Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 2008

Today's featured article archive

October 1

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English narrating the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The annals were created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great. Multiple manuscript copies were made and distributed to monasteries across England and were independently updated. In one case, the chronicle was still being actively updated in 1154. Nine manuscripts survive in whole or in part, though not all are of equal historical value, and none of them is the original version. The oldest seems to have been started towards the end of Alfred's reign, while the most recent was written at Peterborough Abbey after a fire at the monastery there in 1116. Much of the information given in the Chronicle is not recorded elsewhere. In addition, the manuscripts are important sources for the history of the English language; in particular, the later Peterborough text is one of the earliest examples of Middle English in existence. Seven of the nine surviving manuscripts and fragments now reside in the British Library. The remaining two are in the Bodleian Library and the library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. (more...)

Recently featured: Tulip mania – Assata Shakur – Biman Bangladesh Airlines

October 2

"Something" is a single released by The Beatles in 1969, and featured on the album Abbey Road. "Something" was the first song written by George Harrison to appear on the A-side of a Beatles single, sharing top billing on the double A-side single with "Come Together" in the United States. It was one of the first Beatles singles to contain tracks already available on a long playing (LP) album, with both "Something" and "Come Together" having appeared on Abbey Road. "Something" was the only Harrison composition to top the American charts while he was a Beatle. Although John Lennon and Paul McCartney—the two principal songwriting members of the band—both praised "Something" as among the best songs Harrison had written, the recording of the song was marked by acrimonious spats. Despite this, the single managed to top the Billboard charts in the United States, and also entered the top 10 in the United Kingdom. After the breakup of The Beatles, the song was covered by many artists including Elvis Presley, Shirley Bassey, Frank Sinatra, James Brown, Julio Iglesias, Smokey Robinson, and Joe Cocker, becoming the second-most covered Beatles song after "Yesterday." (more...)

Recently featured: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle – Tulip mania – Assata Shakur

October 3

noitulovE is a British television and cinema advertisement launched by Diageo in 2005 to promote Guinness-brand draught stout. The sixty-second piece formed the cornerstone of a £15M advertising campaign targeting men in their late twenties and early thirties. The commercial follows three patrons of a London pub on a journey back through time, showing the group "de-evolving" through a number of forms, from apes, to lizards, to mudskippers. The commercial was handled by the advertising agency Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, and was directed by Daniel Kleinman. It debuted on British television on 3 October 2005. It is the fifth piece in the Good things come to those who wait series, and its premiere marked the end of a four-year hiatus. The advert was a critical and financial success, receiving over thirty awards from organisations in the advertising and television industries, and was the most-awarded commercial of 2006. The impact of the campaign was such that during a period in which the UK beer market experienced a substantial decline in revenue, Guinness reported that its earnings within the region had noticeably increased. At the same time, Guinness achieved its highest ever volume and value shares and became the market leader within the region. This was attributed in no small part to the positive reception garnered by noitulovE. (more...)

Recently featured: "Something" – Anglo-Saxon Chronicle – Tulip mania

October 4

Tyrone Wheatley (born 1972) is a former professional American football player and current assistant coach who played 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and was one of the most successful high school and collegiate athletes in Metropolitan Detroit history. He earned All-America track honors in both high school and college. Following his graduation from high school as one of Michigan's best athletes, he attended the University of Michigan on an athletic scholarship and earned first-team All-Big Ten Conference honors on Big Ten Champion football and track teams. Following his graduation from the University of Michigan, Wheatley was selected by the New York Giants of the National Football League in the first round of the 1995 NFL Draft. As a running back for the Giants, he was the team's all-purpose yards leader in 1996 and their leading ballcarrier in 1997. Despite his success on the field, he developed a reputation as a tardy dawdler. He was traded to the Miami Dolphins, but cut before the 1998 season began. He signed with the Oakland Raiders and flourished, leading the team in rushing three times and twice finishing among the NFL's top ten players by rushing touchdowns. With Wheatley, the Raiders went to the playoffs three years in a row, including one Super Bowl appearance. As of August 2008, Wheatley is the assistant coach for Ohio Northern University's football team. (more...)

