Wikipedia:Main Page history/2023 January 12
From today's featured article
The Farseer trilogy is a series of fantasy novels by American author Robin Hobb (pictured). Set in and around the fictional realm of the Six Duchies, it tells the story of FitzChivalry Farseer (known as Fitz), an illegitimate son of a prince. Fitz is trained as an assassin and possesses two forms of magic: the telepathic Skill that runs in the royal line, and the socially despised Wit that enables a bond between Fitz and the wolf Nighteyes. Through her portrayal of the Wit, Hobb examines otherness and ecological themes. Societal prejudice against the ability exposes Fitz to persecution and shame, and he leads a closeted life as a Wit user, which scholars see as an allegory for queerness. The series follows his life as he seeks to restore stability to the kingdom. Published between 1995 and 1997, the Farseer trilogy was Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden's first work under the pen name Robin Hobb. It met with critical and commercial success, and led to several other series in the same setting. (Full article...)
Did you know ...
- ... that the Spirit of the Few Monument at Hawkinge is based on a photograph of Alan Eckford and other pilots of No. 32 Squadron (pictured) during the Battle of Britain?
- ... that the geology of the Ellsworth Mountains was explored by geologists using motor toboggans in 1961?
- ... that soprano Galina Pisarenko studied economics, English, and Norwegian at the same time she was studying to become a professional opera singer?
- ... that Parasitic Engineering was named as a reference to a MITS co-founder calling third-party hardware vendors "parasite companies"?
- ... that Volodymyr Kozhukhar, the chief conductor of the National Opera of Ukraine in Kyiv, led Lysenko's opera Taras Bulba and Shchedrin's ballet Carmen Suite?
- ... that so little is known about the reclusive developer of Yume Nikki that its publisher Kadokawa Games had to debunk rumors that they had died in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake?
- ... that Jack Melchor stayed at Claridge's annually over a 40-year period?
- ... that the documentary Railway with a Heart of Gold has actual footage of a derailment captured whilst the filmmaker was attached to the side of the train?
In the news
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- Supporters of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro invade the National Congress (damage pictured), the Supreme Federal Court, and the Palácio do Planalto.
- Michael Smith wins the PDC World Darts Championship.
- Croatia adopts the euro and joins the Schengen Area.
- Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI dies at the age of 95.
- Brazilian footballer Pelé dies at the age of 82.
On this day
- 1554 – Bayinnaung, who later assembled what was probably the largest empire in the history of mainland Southeast Asia, was crowned as the king of the Burmese Toungoo dynasty.
- 1777 – Mission Santa Clara de Asís (pictured), a Spanish mission in California that formed the basis of both the city of Santa Clara and Santa Clara University, was established by the Franciscans.
- 1918 – An underground explosion at a coal mine in Staffordshire, England, killed 155 men and boys.
- 1964 – Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah was overthrown by rebels led by John Okello, ending 200 years of Arab dominance in Zanzibar.
- 2010 – Iranian physicist Massoud Ali-Mohammadi was assassinated while leaving his home for the University of Tehran, where he was a professor.
- John Winthrop (b. 1587 or 1588)
- Étienne Lenoir (b. 1822)
- Austin Chapman (d. 1926)
Today's featured picture
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Rhodochrosite is a carbonate mineral with the chemical composition MnCO3 (manganese carbonate). In its (rare) pure form, it is typically a rose-red color, but can also be shades of pink to pale brown. It streaks white, and its Mohs hardness varies between 3.5 and 4.5. Its specific gravity is between 3.45 and 3.6. The mineral is formed by oxidation of manganese ore, and is found in South Africa, China and the Americas. It is Argentina's national gemstone, and was named as the official state gemstone by the U.S. state of Colorado in 2002. This photograph shows a rhodochrosite specimen on a matrix that originated from Peru. Photograph credit: John Harrison
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