Wikipedia:Main Page history/2019 September 2

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From today's featured article

Lawrence Weathers (1890–1918) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in battle that could be awarded to a member of the Australian armed forces at the time. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in early 1916, and joined the 43rd Battalion. His unit deployed to the Western Front in France and Belgium in late December. Weathers took part in the Battle of Messines in June 1917, and was wounded. Rejoining his unit in December, Weathers fought during the German Spring Offensive, but was gassed in May and did not return to his unit until the following month. He participated in the Battle of Hamel in July, the Battle of Amiens in August, and the Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin in September. At Mont Saint-Quentin, he was recommended for the award of the Victoria Cross based on his actions on 2 September. He was mortally wounded by a shell on 29 September during the Battle of St Quentin Canal, never having been aware that he was to receive the Victoria Cross. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

John Hiller in 1976

... that after suffering a heart attack at the age of 27, relief pitcher John Hiller (pictured) made a comeback and broke Major League Baseball's record for saves in a season?
... that the Spanish idiom "¿Cuándo hemos comido en el mismo plato?" ('When have we eaten from the same dish?') is used as social commentary about poor manners or incivility?
... that Patricia Marshall's role in the 1947 film Good News was originally meant for Gloria DeHaven?
... that the anti-Muslim Ełk riots in Poland led to the launch of the ironic The Kebab War website, which listed attacks on kebab eateries?
... that the lightning-caused Swan Lake fire in Alaska has burned over 160,000 acres (65,000 ha) of wildland?
... that a critic described the song "Lover" as a throwback to Taylor Swift's "country days"?
... that in Su Shuyang's tragedy depicting the last day of Lao She's life, the celebrated writer converses with dead characters from his own works before committing suicide?
... that The Urology Foundation carried out a survey of how often British men check their testicles?

In the news

Hurricane Dorian over the Bahamas

Hurricane Dorian (satellite image shown) makes landfall in the Bahamas as a Category 5 hurricane.
Brazil's National Institute for Space Research announces that it has detected more than 80,000 wildfires in the country since January, at least 40,000 of which have occurred in the Amazon rainforest.
At least 80 people are killed and 160 others injured in a bombing at a wedding in Kabul, Afghanistan.
All 233 people on board Ural Airlines Flight 178 survive a crash following bird strikes in both engines of an Airbus A321.

On this day

September 2: Ganesh Chaturthi begins (Hinduism, 2019); Labor Day in the United States (2019); National Day in Vietnam (1945)

Great Fire of London

1666 – A large fire began in London's Pudding Lane and burned the city for five days (depicted), destroying St Paul's Cathedral and the homes of 70,000 of the city's 80,000 inhabitants.
1870 – Franco-Prussian War: Prussian forces captured Napoleon III in Sedan, France; the Second French Empire collapsed within days.
1912 – Arthur Rose Eldred became the first person to attain the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America.
1985 – Hurricane Elena, an unpredictable and damaging tropical cyclone that affected eastern and central portions of the United States Gulf Coast, made landfall near Biloxi, Mississippi, as a Category 3 major hurricane.
2011 – Bad weather caused a Chilean Air Force plane to crash in the Pacific Ocean, killing all 21 people on board.

Constantius III (d. 421) · Horace Silver (b. 1928) · Roekiah (d. 1945)

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From today's featured list

Harlan Ellison in 1986

The Nebula Award for Best Short Story is a literary award assigned each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy short stories. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a short story if it is less than 7,500 words; awards are also given out for longer works in the categories of novel, novella, and novelette. Nebula Award nominees and winners are chosen by members of the SFWA, though the authors of the nominees do not need to be a member. During the 54 nomination years, 220 authors have had works nominated; 41 of these have won, including co-authors. One of these authors, Lisa Tuttle, refused her award, and in 1971 no winner was chosen. Harlan Ellison (pictured) won three times out of eight nominations, both the highest number of wins and the highest number of nominations of any author. Ten authors have won twice, with Karen Joy Fowler at seven and Gardner Dozois at six having the next highest nomination count after Ellison. The most recent winner of the award is Phenderson Djèlí Clark, who won for "The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington" in 2019. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

The pied kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) is a species of water kingfisher that is widely distributed across Africa and Asia. Originally described by Linnaeus in 1758, it has five recognised subspecies. Its black and white plumage and crest, as well as its habit of hovering over clear lakes and rivers before diving for fish, make it distinctive. Males have a double band across the breast, while females have a single gorget that is often broken in the middle. They are usually found in pairs or small family groups. When perched, they often bob their head and flick up their tail. This picture shows a female C. r. leucomelanurus individual.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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