Recently featured: noitulovE – "Something" – Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

October 5

Catherine de' Medici's building projects included the Valois chapel at Saint-Denis, the Tuileries Palace, and the Hôtel de la Reine in Paris, and extensions to the château, near Blois. Born in 1519 in Florence to an Italian father and a French mother, at the age of fourteen, she left Italy and married Henry, the second son of Francis I and Queen Claude of France. King Francis set his daughter-in-law an example of kingship and artistic patronage that she never forgot. She witnessed his huge architectural schemes at Chambord and Fontainebleau. Upon Henry's death in 1559, Catherine found herself the effective ruler of France. Over the next three decades, she launched a series of costly building projects aimed at enhancing the grandeur of the monarchy. Catherine loved to supervise each project personally. Though she spent colossal sums on the building and embellishment of monuments and palaces, little remains of Catherine's investment today: one Doric column, a few fragments in the corner of the Tuileries gardens, an empty tomb at Saint Denis. The sculptures she commissioned for the Valois chapel are lost, or scattered, often damaged or incomplete, in museums and churches. Catherine de' Medici's reputation as a sponsor of buildings rests instead on the designs and treatises of her architects. These testify to the vitality of French architecture under her patronage. (more...)

Recently featured: Tyrone Wheatley – noitulovE – "Something"

October 6

Midtown Madness is a racing video game developed for Windows by Angel Studios and published by Microsoft. A demo version was released via download on May 1, 1999, and the entire game was released on May 27, 1999. A sequel, Midtown Madness 2, was released in 2000. Set in Chicago, Illinois, the goal of Midtown Madness is to win street races and obtain new cars. Unlike many racing games, which restrict the player to a race track, Midtown Madness offers an open world recreation of Chicago. This setting was developed by Microsoft and described as offering "an unprecedented degree of freedom to drive around in a virtual city". Players can explore the city via one of several modes, and can determine the weather and traffic conditions for each race. The game supports multiplayer races over a local area network or the Internet. Overall, the game received positive reviews from gaming websites; reviewers generally praised the gameplay, though some criticized the graphics. (more...)

Recently featured: Catherine de' Medici's building projects – Tyrone Wheatley – noitulovE

October 7

The Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge was the world's first working railway suspension bridge. It spanned 825 feet (251 m) and stood 2.5 miles (4.0 km) downstream of Niagara Falls from 1855 to 1897. Connecting Niagara Falls, Ontario to Niagara Falls, New York, the bridge carried mixed traffic on its two decks across the Niagara River; trains crossed over the river by way of the bridge's upper deck while pedestrians and carriages used the lower. The Suspension Bridge was part of Canadian politician William Hamilton Merritt's vision to promote trade within his country and with its neighbor the United States. On March 18, 1855, a fully-laden passenger train drove across the upper deck at 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h), and officially opened the completed bridge. Its success proved that, contrary to general opinion, a safe and operational railway suspension bridge was tenable, and allayed concerns induced by the 1854 collapse of the Wheeling Suspension Bridge. The Suspension Bridge was finally replaced by the Steel Arch Bridge, which was later renamed the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, on August 27, 1897. (more...)

Recently featured: Midtown Madness – Catherine de' Medici's building projects – Tyrone Wheatley

October 8

Massospondylus is a genus of prosauropod dinosaur from the early Jurassic Period, ca. 200–183 million years ago. It was described by Sir Richard Owen in 1854 from remains found in South Africa, and is thus one of the first dinosaurs to have been named. Fossils have since been found in other parts of South Africa, as well as Lesotho and Zimbabwe. Further material from the United States Kayenta Formation, India, and Argentina has been assigned to this genus, but may not belong to Massospondylus. The type, and only universally recognized species, is M. carinatus, although six other species have been named during the past 150 years. Prosauropod systematics have undergone numerous revisions during the last several years, and many scientists disagree where exactly Massospondylus lies on the dinosaur evolutionary tree. Although Massospondylus was long depicted as quadrupedal, a 2007 study found it to be bipedal. It was probably a plant eater (herbivore), although it is speculated that the prosauropods may have been omnivorous. This animal, 4–6 meters (13–20 ft) long, had a long neck and tail, with a small head and slender body. (more...)

