Wikipedia:Main Page history/2022 December 24b
From today's featured article
Francis Neale (1756–1837) was an American Catholic priest and Jesuit in Washington, D.C., and Maryland. He played a substantial role in the Jesuit order's restoration in the US. Born in Maryland, Neale was educated and ordained a priest at the Colleges of Bruges and Liège. When he returned to the US in 1788, he became the pastor at St. Thomas Manor, where he opposed Bishop John Carroll's founding of Georgetown College. In 1790, Neale oversaw the establishment of Holy Trinity, the first Catholic church in Washington, D.C. He established the Church of St. Mary in Alexandria, Virginia, and became the president of Georgetown College in 1809. The number of students declined dramatically due to his implementation of strict monastic discipline. Neale joined the Jesuit order when it was restored in 1806. He became the novice master at Georgetown and treasurer of the Jesuits' Maryland mission. He spent his later years as the spiritual director to the nuns at the Georgetown Visitation Monastery. (Full article...)
Did you know ...
- ... that Shahid Afridi (pictured) broke the record for the quickest century in ODI cricket during his first international innings?
- ... that in local Afro-Colombian and Catholic tradition, residents of Guapi sing and dance while sailing the Virgin Mary down their coconut-candlelit river to church every Christmas Eve?
- ... that before being named jach'a mallku cantonal, Samuel Plata worked as an auto mechanic in El Alto?
- ... that a scene in "Axe and Grind", an episode of Better Call Saul, was supposed to be filmed with a crane but was changed because the cameraman declined to execute it?
- ... that despite running against a former general, Danny Setiawan received implicit backing from military officers in his 2003 gubernatorial bid?
- ... that Marc-Antoine Charpentier composed the midnight mass Messe de minuit pour Noël based on the melodies of ten French Christmas carols?
- ... that John J. Ray III, the chairman of Enron during its bankruptcy, said he had never before seen "such a complete failure of corporate controls" upon becoming CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX?
- ... that some residents near Higginson Highway believe that a ghost named "Sheila" is the cause of the highway's fatal accidents?
In the news
,_left,_steams_at_the_front_of_a_ship_formation_while_the_corvette_HTMS_Rattanakhosin_(FSGM_441),_center,_and_the_amphibious_dock_landing_ship_HTMS_Angthong_(cropped).jpg)
- HTMS Sukhothai (pictured), a corvette of the Royal Thai Navy, capsizes and sinks, leaving 6 crew members dead and 23 others missing.
- In the Fijian general election, FijiFirst wins the most seats, but fails to gain a parliamentary majority.
- In association football, the FIFA World Cup concludes with Argentina defeating France in the final.
- At least 24 people are killed in a landslide near Batang Kali, Malaysia.
On this day
- 759 – The Tang-dynasty poet Du Fu departed for Chengdu, where he lived for the next five years and composed poems about life in his thatched cottage.
- 1814 – The United Kingdom and the United States signed a peace treaty in Ghent, present-day Belgium, ending the War of 1812.
- 1846 – The Sultanate of Brunei ceded the island of Labuan to the British Empire.
- 1968 – Piloted by Jim Lovell, Apollo 8 became the first human spaceflight to reach and orbit the Moon (Earthrise pictured).
- 1973 – The U.S. Congress granted home rule to Washington, D.C., allowing the residents to elect their own mayor and a city council.
- Leonaert Bramer (b. 1596)
- William Warburton (b. 1698)
- Pernilla Wahlgren (b. 1967)
Today's featured picture
|
The Three Brothers was a piece of jewellery created in the late 14th century that consisted of three rectangular red spinels arranged around a central diamond. It was known for having been owned by a number of important historical figures. After its commission by John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, the Three Brothers was part of the Burgundian crown jewels for almost 100 years before passing into the possession of the German banker Jakob Fugger. The jewel was eventually sold to King Edward VI and became part of the Crown Jewels of England from 1551 to 1643. It was worn prominently by Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. In the early 1640s, Henrietta Maria, the wife of King Charles I, attempted to sell the jewel to raise funds for the English Civil War, but it is unclear if she succeeded. Its whereabouts after 1645 remain unknown. This miniature painting of the Three Brothers, drawn at a scale of 1:1, was commissioned by the city of Basel to serve as an inventory but also as an advertisement to potential buyers around 1500. Painting credit: unknown; photographed by Peter Portner
Recently featured:
|
Other areas of Wikipedia
- Community portal – The central hub for editors, with resources, links, tasks, and announcements.
- Village pump – Forum for discussions about Wikipedia itself, including policies and technical issues.
- Site news – Sources of news about Wikipedia and the broader Wikimedia movement.
- Teahouse – Ask basic questions about using or editing Wikipedia.
- Help desk – Ask questions about using or editing Wikipedia.
- Reference desk – Ask research questions about encyclopedic topics.
- Content portals – A unique way to navigate the encyclopedia.
Wikipedia's sister projects
Wikipedia is written by volunteer editors and hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that also hosts a range of other volunteer projects:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
MediaWiki
Wiki software development -
Meta-Wiki
Wikimedia project coordination -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikispecies
Directory of species -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
Wikipedia languages
This Wikipedia is written in English. Many other Wikipedias are available; some of the largest are listed below.
-
1,000,000+ articles
-
250,000+ articles
-
50,000+ articles