Wikipedia:Main Page history/2023 August 6
From today's featured article
William Sterling Parsons (1901–1953), nicknamed "Deak", was an American naval officer who was the weaponeer on the Enola Gay for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, on 6 August 1945. To avoid the possibility of a catastrophic nuclear explosion if the aircraft crashed and burned on takeoff, he climbed into the cramped and dark bomb bay and armed Little Boy in flight. He was awarded the Silver Star for his part in the mission. Before he joined the Manhattan Project in June 1943, he was involved in the development of the proximity fuze. As the associate director of the Project Y research laboratory at Los Alamos under J. Robert Oppenheimer, he was responsible for the ordnance aspects of the project, including the design and testing of the non-nuclear components of nuclear weapons. He was also in charge of the development of the Little Boy gun-type fission weapon. After the war, he was promoted to rear admiral, and later became deputy commander of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project. (Full article...)
Did you know ...
- ... that the Spanish Inquisition sentenced Diego Mateo Zapata (pictured) to wear the sanbenito, receive 200 lashes, have his 600 books confiscated, and be exiled, despite being acquitted?
- ... that SB19 became the first Filipino group to appear on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart, with "Gento"?
- ... that Bill Putnam was an All-American and the co-captain of the first UCLA team to win a basketball championship?
- ... that the Hotel Wolcott had to be sold less than a year after it opened?
- ... that Ester Sokler has claimed that he has often been mistaken for a woman?
- ... that the commander of the French garrison at the 1704 siege of Landau was blinded by an Allied artillery bombardment?
- ... that Ikmal Jaya, a former mayor of Tegal, Indonesia, published a translated Quran written in Pegon script while in prison?
- ... that Elon Musk plans to fight Mark Zuckerberg by lying on top of him?
In the news
- In cricket, the Ashes concludes with Australia retaining the trophy, drawing the series against England (Compton–Miller Medal recipient Chris Woakes pictured).
- In cycling, Demi Vollering wins the Tour de France Femmes.
- IS–KP kill more than 50 people in a suicide bombing at a political rally in Khar, Pakistan.
- Typhoon Doksuri kills 76 people across the Philippines, Taiwan, and China.
On this day
- 686 – Second Fitna: Pro-Alid forces defeated the Umayyad Caliphate in the Battle of Khazir, allowing them to take control of Mosul in present-day Iraq.
- 1892 – The Anglo-Belgian India Rubber Company was founded in Antwerp to exploit natural rubber in the Congo Free State.
- 1930 – New York Supreme Court judge Joseph Force Crater disappeared in Manhattan, in a case that was never solved.
- 1996 – Researchers announced that the meteorite ALH84001 (pictured), discovered in the Allan Hills of Antarctica, may contain evidence of life on Mars, but further tests were inconclusive.
- 2013 – A gas leak caused an explosion that collapsed a building and led to the deaths of 22 people in Rosario, Argentina.
- Josias I, Count of Waldeck-Eisenberg (d. 1588)
- Maria Simon (b. 1918)
- Aniru Conteh (b. 1942)
- Michelle Yeoh (b. 1962)
Today's featured picture
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South Georgia is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean that is part of the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. It lies around 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) east of the Falkland Islands. Stretching in the east–west direction, South Georgia is around 170 kilometres (106 mi) long and has a maximum width of 35 kilometres (22 mi). The terrain is mountainous, with the central ridge rising to an elevation of 2,935 metres (9,629 ft) at Mount Paget. The northern coast is indented with numerous bays and fjords, serving as good harbours. This satellite image of South Georgia was taken by the European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 in February 2018. Photograph credit: European Space Agency
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