Recently featured: Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge – Midtown Madness – Catherine de' Medici's building projects

October 9

Akhtar Hameed Khan (1914–1999) was a development activist and social scientist credited for pioneering microcredit and microfinance initiatives, farmers' cooperatives, and rural training programmes in the developing world. He promoted participatory rural development in Pakistan, Bangladesh and other developing countries, and widely advocated community participation in development. His particular contribution was the establishment of a comprehensive project for rural development, the Comilla Model (1959). It earned him the Magsaysay Award from the Philippines and an honorary Doctorate of Law from Michigan State University. In the 1980s he started a bottom up community development initiative of Orangi Pilot Project, based in the outskirts of Karachi, which became a model of participatory development initiatives. He also directed many programmes, from microcredit to self-finance and from housing provision to family planning, for rural communities and urban slums. It earned him international recognition and high honours in Pakistan. Khan was fluent in at least seven languages and dialects. Apart from many scholarly books and articles, he also published a collection of poems and travelogues in Urdu. (more...)

Recently featured: Massospondylus – Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge – Midtown Madness

October 10

The Cleveland Street scandal occurred in 1889, when a homosexual male brothel in Cleveland Street, London, was uncovered by police. At the time, sexual acts between men were illegal in Britain, and the brothel's clients faced possible prosecution and certain social ostracism if discovered. It was rumoured that one of the brothel's clients was Prince Albert Victor, who was the son of the Prince of Wales and second-in-line to the British throne. Officials were involved in a cover-up to keep the prince's name and others' out of the scandal. One of the clients, Lord Arthur Somerset, was an equerry to the Prince of Wales but he, as well as the brothel keeper, Charles Hammond, managed to flee abroad before a prosecution could be brought. The rent boys, who also worked as messenger boys for the Post Office, were given light sentences and none of the clients were prosecuted. After Henry FitzRoy, Earl of Euston was named in the press as a client, he successfully sued for libel. The British press never named Prince Albert Victor, and there is no evidence he ever visited the brothel, but his inclusion in the rumours has coloured biographers' perceptions of him since. The scandal fuelled the attitude that male homosexuality was an aristocratic vice that corrupted lower-class youths. (more...)

Recently featured: Akhtar Hameed Khan – Massospondylus – Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge

October 11

The Grass Fight was a small battle during the Texas Revolution, fought between the Mexican Army and the Texian Army. The battle took place on November 26, 1835, just south of San Antonio de Bexar in Texas. The Texas Revolution had officially begun on October 2 and by the end of the month the Texians had initiated a siege of Bexar, home of the largest Mexican garrison in the province. Bored with the inactivity, many of the native Texian soldiers returned home; a smaller number of adventurers from the United States arrived to replace them. After the Texian Army rejected commander-in-chief Stephen F. Austin's call to launch an assault on Bexar on November 22, Austin resigned from the army. The men elected Edward Burleson their new commander-in-chief. On November 26, Texian scout Deaf Smith brought news of a Mexican pack train, accompanied by 50–100 soldiers, that was on its way to Bexar. The Texian camp was convinced that the pack train carried silver to pay the Mexican garrison and purchase supplies. Burleson ordered Colonel James Bowie to take 35–40 cavalry and intercept the train. An additional 100 infantry followed. On seeing the battle commence, Mexican General Martin Perfecto de Cos sent reinforcements from Bexar. The Texians repulsed several attacks by Mexican soldiers, who finally retreated to Bexar. When the Texians examined the abandoned pack train they discovered that, instead of silver, the mules carried freshly cut grass to feed the Mexican Army horses. Four Texians were injured, and historian Alwyn Barr states that three Mexican soldiers were killed, although Bowie and Burleson initially claimed the number was much higher. (more...)

Recently featured: Cleveland Street scandal – Akhtar Hameed Khan – Massospondylus

October 12

Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It has a population of 211,800, covers 41 square miles (106 km²), and includes the towns of Altrincham, Partington, Sale, Stretford, and Urmston. The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 as a merger of the boroughs of Altrincham, Sale, and Stretford, the urban districts of Bowdon, Hale, and Urmston and part of Bucklow Rural District. The Trafford area has a long heritage, with evidence of Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Roman activity. The area underwent change in the late 19th century and the population rapidly expanded with the arrival of the railway. Trafford is the home of Manchester United F.C., Lancashire County Cricket Club, Manchester Phoenix, and formerly Sale Sharks. Also in Trafford is the Imperial War Museum North. Trafford has a strong economy with low levels of unemployment and the Trafford Park industrial estate and Trafford Centre – a large out-of-town shopping centre; apart from the City of Manchester, Trafford is the only borough to be above the national average for weekly income. Socially, the area is middle class and contains commuter towns. (more...)

