

Christian Dior's "New Look"

1502 – Isabella I issued an edict outlawing Islam in the Crown of Castile, forcing virtually all her Muslim subjects to convert to Christianity.
1855 – Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, was founded as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the United States' first agricultural college.
1909 – New Zealand's worst maritime disaster of the 20th century took place when 75 people died after the ferry SS Penguin struck a rock in Wellington Harbour and sank.
1947 – The French fashion company Christian Dior unveiled a "New Look" (pictured) that revolutionized women's dress and reestablished Paris as the center of the fashion world after World War II.
2009 – Just before it was scheduled to land at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed into a house in Clarence Center, New York, killing the house's occupant and all 49 people on board the aircraft.

Daughter of Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei (b. 528) · Ethan Allen (d. 1789) · Jean Eyeghé Ndong (b. 1946)

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Today's featured picture

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the nation through the Civil War, its bloodiest war and its greatest moral, constitutional, and political crisis. Born in Kentucky into a poor family, Lincoln educated himself and worked as a lawyer in Illinois before entering politics. A powerful orator and astute politician, Lincoln used his Gettysburg Address to promote nationalism, republicanism, equal rights, liberty, and democracy. He has been consistently ranked as one of the greatest US presidents, by both scholars and the public.

Engraving: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; restoration: Andrew Shiva

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