Wikipedia:Main Page history/2019 March 23

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

The Emesa helmet is an iron Roman cavalry helmet from the early first century AD. Its face mask, covered in a thin sheet of silver, presents the individualised portrait of a face, likely that of its owner. Decorations, some gilded, adorn the head piece. Ornately designed yet highly functional, the helmet was probably intended for both parades and battle. Its delicate covering is too fragile to have been put to use during cavalry tournaments, but the thick iron core would have defended against blows and arrows. It bears acanthus scroll ornamentation, indicating that the helmet may have come from the luxury workshops of Antioch. Confiscated by Syrian police in 1936 soon after looters discovered it amidst a complex of tombs in the modern-day city of Homs, the helmet was eventually restored at the British Museum. It has been exhibited internationally, and is now in the collection of the National Museum of Damascus. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know...

Chapel in Innerberg

... that architect Jörg Streli and his two colleagues designed the Sankt-Margarethen-Kapelle (pictured) in Tyrol, which rises like a tower on a circular floor?
... that Rosie Bernard's bar in Monte Carlo, The Chatham, was "one of the temples of grand prix racing"?
... that Wu Dechang managed the emergency response to large-scale plutonium contamination caused by a failed Chinese nuclear test?
... that the range of Laxmann's shrew extends from Norway to Sakhalin Island in eastern Asia?
... that among the live venues Japanese singer and voice actress Aimi performed at prior to her major debut was a steakhouse?
... that the burrowing brittle star submerges itself in mud and raises its arms to feed?
... that Washington lands commissioner Hilary Franz was a competitive ice skater as a teenager?
... that Tuvalu could only afford to become a member of the United Nations after selling its Internet country code top-level domain?

In the news

Nursultan Nazarbayev

Nursultan Nazarbayev (pictured) resigns as President of Kazakhstan after a 29-year tenure, appointing Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as interim president.
Karen Uhlenbeck becomes the first woman to be awarded the Abel Prize in mathematics.
A gunman kills three people and injures five others in a shooting in Utrecht, Netherlands.
More than 90 people are killed by a flash flood and landslide in Jayapura Regency and Jayapura, Indonesia.

On this day

March 23

Bhagat Singh

1775 – American Revolution: Patrick Henry made his "Give me liberty, or give me death!" speech to the House of Burgesses of Virginia, urging military action against the British Empire.
1848 – Scottish settlers on the John Wickliffe, captained by William Cargill, arrived at what is now Port Chalmers in the Otago Region of New Zealand.
1931 – Bhagat Singh (pictured), one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement, and two others were executed by British authorities.
1989 – Two researchers announced the discovery of cold fusion, a claim which was later discredited.
2007 – The Iranian military arrested 15 Royal Navy personnel, claiming that they had entered Iran's territorial waters.

Zhou Chi (d. 851) · Nathaniel Reed (b. 1862) · Akira Kurosawa (b. 1910)

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

Denver is the capital and most populous municipality of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains, just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Founded in 1858, the city is named after James W. Denver, a governor of the Kansas Territory, and it is nicknamed the Mile High City because its official elevation is exactly one mile (5280 feet or 1609.3 meters) above sea level. Formerly part of Arapahoe County, Denver became a consolidated city-county in 1902.

This picture shows a panorama of Denver in around 1898, viewed from the top of the Colorado State Capitol, facing northwest and looking down 16th St. The domed building on the left is the former Arapahoe County Courthouse, demolished in 1933, and the Brown Palace Hotel is visible on the righthand side.

Photograph: William Henry Jackson; Restoration: Bammesk

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.