Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 January 6

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From today's featured article

Gottlob Berger (1896–1975) was a senior German Nazi official and the chief of the Main Office of the Schutzstaffel (SS) during World War II. He was transferred to the SS in 1936 by its commander, Heinrich Himmler. Berger was responsible for the growth of the armed wing of the SS, the Waffen-SS, evading controls over conscription and overseeing recruitment within and outside Germany, including among those who in no way reflected Himmler's ideas of "racial purity". Often clashing with senior military officers and even with his superiors over his recruiting methods, Berger grew the Waffen-SS to 38 divisions by the war's end. He placed his friend Oskar Dirlewanger in command of a unit of convicted criminals that later committed many war crimes. Indicted for war crimes himself on 6 January 1949, Berger was convicted on 13 April, including for his involvement in slave labour schemes and as a conscious participant in the concentration camp program. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Rajini School

... that to counter the influence of Western missionaries, a Japanese woman was hired as the first principal of Bangkok's Rajini School for girls (pictured) in 1904?
... that Notre Père is a setting of the Lord's Prayer in French by Maurice Duruflé, and his only composition suitable for congregational singing?
... that Christine Duffy, the president of Carnival Cruise Line, was considered too short to become a flight attendant?
... that the Land League's "rival government" surpassed the power of the British government in many parts of Ireland during the late 19th century?
... that the Heckscher Playground, the oldest playground in New York City's Central Park, was initially opposed because people wanted to preserve the park's passive landscape?
... that the Anatolian frog is exported from Turkey to France, Italy and Switzerland for food, and is considered by the IUCN to be a near-threatened species?
... that Charles H. Mahoney was the first African American to serve as a delegate to the United Nations?
... that The Conspiracy Collection, a makeup palette whose creation is profiled in The Beautiful World of Jeffree Star, sold out in 30 minutes?

In the news

Qasem Soleimani

In Baghdad, Iraq, an American airstrike kills General Qasem Soleimani (pictured), commander of the Iranian Quds Force.
In Indonesia, flash floods in and around the capital of Jakarta kill at least 60 people.
In darts, Peter Wright defeats Michael van Gerwen to win the PDC World Darts Championship.
More than 85 people are killed in a suicide truck bombing at a police checkpoint in Mogadishu, Somalia.

On this day

January 6: Little Christmas

Nancy Kerrigan

1322 – Stefan Dečanski was crowned king of Serbia, succeeding his half-brother Stefan Konstantin, whom he later defeated in battle.
1536 – The oldest European school of higher learning in the Americas, the Colegio de Santa Cruz, was founded in Tlatelolco, Mexico City.
1912 – German geophysicist Alfred Wegener first presented his theory of continental drift, the precursor of plate tectonics.
1960 – National Airlines Flight 2511, traveling from New York City to Miami, exploded in mid-air due to a bomb placed by an unknown party, resulting in the deaths of all 34 people on board.
1994 – Two-time American Olympic figure-skating medalist Nancy Kerrigan (pictured) was hit on the leg with a police baton by an assailant hired by the ex-husband of her rival Tonya Harding.

Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares (b. 1587) · Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack (d. 1917) · Nigella Lawson (b. 1960)

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From today's featured list

Valeria Golino

The Volpi Cup for Best Actress is an award presented by the Venice Film Festival. It is given by the festival jury in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance from the films in the competition slate. It is named in honor of Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata, the founder of the festival. The first ceremony was held in 1932, when Helen Hayes received the Best Actress award for the title role in The Sin of Madelon Claudet – this was the only time that the award was chosen by public voting. Since its inception, the award has been given to 67 actresses. Only three of them have won more than once: Shirley MacLaine, Isabelle Huppert and Valeria Golino (pictured), who have each won the cup twice. Ariane Ascaride is the most recent winner in this category, for her portrayal of Sylvie in Gloria Mundi at the 2019 festival. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

The Dormition Cathedral is a Russian Orthodox church in Moscow dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God. The present building, with its five domes representing Jesus and the Four Evangelists, dates to 1475. Since then, it has suffered many disasters, including fires in 1518, 1547, 1682 and 1737, looting, and being used as a stable and as a museum. Several periods of restoration and repair occurred, with the building being restored to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1991.

This picture shows the processional northern doorway of the Dormition Cathedral, surrounded by fresco decoration, which also dominates the light and spacious interior of the building.

Photograph credit: Joaquim Alves Gaspar

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