Wikipedia:Main Page history/2021 July 2

The green rosella (Platycercus caledonicus) is a parrot native to the Australian state of Tasmania and some Bass Strait islands. The species was described by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788. At up to 37 cm (14.5 in) long, it is the largest species in its genus. Its underparts, neck and head are yellow, with a red band above the beak and violet-blue cheeks. The back is mostly black and green, and its long tail blue and green. The female has duller yellow plumage and more prominent red markings, as well as a smaller beak. Found in a wide range of habitats with some form of tree cover, the green rosella is predominantly herbivorous, consuming seeds, berries, nuts, fruits, and flowers, but it may also eat insect larvae and insects such as psyllids. Nesting takes place in tree hollows. The green rosella is widespread across Tasmania, but the King Island subspecies has been classed as vulnerable. (Full article...)

Parliament Hill, Ottawa

• ... that the site of Parliament Hill (pictured) was previously called Barrack Hill and had been intended for development as a major military base?
• ... that the third Wanamaker expedition, led by Joseph K. Dixon, travelled at least 20,000 miles (32,000 km) and visited 89 Native American tribes?
• ... that Laura Robinson invented Canada's best-selling board game before becoming a successful actress and television producer?
• ... that some species of bacteria in the genus Alkalihalobacillus live in hypersaline lakes while others are added to laundry detergent?
• ... that music theorist Philip Ewell received "anti-Black statements and personal ad hominem attacks" following his claim that Western music theory is shaped by a "white racial frame"?
• ... that Murray Dowey was a clerk and typist for the Toronto Transit Commission before being the goaltender for Canada's gold-medal-winning hockey team at the 1948 Winter Olympics?
• ... that the Walter Bean Grand River Trail was named after Walter Bean, who created the idea of a continuous trail through the Waterloo region?
• ... that Toman helped popularize genderless fashion in Japan?

Jacob Zuma

• Former South African president Jacob Zuma (pictured) is sentenced to 15 months in prison for contempt of court.
• An extreme heat wave kills more than 130 people in the Pacific Northwest of North America.
• In Saskatchewan, Canada, 751 unmarked graves are discovered at the site of the former Marieval Indian Residential School.
• In the United States, a condominium tower near Miami collapses, killing at least 18 people and leaving 145 others missing.

July 2: Feast day of Saints Martinian and Processus (Catholicism)

The Raft of the Medusa

• 1298 – Albert I's army defeated the forces of the deposed Adolf of Nassau at the Battle of Göllheim following Albert's election to replace Adolf as King of Germany.
• 1816 – The French frigate Méduse ran aground off the coast of present-day Mauritania, with the survivors escaping on a makeshift raft, depicted in Théodore Géricault's painting The Raft of the Medusa (pictured).
• 1881 – U.S. president James A. Garfield was fatally shot at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad station in Washington, D.C.
• 1941 – An SS unit arrived in Vilnius, Lithuania, and began the systematic execution of up to 100,000 people over the next three years.
• 2013 – The International Astronomical Union announced that the fourth and fifth moons of Pluto to be discovered would be named Kerberos and Styx, respectively.