Recently featured: Grass Fight – Cleveland Street scandal – Akhtar Hameed Khan

October 13

Pat Nixon (1912–1993) was the wife of Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States, and served as First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974. Born in Nevada, Pat Ryan grew up in Los Angeles, California. In 1940, she married lawyer Richard Nixon; they had two daughters. Richard Nixon was soon elected Vice President under Dwight D. Eisenhower, whereupon his wife Pat undertook many missions of goodwill with her husband. She assisted him both in his unsuccessful 1960 presidential campaign, and later his successful campaign of 1968. As First Lady, Pat Nixon promoted a number of charitable causes, including volunteerism. She oversaw the collection of more than 600 pieces of historic art and furnishings for the White House, an acquisition larger than that of any other administration. Pat became the most traveled First Lady in U.S. history up to that time, visiting about 80 nations; she was the first First Lady to enter a combat zone. These trips gained her favorable reception in the media and the host countries. Her tenure ended when, after being re-elected in a landslide victory in 1972, President Nixon resigned two years later amid the Watergate scandal. Her public appearances became less frequent in her later life. She and her husband returned to California, and later moved to New Jersey. (more...)

Recently featured: Trafford – Grass Fight – Cleveland Street scandal

October 14

A subarachnoid hemorrhage is bleeding into the subarachnoid space—the area between the arachnoid membrane and the pia mater surrounding the brain. This may occur spontaneously, usually from a ruptured cerebral aneurysm, or may result from head injury. Symptoms include an intense headache with a rapid onset ("thunderclap headache"), vomiting, and an altered level of consciousness. The diagnosis is generally made with a CT scan of the head, or occasionally by lumbar puncture. SAH is managed with close observation and prompt neurosurgical and radiological therapies, medications and other management methods to help prevent recurrence of the bleeding and complications. SAH is a medical emergency and can lead to death or severe disability—even when recognized and treated at an early stage. Up to half of all cases of SAH are fatal and 10–15% die before reaching a hospital, and those who survive often have neurological or cognitive impairment. Subarachnoid hemorrhage is considered a form of stroke and causes 1–7% of all strokes. Surgery for aneurysms was introduced in the 1930s, but since the 1990s many aneurysms are treated by a procedure called "coiling", which is carried out from within the blood vessels. (more...)

Recently featured: Pat Nixon – Trafford – Grass Fight

October 15

USS New Jersey (BB-62) is an Iowa-class battleship, and was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Among the four completed Iowa-class battleships, New Jersey is notable for having earned the most battle stars for her combat actions, and for being the only battleship of the class to have served a tour of duty in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. During World War II, New Jersey shelled targets on Guam and Okinawa, and screened aircraft carriers conducting raids in the Marshall Islands. During the Korean War she was involved in raids up and down the North Korean coast, after which she was decommissioned in to the United States Navy reserve fleets. She was briefly reactivated in 1968 and sent to Vietnam to support U.S. troops before returning to the mothball fleet in 1969. Reactivated once more in the 1980s as part of the 600-ship Navy program, New Jersey was modernized to carry missiles and recommissioned for service. In 1983, she participated in U.S. operations during the Lebanese Civil War. New Jersey was decommissioned for the last time in 1991, having earned a Navy Unit Commendation for service in Vietnam and a total of 19 battle and campaign stars for combat operations during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Lebanese Civil War, and service in the Persian Gulf. She was donated to the Home Port Alliance in Camden, New Jersey, and began her career as a museum ship 15 October 2001. (more...)

Recently featured: Subarachnoid hemorrhage – Pat Nixon – Trafford

October 16

The history of Stoke City F.C., an English association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, covers the years from the club's formation to the present day. The Stoke Ramblers were formed in 1863, playing their first documented match on 17 October 1868 at the Victoria Cricket Club ground. In 1878 the club moved to the Victoria Ground, its home for the next 119 years, and merged with Stoke Victoria Cricket Club to become Stoke Football Club. The club joined the Football League upon its formation in 1888, making it the second oldest club in the Football League. The club moved in 1997 to the Britannia Stadium, a 28,383 all-seater stadium; the Victoria Ground was demolished later that year. In the 2007–08 season, Stoke won promotion from the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football, and as of 2008–2009 are playing in the top flight (currently English Premier League) for the first time since 1985, when they were relegated with just 17 points, a record low unsurpassed for 21 years. Stoke's only major trophy was the 1972 League Cup, won by beating Chelsea 2–1 in the final before a crowd of 97,852. (more...)

