Wikipedia:Main Page history/2023 May 21b
From today's featured article
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The capture of Wakefield occurred on 21 May 1643 during the First English Civil War when around 1,500 Parliamentarians under the command of Sir Thomas Fairfax (depicted) attacked the Royalist garrison of Wakefield, Yorkshire. They were outnumbered by around 3,000 Royalists led by George Goring, but successfully stormed the town. Around 800 Parliamentarians had been taken prisoner after Fairfax was defeated at Seacroft Moor, and he planned the attack to take prisoners of his own to exchange for his men. He marched his force from Leeds and divided it to attack from two different directions. After around two hours of fighting early in the morning, they broke into the town. Goring, who had been in bed suffering from either illness or a hangover, led a counterattack in his nightshirt, but to no avail. Fairfax took roughly 1,400 prisoners while, according to his own account, losing no more than seven men. (Full article...)
Did you know ...
- ... that in 1967, the world's first ATM was installed at a branch of Barclays Bank in north London (pictured)?
- ... that the Pimlico tube station is the deepest station below sea level on the Victoria line?
- ... that Dafne Navarro was the first trampoline gymnast to represent Mexico at the Olympics?
- ... that Dubuque, Arkansas, was destroyed in the American Civil War and is now covered by the waters of Bull Shoals Lake?
- ... that Japanese singer Noa became interested in music after watching the 2006 film High School Musical?
- ... that Aristotle's system of logic formed the foundation of logical thought in the Western world for more than 2,000 years until the advent of modern symbolic logic?
- ... that the art of Irma Blank, of "drawing languages without words" and including sounds, was recognised in the 1970s but fell into obscurity until a rediscovery in the 2010s?
- ... that Blood on the Floor uses scaffolding as an instrument?
In the news
- American football Hall of Fame fullback Jim Brown (pictured) dies at the age of 87.
- Amid a political crisis in Ecuador, President Guillermo Lasso dissolves the National Assembly and triggers an early general election.
- Flooding in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy causes 16 deaths and widespread disruption, including the cancellation of its Formula One Grand Prix.
- Cyclone Mocha strikes Myanmar and Bangladesh, killing more than 400 people.
On this day
May 21: World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
- 878 – Arab–Byzantine wars: The city of Syracuse was captured by the Aghlabids (pictured) as part of the Muslim conquest of Sicily.
- 1703 – English writer Daniel Defoe was imprisoned for seditious libel after publishing a pamphlet that was perceived to satirise the Tory publications about Dissenters.
- 1864 – American Civil War: The inconclusive Battle of Spotsylvania Court House in Virginia ended with combined Union and Confederate casualties totaling around 31,000.
- 1991 – Former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a suicide bomber in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.
- 1998 – Indonesian president Suharto resigned after a collapse of support for his presidency amid economic and political crises, ending 32 years in power.
- Feng Dao (d. 954)
- Tommaso Campanella (d. 1639)
- Linda Laubenstein (b. 1947)
Today's featured picture
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The Sleeping Gypsy is an 1897 oil-on-canvas by the French Naïve artist Henri Rousseau. It is a fantastical depiction of a lion musing over a sleeping woman on a moonlit night. Rousseau first exhibited the painting at the 13th Salon des Indépendants, and tried unsuccessfully to sell it to the mayor of his hometown, Laval. It instead entered the private collection of a Parisian charcoal merchant, where it remained until 1924, when it was discovered by the art critic Louis Vauxcelles. The Paris-based art dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler purchased the painting in 1924, although a controversy arose over whether the painting was a forgery. It was acquired by art historian Alfred H. Barr Jr. for the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where it remains. Painting credit: Henri Rousseau
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