Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 June 5

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From today's featured article

The Chestnuts Long Barrow is a chambered tomb located near the village of Addington in the south-eastern English county of Kent. Constructed during Britain's Early Neolithic period, it belongs to a regional style of barrows produced in the vicinity of the River Medway. The long barrows built in this area are now known as the Medway Megaliths. Chestnuts Long Barrow lies near both Addington Long Barrow and Coldrum Long Barrow on the western side of the river, and was built on land previously inhabited in the Mesolithic period. It consisted of an earthen mound, estimated to have been 15 metres (50 feet) in length, with a chamber built from sarsen megaliths on its eastern end. Human remains placed within this chamber during the Neolithic period were found alongside pottery sherds, stone arrow heads, and a clay pendant. The mound gradually eroded away and was gone by the twentieth century, leaving only the ruined stone chamber. (Full article...)

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Culture of S. aureus

... that the colonial morphology of Staphylococcus species (culture pictured) is described as "creamy"?
... that American scholar of genocide Gregory Gordon believes that ordering war crimes or crimes against humanity should be criminalized, even if mass killing has not taken place?
... that the opera Doktor Johannes Faust by Hermann Reutter, which was premiered by the Oper Frankfurt in 1936, is based on a puppet play?
... that in the 1970s, Disney attempted to build a ski resort and mountain village at Independence Lake, a glacial lake high in California's Sierra Nevada mountains?
... that Julie Sauvé has coached Canadian, Brazilian, and Singaporean synchronized-swimming teams?
... that McDonald's lost over £20 million in its sale of The Aroma Cafe, the first non-American chain it had acquired to run as a separate brand?
... that the veterinarian Janina Oyrzanowska-Poplewska, whose work led to the creation of the first Polish canine distemper vaccine, has been honored as a Righteous Among the Nations?
... that the world's largest building by volume is an airplane factory in Everett, Washington?

In the news

COVID-19 pandemic

Crew Dragon launch

SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 make their first crewed launch (pictured) for NASA.
Protests and riots break out across the United States following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Costa Rica becomes the first Central American country to legalise same-sex marriage.
A Pakistan International Airlines passenger aircraft crashes in Karachi, killing ninety-seven people.

On this day

June 5: Constitution Day in Denmark; Naksa Day in Palestinian communities (1967)

Antonio Luna

663 – The Daming Palace became the government seat and royal residence of the Tang empire during Emperor Gaozong's reign.
1610 – The masque Tethys' Festival was performed at the Palace of Whitehall to celebrate the investiture of Henry Frederick as Prince of Wales.
1899 – Filipino general Antonio Luna (pictured) was assassinated in the midst of the Philippine–American War.
1963 – The arrest of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini for publicly denouncing Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi sparked protests in Iran.
2001 – Tropical Storm Allison made landfall in Texas, causing approximately $8.5 billion in damage, making it the costliest Atlantic tropical cyclone that was never a major hurricane.

Ya'qub ibn al-Layth al-Saffar (d. 879)
Johann Kuhnau (d. 1722)
William Scamp (b. 1801)

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From today's featured list

Cime de la Bonette

The highest point of elevation reached in the Tour de France is 2,802 metres (9,193 ft), at the Cime de la Bonette (pictured) in the Alps, a short loop road that forks from the summit of the Col de la Bonette, in the 1962 race. The Tour de France is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, and generally considered to be the most famous bicycle race in the world. Its founder, Henri Desgrange, was passionate about taking the Tour up to the highest reachable points of elevation in the Alps and Pyrenees using the most difficult routes. The highest point of the first Tour de France in 1903 was the summit of the 1,161-metre-high (3,809 ft) Col de la République mountain pass in the Mont Pilat area of the Massif Central highland region. The race first reached high altitude on the ninth edition in 1910, when it passed the 2,115-metre-high (6,939 ft) Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees. (Full list...)

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Perast is an old town on the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro. It is situated a few kilometres northwest of Kotor and is noted for its proximity to the islets of Saint George and Our Lady of the Rocks. Its history dates back to at least 1336, when it was the site of a small fishing village with a shipyard, but over time it became an important maritime centre. It prospered in the 16th century, when it was loyal to the Venetians at a time when the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire were struggling for supremacy in the area. The wealthy merchants and sea captains built themselves grand palaces, mostly in the Baroque style, and there was a renowned naval college. Nowadays, the town relies on tourism for its income, and the number of residents has dwindled; it had a population of 274 at the last census.

Photograph credit: Marcin Konsek

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