Recently featured: USS New Jersey (BB-62) – Subarachnoid hemorrhage – Pat Nixon

October 17

IK Pegasi is a binary star system in the constellation Pegasus. At a distance of about 150 light years from the Solar System, it is just luminous enough to be seen with the unaided eye. The primary (IK Pegasi A) is a main sequence, A-class star that displays minor pulsations in luminosity. It is categorized as a Delta Scuti variable star and it has a periodic cycle of luminosity variation that repeats itself about 22.9 times per day. Its companion (IK Pegasi B) is a massive white dwarf—a star that has evolved past the main sequence and is no longer generating energy through nuclear fusion. They orbit each other every 21.7 days with an average separation of about 31 million kilometres, or 0.21 astronomical units (AU). This is smaller than the orbit of Mercury around the Sun. IK Pegasi B is the nearest known supernova progenitor candidate. When the primary begins to evolve into a red giant, it is expected to grow to a radius where the white dwarf can accrete matter from the expanded gaseous envelope. When the white dwarf approaches the Chandrasekhar limit of 1.44 solar masses, it may explode as a Type Ia supernova. (more...)

Recently featured: History of Stoke City F.C. – USS New Jersey (BB-62) – Subarachnoid hemorrhage

October 18

James Robert Baker (1946–1997) was an American author of sharply satirical, predominantly gay-themed transgressional fiction. A native Californian, his work is set almost entirely in Southern California. After graduating from UCLA, he began his career as a screenwriter, but became disillusioned and started writing novels instead. Though he garnered fame for his books Fuel-Injected Dreams and Boy Wonder, after the controversy surrounding publication of his novel, Tim And Pete, he faced increasing difficulty having his work published. According to his life partner, this was a contributing factor in his suicide. Baker's work has achieved cult status in the years since his death, and two additional novels have been posthumously published. First-edition copies of his earlier works have become collector's items. One of his novels was filmed (though it was not a financial success) and two others have been optioned for the movies, though they have not been produced. (more...)

Recently featured: IK Pegasi – History of Stoke City F.C. – USS New Jersey (BB-62)

October 19

Odwalla is a health food company founded in Santa Cruz, California in 1980 that sells fruit juice and food bars. Odwalla, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Coca-Cola, is headquartered in Half Moon Bay, California, with a production facility in Dinuba, California. The company experienced strong growth from its incorporation in 1985, expanding its distribution network from California to most of North America, and went public in 1993. However, a period of decline occurred as a result of a fatal outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 bacteria in 1996 caused by contamination of its apple juice. Odwalla recalled its juices and experienced a ninety-percent reduction in sales following the event. The company gradually recovered, and, after a few years, was making a profit again. Odwalla was acquired by the Coca-Cola Company in 2001 for $181 million. Odwalla's range of products includes juices, smoothies, dairy-free soy milk, and similar organic beverages, as well as several flavors of energy bars, known as food bars, and bottled spring water. While Odwalla originally sold unpasteurized juices (because the process of pasteurization alters the flavor of juice), following the E. coli outbreak, Odwalla adopted flash pasteurization and other industry-standard safety procedures. (more...)

Recently featured: James Robert Baker – IK Pegasi – History of Stoke City F.C.

October 20

The history of Baltimore City College began in 1839, when the city council of Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. passed a resolution mandating the creation of a male high school with a focus on English and classical literature. Baltimore City College was opened in the same year with 46 pupils under the direction of Nathan C. Brooks, a local educator and poet. In 1850, the council granted the school the authority to present its graduates with certificates of completion. An effort to expand that power and allow City College to confer Bachelor of Arts degrees began in 1865, but ended unsuccessfully in 1869. By the early 1900s, as the importance of higher education increased, the school's priorities shifted to preparing students for college. In 1927, the academic program was further changed, when City College divided its curriculum into two tracks: the standard college preparatory "B" course, and a more rigorous "A" course of study. In the 1950s, the school underwent demographic changes following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in the Brown v. Board of Education case. In September 1954, African-Americans entered City College for the first time and continued to increase as a proportion of the student population in the 1960s. The school saw further changes in the student population with the acceptance of women in 1978. (more...)

