Wikipedia:Main Page history/2019 January 9

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

The Walking Liberty half dollar is a silver 50-cent piece that was designed by Adolph A. Weinman and issued by the United States Mint from 1916 to 1947. In 1915, the new Mint director, Robert W. Woolley, incorrectly believed that he was not only allowed but required by law to retire coin designs that had been in use for 25 years. He began replacing the Barber coinage: dimes, quarters and half dollars bearing similar designs, first struck in 1892 by long-time Mint Engraver Charles E. Barber. Weinman's design of Liberty striding towards the Sun for the half dollar proved difficult to perfect, and it never struck well, which may have been a factor in its replacement by the Franklin half dollar beginning in 1948. Nevertheless, art historian Cornelius Vermeule considered the piece to be among the most beautiful US coins. Since 1986, a modification of Weinman's obverse design has been used for the American Silver Eagle, and the half dollar was issued in gold for its centennial in 2016. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know...

Design by Edward Gyfford

... that Edward Gyfford's buildings (1807 design pictured) were "calculated for the comfort and convenience of persons of moderate and of ample fortune"?
... that President Jozef Tiso argued in a 1942 speech that Slovakia's complicity in the Holocaust was consistent with Christian morality?
... that Cornell University professor Walter LaFeber gave his farewell lecture on American diplomatic history before nearly 3,000 people at New York's Beacon Theatre?
... that the beech orchid was first scientifically described in The Sydney Morning Herald?
... that Melani Leimena Suharli, the daughter of the founder of the Indonesian Christian Party, is Muslim?
... that the U.S. Supreme Court delayed hearing oral arguments in Gamble v. United States due to a national day of mourning proclaimed following the death of George H. W. Bush?
... that photographer Lola Álvarez Bravo was described by Alfonso Michel as Mexico's most important painter?
... that the Buddhist eight precepts allow lay people to lead a life similar to a monk for a day?

In the news

Bartholomew I hands the tomos of autocephaly to Metropolitan Epiphanius.

Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople (pictured, left) grants autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in the ongoing schism within Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
The China National Space Administration's Chang'e 4 becomes the first spacecraft to land on the far side of the Moon.
A train accident on the Great Belt Fixed Link in Denmark kills eight passengers.
In darts, Michael van Gerwen defeats Michael Smith to win the PDC World Championship.

On this day

January 9

Raymond Lederer

475 – Basiliscus became Byzantine Emperor after Zeno was forced to flee Constantinople.
1857 – A 7.9 M_w earthquake ruptured part of the San Andreas Fault in California.
1917 – First World War: Troops of the British Empire defeated Ottoman forces at the Battle of Rafa on the Sinai–Palestine border in present-day Rafah.
1981 – U.S. Representative Raymond Lederer (pictured) was convicted of bribery and conspiracy for his role in the Abscam scandal, but continued to serve his term for three more months.
1992 – Radio astronomers Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail announced the discovery of two planets orbiting the pulsar PSR B1257+12, generally considered the first definitive detection of exoplanets.

William Dugard (b. 1606) · Carrie Chapman Catt (b. 1859) · Lei Jieqiong (d. 2011)

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

Paxillus involutus, the common roll-rim, is a fungus widely distributed across the Northern Hemisphere; it has also been unintentionally introduced to Australia, New Zealand, and South America. The brownish fruit body grows up to 6 cm (2.4 in) high. It has a funnel-shaped cap up to 12 cm (5 in) wide with a distinctive in-rolled rim and decurrent gills close to the stalk. Genetic testing suggests that the fungus may be a species complex rather than a single species. A common mushroom of deciduous and coniferous woods and grassy areas in late summer and autumn, P. involutus is symbiotic with the roots of many tree species, reducing the trees' intake of heavy metals and increasing their resistance to pathogens. Previously considered edible and eaten widely in Eastern and Central Europe, the mushroom has been found to be dangerously poisonous; in 1944, it killed the German mycologist Julius Schäffer. It can trigger the immune system to attack red blood cells with potentially fatal complications, including acute kidney and respiratory failure.

Photograph: Petar Milošević

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.