Wikipedia:Main Page history/2019 September 25

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Display model of the similar
SOLRAD 1

SOLRAD 2 was a surveillance and scientific satellite developed by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. Like the similar SOLRAD 1 satellite (model pictured), it was intended to measure solar X-rays and ultraviolet radiation while conducting a covert surveillance mission, mapping the Soviet Union's air defense radar network with its onboard Galactic Radiation and Background electronic surveillance package. SOLRAD 1, launched in June 1960, had been the first satellite to observe solar X-rays, confirming the connection between increased solar X-ray activity and radio fade-outs, and the first to conduct surveillance from orbit, revealing a Soviet network that was more extensive than had been expected. SOLRAD 2 was launched along with the Transit 3A satellite atop a Thor DM-21 Ablestar rocket on November 30, 1960, but both satellites failed to reach orbit when the booster flew off course and was destroyed. Debris rained down over Cuba, prompting protests from the Cuban government. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know...

Central Park

... that in the 1860s, the land for New York City's Central Park (pictured) was purchased for a higher price than was paid for Alaska?
... that Emirati geneticist Habiba Alsafar was named as one of the "100 Most Powerful Arab Women" of 2015?
... that at approximately 5,000 years old, the Lothagam North Pillar Site is thought to be the earliest and largest monumental cemetery in eastern Africa?
... that a mural of William Rath depicts him drinking from a Fountain of Youth?
... that despite its title, the Venezuelan film Muchachos bañándose en la laguna de Maracaibo ('Kids bathing at the lagoon of Maracaibo') also features street shots of the city of Maracaibo?
... that a court in communist Romania found banker Aristide Blank guilty of high treason, based on his meetings with foreigners and notes from Blank's unpublished novel?
... that the folk tales in Bernard Binlin Dadié's The Black Cloth express the "African sense of community" and the "wisdom of an ordered society" in the face of French claims of moral superiority?
... that Russian journalist Vsevolod Kukushkin said the Soviet Union national ice hockey team was nicknamed "The Red Machine" due to a Minneapolis newspaper headline?

In the news

Climate change protesters in Sydney, Australia

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom unanimously rules that the September 2019 prorogation of Parliament was unlawful and void.
Climate strikes take place in 150 countries (protesters in Sydney pictured) as part of the Fridays for Future protests.
The FIBA Basketball World Cup concludes, with Spain defeating Argentina in the final.
In Gaelic football, the All-Ireland Championship concludes, with Dublin defeating Kerry in the final.

On this day

September 25

Women of a Magdalene asylum

844 – A Viking fleet arrived near Seville, then part of the Emirate of Córdoba, starting a raid that led to a sack of the city before they were repulsed by its Muslim defenders.
1775 – Ethan Allen and a small force of American and Quebec militia failed in their attempt to capture Montreal from British forces.
1944 – Second World War: British troops began their withdrawal from the Battle of Arnhem in the Netherlands, ending the Allies' Operation Market Garden in defeat.
1964 – Unrest and frustration amongst many indigenous Mozambican populations against Portuguese rule erupted in a war for independence that lasted ten years.
1996 – The last Irish Magdalene asylum (example pictured), an institution to rehabilitate so-called "fallen women", was closed.

Arthur Lyon Fremantle (d. 1901) · Miller Huggins (d. 1929) · Johannes Brost (b. 1946)

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

The Barbican Estate is a residential estate that was built during the 1960s and the 1980s within the City of London in Central London, in an area once devastated by World War II bombings and today densely populated by financial institutions. It contains, or is adjacent to, the Barbican Arts Centre, the Museum of London, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Barbican public library, the City of London School for Girls and a YMCA (now closed), forming the Barbican Complex. The complex is a prominent example of British Brutalist architecture and is Grade II listed as a whole with the exception of the former Milton Court. Milton Court, which once contained a fire station, medical facilities, and some flats, was demolished to allow the construction of a new apartment tower named The Heron, which also contains additional facilities for the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

This picture shows Lauderdale Tower, one of three residential towers in the estate, all at a height of 42 storeys and 123 m (404 ft). The top two or three floors of each block comprise three penthouse flats. Once the tallest residential towers in London, they were surpassed by the Pan Peninsula development on the Isle of Dogs.

Photograph credit: Daniel Case

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.