Recently featured: Odwalla – James Robert Baker – IK Pegasi

October 21

Natalee Holloway (born 1986) is an American female who disappeared on May 30, 2005, during a high school graduation trip to Aruba. The disappearance caused a media sensation in the U.S. She was last seen by her classmates outside Carlos'n Charlie's, a Caribbean chain restaurant and nightclub in Oranjestad, with locals Joran van der Sloot and brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe. When questioned, the three men denied knowing what became of Holloway. Upon further investigation by authorities, Van der Sloot was arrested twice on suspicion of involvement in her disappearance, and the Kalpoes were each arrested three times. Due to lack of evidence, the three men were released without charge after each arrest. With the help of hundreds of volunteers, Aruban investigators conducted an extensive search for Holloway. The searches were unsuccessful, and according to Aruban authorities she is most likely dead. On December 18, 2007, Aruban prosecutors announced that the case would be closed without any charges sought against the former suspects. The Aruban prosecutor's office reopened the case on February 1, 2008, after receiving video footage of Joran van der Sloot, under the influence of marijuana, making statements that Holloway died on the morning of May 30, 2005, and that her body was disposed of. Van der Sloot has since denied that what he said was true. Holloway's family has criticized Aruban investigators throughout the search for a perceived lack of progress in finding her. (more...)

Recently featured: History of Baltimore City College – Odwalla – James Robert Baker

October 22

The 1995 Pacific Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on October 22, 1995 at the TI Circuit, Aida, Japan. It was the 15th race of the 1995 Formula One season. The race, contested over 83 laps, was won by Michael Schumacher for the Benetton team after starting from third position. David Coulthard, who started the Grand Prix from pole position, finished second in a Williams car, with Damon Hill third in the other Williams. Schumacher's win confirmed him as 1995 Drivers' Champion as Hill could not pass Schumacher's points total with only two races remaining. Hill started the race alongside Coulthard on the front row, amidst pressure from the British media for not being "forceful" enough in battles. Schumacher attempted to drive around the outside of Hill at the first corner, but Hill held Schumacher off as Jean Alesi, driving for Ferrari, got past both on the inside line to take second position. As a result, Hill dropped down to third and Schumacher dropped down to fifth behind Gerhard Berger. Schumacher managed to get past Alesi and Hill during the first of three pit stops. This allowed him, on a new set of slick tyres, to close on Coulthard who was on a two-stop strategy. Schumacher opened up a gap of 21 seconds by lapping two seconds faster per lap than Coulthard, so that when his third stop came, he still led the race. (more...)

Recently featured: Natalee Holloway – History of Baltimore City College – Odwalla

October 23

The Panic of 1907 was a financial crisis that occurred in the United States when its stock market fell close to 50 percent from its peak the previous year. Primary causes of the run included a retraction of market liquidity by a number of New York City banks, a loss of confidence among depositors, and the absence of a statutory lender of last resort. The crisis occurred after the failure of an attempt in October 1907 to corner the market on stock of the United Copper Company. When this bid failed, banks that had lent money to the cornering scheme suffered runs which later spread to affiliated banks and trusts, leading a week later to the downfall of the Knickerbocker Trust Company—New York City's third-largest trust. The collapse of the Knickerbocker spread fear throughout the city's trusts as regional banks withdrew reserves from New York City banks. The panic would have deepened if not for the intervention of financier J.P. Morgan, who pledged large sums of his own money, and convinced other New York bankers to do the same, to shore up the banking system. By November the contagion had largely ended. The following year, Senator Nelson W. Aldrich established and chaired a commission to investigate the crisis and propose future solutions, leading to the creation of the Federal Reserve System. (more...)

