Wikipedia:Main Page history/2022 July 21b
From today's featured article
The Cat and the Canary is a 1927 American silent horror film directed by German Expressionist filmmaker Paul Leni. An adaptation of John Willard's 1922 black-comedy play of the same name, the film stars Laura La Plante, Forrest Stanley and Creighton Hale. The plot revolves around the death of a man, and the reading of his will 20 years later. A woman inherits her uncle's fortune, but when she and her family spend the night in his mansion they are stalked by a mysterious figure (scene pictured). They have also been told that a lunatic has escaped from an asylum and is hiding in the mansion. The film is part of the genre of comedy horror films inspired by 1920s Broadway plays. The Cat and the Canary blends expressionism with humor, a style for which Leni was notable. It was influential in the "old dark house" genre of films popular from the 1930s through the 1950s. The film was one of Universal's early horror productions, and is considered to be the "cornerstone of Universal's school of horror". (Full article...)
Did you know ...
- ... that touch-screen technology, pay-at-the-pump, car phones, and Coca-Cola Cherry were shown at the 1982 World's Fair (pictured)?
- ... that Yosef Shenberger was inspired to add stained glass and other decorative elements to his synagogues through his study of ancient ruins?
- ... that the software-testing framework pytest has been described as a key ecosystem project for the Python programming language?
- ... that Irving L. Branch headed the X-15 rocket program and the first test flight of the B-70 Valkyrie supersonic bomber?
- ... that the Maizbhandari order of Sufism in Bangladesh is each year host to reportedly the fifth-largest gathering of Muslims in the world?
- ... that Danish-born soprano Louise Janssen appeared at the Grand Théâtre de Lyon as Eva in the French premiere of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg?
- ... that HMS Chichester was designed to carry 44 guns but never carried more than 22?
- ... that a South Dakota radio station once played nothing but various recordings of "Amazing Grace"?
In the news
- Amid protests over the economic crisis, Ranil Wickremesinghe (pictured) is elected President of Sri Lanka by the parliament.
- Heat waves across Europe leave more than 4,200 people dead.
- NASA releases the first operational image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.
- Angola's former president José Eduardo dos Santos dies at the age of 79.
- Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is assassinated while giving a speech in Nara.
On this day
July 21: Belgian National Day (1831)
- 1378 – Unrepresented labourers revolted and violently took over the government of the Republic of Florence, demanding that they be granted political office.
- 1952 – An earthquake registering 7.3 Mw struck the southern San Joaquin Valley in California, causing 12 deaths and an estimated $60 million in property damage.
- 1959 – The inaugural International Mathematical Olympiad, the leading mathematical competition for pre-university students, began in Romania.
- 1960 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike (pictured) was elected the prime minister of Ceylon, becoming the world's first democratically elected female head of government.
- 1977 – Libyan forces carried out a raid at Sallum, sparking a four-day war with Egypt.
- Fiammetta Wilson (d. 1920)
- Louis Vauxcelles (d. 1943)
- Rilwanu Lukman (d. 2014)
Today's featured picture
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Buzz Aldrin (born 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission, and was the pilot of the Lunar Module Eagle for Apollo 11. On July 21, 1969, he and Apollo 11 mission commander Neil Armstrong became the first two people to step onto the surface of the Moon. This official NASA portrait, taken in April 1969, depicts Aldrin in a white Apollo space suit in front of a large picture of the Moon, with his helmet resting on a pedestal. Pictures of the day are chosen from the pool of featured pictures on the English Wikipedia. Editors may vote on featured picture candidates here. Photograph credit: NASA; restored by Coffeeandcrumbs
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