Recently featured: 1995 Pacific Grand Prix – Natalee Holloway – History of Baltimore City College

October 24

The Giant Otter is an amphibious, mammalian carnivore native to South America. About the length of an adult human being, it is the longest member of the Mustelidae, or weasel family, a globally successful group of predators. Unusually for a mustelid, the Giant Otter is a social species, with family groups typically supporting three to eight members. The groups are centred around a dominant breeding pair and are extremely cohesive and cooperative. Although generally peaceful, the species is territorial and aggression has been observed between groups. The Giant Otter is exclusively active during daylight hours. It is the noisiest otter species and distinct vocalizations have been documented that indicate alarm, aggressiveness, and reassurance. The Giant Otter ranges across north-central South America, although its distribution has been greatly reduced and is now discontinuous. The species was listed as endangered in 1999 and population estimates are typically below 5,000 in the wild. The Guianas are the last real stronghold for the species. Decades of poaching for its velvety pelt, peaking in the 1950s and 1960s, decimated population numbers. Habitat degradation and loss is the greatest current threat. The Giant Otter is also rare in captivity: as of 2003, only 60 animals were held. The Giant Otter largely subsists on a diet of fish, particularly characins and catfish, and may also take crabs. It has no serious natural predators, although it must compete with other species, including the Neotropical Otter and caiman species, for food resources. (more...)

Recently featured: Panic of 1907 – 1995 Pacific Grand Prix – Natalee Holloway

October 25

Creatures of Impulse is a short story by English dramatist W. S. Gilbert, which he later adapted for the stage with music by composer-conductor Alberto Randegger. Both the short story and the play concern an unwanted and ill-tempered old fairy who enchants people to behave in a manner opposite to their natures, with farcical results. The short story was written for The Graphic's Christmas number of 1870, and the play was first produced at the Court Theatre on 2 April 1871. It originally included six songs, but three were eventually cut, and some productions dispensed with the music entirely. While the lyrics survive, the music was never published and is lost. Reviews of the play were mostly positive, though it was criticised for the lack of a significant plot or superstructure to support its comic premise. Nonetheless, reviewers found it enjoyable, and it was a modest success, running for 91 performances and enjoying revivals into the early part of the 20th century. Gilbert had already written a considerable body of stories, plays, poems, criticism and other works before writing Creatures of Impulse and would go on to write the libretti to the famous Savoy operas (composed by Arthur Sullivan) between 1871 and 1896. (more...)

Recently featured: Giant Otter – Panic of 1907 – 1995 Pacific Grand Prix

October 26

The meteorological history of Hurricane Wilma, the most intense known tropical cyclone in the Western Hemisphere, began in the second week of October 2005. A large area of disturbed weather developed across much of the Caribbean Sea and gradually organized to the southeast of Jamaica. By late on October 15, the system was sufficiently organized for the National Hurricane Center to designate it as Tropical Depression Twenty-Four. The depression drifted southwestward, and under favorable conditions, it strengthened into Tropical Storm Wilma on October 17. From October 18 and through the following day, Wilma underwent explosive deepening over the open waters of the Caribbean; in a 30-hour period, the system's central atmospheric pressure dropped to the record-low value of 882 mbar (26.05 inHg), while the winds increased to 185 mph (295 km/h). After the inner eye dissipated due to an eyewall replacement cycle, Wilma weakened to Category 4 status, and on October 21, it made landfall on Cozumel and on the Mexican mainland with winds of about 150 mph (240 km/h). (more...)

Recently featured: Creatures of Impulse – Giant Otter – Panic of 1907

October 27

The national emblem of Belarus, which replaced the historic Pahonia arms in a 1995 referendum, features a ribbon in the colors of the national flag, a map of Belarus, wheat ears and a red star. It is sometimes referred to as the coat of arms of Belarus, although this is incorrect due to the lack of several heraldic elements. The emblem is an allusion to the one used by the Byelorussian SSR, designed by I.I. Dubasov in 1950. Emblems reminiscent of the times of the Soviet Union are also used by the nations of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and the region of Transnistria. In the center of the emblem sits a green outline of Belarus, superimposed over the rays of a golden sun. The sun is partially covered by a globe, with the landmass (part of Eurasia) in purple and waters in blue. Lining the left and right sides of the emblem are stalks of wheat, superimposed with flowers. Clovers adorn the left wheat stalks; flax flowers adorn the right. Wrapped around the wheat stalks is a red and green ribbon bearing the colors of the flag of Belarus; the ribbon meets at the base of the emblem, where the name Republic of Belarus (Рэспублiка Беларусь) is inscribed in gold in the Belarusian language. (more...)

Recently featured: Meteorological history of Hurricane Wilma – Creatures of Impulse – Giant Otter

October 28

NeXT was an American computer company headquartered in Redwood City, California that developed and manufactured a series of computer workstations intended for the higher education and business markets. NeXT was founded in 1985 by Apple Computer co-founder Steve Jobs after his forced resignation from Apple. NeXT introduced the first NeXT Computer in 1988, and the smaller NeXTStation in 1990. Sales of the NeXT computers were relatively limited, with estimates of about 50,000 units shipped in total. Nevertheless its innovative object-oriented NeXTSTEP operating system and development environment were highly influential. NeXT later released much of the NeXTSTEP system as a programming environment standard called OpenStep. NeXT withdrew from the hardware business in 1993 to concentrate on marketing OPENSTEP for several OEMs. NeXT also developed WebObjects, one of the first Enterprise web application frameworks. WebObjects never became very popular because of its initial high price of $50,000 but remains a prominent early example of a web server based on dynamic page generation rather than static content. Apple purchased NeXT on December 20, 1996 for $429 million, and much of the current Mac OS X system is built on the OPENSTEP foundation. WebObjects is now bundled with Mac OS X Server and Xcode. (more...)

Recently featured: National emblem of Belarus – Meteorological history of Hurricane Wilma – Creatures of Impulse

October 29

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 618 to 907. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire. The Tang Dynasty, with its capital at Chang'an, the most populous city in the world at the time, is regarded by historians as a high point in Chinese civilization—equal to or surpassing that of the earlier Han Dynasty—as well as a golden age of cosmopolitan culture. In Chinese history, the Tang Dynasty was largely a period of progress and stability, except during the An Shi Rebellion and the decline of central authority in the latter half of the dynasty. Like the previous Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty maintained a civil service system by drafting officials through standardized examinations and recommendations to office. Two of China's most famous historical poets, Du Fu and Li Bai, belonged to this age, as well as the poets Meng Haoran, Du Mu, and Bai Juyi. Many famous visual artists lived during this era, such as the renowned painters Han Gan, Zhang Xuan, and Zhou Fang. There was a rich variety of historical literature compiled by scholars, as well as encyclopedias and books on geography. There were many notable innovations during the dynasty, including the development of woodblock printing, the escapement mechanism in horology, the government compilations of materia medicas, and improvements in cartography. (more...)

Recently featured: NeXT – National emblem of Belarus – Meteorological history of Hurricane Wilma

October 30

Mary Shelley (1797–1851) was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus. She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley. Her father was the political philosopher William Godwin, and her mother was the philosopher and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. In 1814, Mary Godwin fell in love with one of her father's political followers, the married Percy Bysshe Shelley. Together with Mary's stepsister, Claire Clairmont, they left for France and travelled through Europe; upon their return to England, Mary was pregnant. Over the next two years, she and Percy faced ostracism, constant debt, and the death of their prematurely born daughter. In 1822, her husband drowned when his sailing boat sank during a storm in the Bay of La Spezia. A year later, Mary Shelley returned to England and from then on devoted herself to the upbringing of her son and a career as a professional author. The last decade of her life was dogged by illness, probably caused by the brain tumour that was to kill her at the age of 53. (more...)

Recently featured: Tang Dynasty – NeXT – National emblem of Belarus

October 31

The Treehouse of Horror episodes are the annual Halloween specials in the animated series The Simpsons. Each episode consists of three separate, self-contained segments, which usually involve the Simpson family in some horror, science fiction, or supernatural setting. Considered non-canon, they always take place outside the normal continuity of the show and completely abandon any pretense of being realistic. The first Treehouse of Horror episode aired on October 25, 1990 as part of the second season and was inspired by EC Comics horror tales. The episodes are known for being far more violent and much darker than an average Simpsons episode. As of 2008, there are 18 Treehouse of Horror episodes, with one airing every year, and the newest episode, "Treehouse of Horror XIX", is scheduled to air on November 2. Episodes contain several trademarks, including the alien characters Kang and Kodos, "scary names" in the credits, a special version of the opening sequence, and parodies of horror and science fiction films. The show's staff regard the Treehouse of Horror as being particularly difficult to produce as the scripts often go through many rewrites, and the animators typically have to design new characters and backgrounds. (more...)

Recently featured: Mary Shelley – Tang Dynasty – NeXT