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April 4
Poker hands are constructed of playing cards according to predetermined rules, which vary according to which variant of poker is being played. These hands are compared using a hand ranking system that is standard across all variants of poker, the player with the highest-ranking hand winning that particular deal in most variants of poker. In some variants, the lowest-ranking hand can win or tie. These hand rankings are also used in some other card games, and in poker dice. The ranking of a particular hand is increased by including multiple cards of the same card rank, by all five cards being from the same suit, or by the five cards forming a consecutive series. The relative ranking of the various hand categories is based on the probability of being randomly dealt such a hand from a well-shuffled deck. The hand category with the highest ranking is the straight flush, which consists of hands that contain five cards in sequence, all of the same suit. An ace-high straight flush is known as a royal flush (example pictured), and is the highest-ranking standard poker hand. (Full list...)
April 7
The Archbishops of Canterbury were in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, from the 6th century until the 16th century. During the English Reformation the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope, and the Archbishop of Canterbury subsequently became the head of the Church of England and, symbolically, of the worldwide Anglican Communion. In the Middle Ages there was considerable variation in the nomination of the archbishop and other bishops. At various times, the choice was made by the canons of Canterbury Cathedral, the King of England, or the Pope. Since the reformation, the church is explicitly a state church and the choice is legally that of the British crown; today it is made in the name of the monarchy of the United Kingdom by the Prime Minister from a shortlist of two selected by an ad hoc committee called the Crown Nominations Commission. A list of the Archbishops of Canterbury (pictured) is kept in the Cathedral. (Full list...)
April 11
Approximately 100 species of mammal are known to inhabit, or recently to have inhabited, the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding waters. This includes a few species that were introduced in the 20th century; the coypu (pictured) was introduced for farming in the 1990s, and the muskrat was introduced in the early 20th century into the Russian Far East and was subsequently first recorded in Korea in the Tumen River basin in 1965. The Siberian tiger and Japanese sea lion have probably been extirpated from Korea, but are still included in standard lists of Korean mammals. Most Korean mammal species are found only in a small part of Korea. The large southeastern island of Jeju, and the rugged northeastern Paektu Mountain region, are particularly known for their distinctive mammal species. Several species, including the Dsinezumi shrew, are found only on Jeju, while many other species, such as the wild boar, are absent or extirpated from there. Some mammals, such as the Manchurian wapiti, are considered natural monuments of North Korea, while others, such as the spotted seal, are considered natural monuments of South Korea. (Full list...)
April 14
ISO 3166-1 is part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and defines codes for the names of countries, dependent territories, and special areas of geographical interest. It defines three sets of country codes: alpha-2, defining two-letter country codes; alpha-3, defining three-letter country codes; and numeric, defining three-digit country codes. The alphabetic country codes were first included in ISO 3166 in 1974, and the numeric country codes were first included in 1981. The country codes have been published as ISO 3166-1 since 1997, when ISO 3166 was expanded into three parts, with ISO 3166-2 defining codes for subdivisions and ISO 3166-3 defining codes for former countries. As a widely used international standard, ISO 3166-1 is implemented in other standards and used by international organizations to allow facilitation of the exchange of goods and information. (Full list...)
April 18
The World Fantasy Award for Best Novel is given each year by the World Fantasy Convention to one or two fantasy novels published in English or translated into English during the previous calendar year. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a novel if it is 40,000 words or longer; other World Fantasy Awards are given out for pieces of shorter lengths in the Short Story and Novella categories. The World Fantasy Award for Best Novel has been awarded annually since 1975. Nominees and winners are decided by attendees and judges at the convention. During the 39 nomination years, 135 authors have had works nominated; 39 of them have won, including ties. Only four authors have won twice: Gene Wolfe (pictured), out of seven nominations; Tim Powers, out of five; Jeffrey Ford, out of three; and James K. Morrow for both of his nominations. Wolfe has the most nominations for an author who has won at least once, while Stephen King has the most nominations without winning, at nine, followed by Charles L. Grant at six and Jonathan Carroll at five. (Full list...)
April 21
The order of battle of the Army of the Danube, a field army of the French First Republic, consisted of three divisions plus an advance guard, a reserve, and an artillery park. There were approximately 25,000 members of the Army of the Danube, the role of which was to invade southwestern Germany, precipitating the War of the Second Coalition. The artillery park was under the command of Jean Ambroise Baston de Lariboisière and consisted of 33 cannons and 19 howitzers. Initially, the Army included five future Marshals of France: its commander-in-chief, Jean-Baptiste Jourdan (pictured); François Joseph Lefebvre; Jean-Baptiste Drouet; Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr; and Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier. After the Army's defeat in the Battle of Ostrach on 20–21 March 1799, the Army was reorganized and command shifted to another future marshal, André Masséna. The Army was disbanded that November and its units dispersed among other French field armies by mid-December. (Full list...)
April 25
Each year, the champion of the Australian Open men's singles receives a miniature replica of the silver-gilt Norman Brookes Challenge Cup, named after the 1911 champion and former Lawn Tennis Association of Australia president, and modeled after the Warwick Vase. The inclusion of professional tennis players in 1969 marked the competition's entry into the Open Era, in which Andre Agassi, Roger Federer (pictured), and Novak Djokovic are tied with the most titles at four. The Open Era record for most consecutive titles is three by Djokovic. The Australian Open court surface changed once, from grass courts to hardcourts in 1988. Mats Wilander was the only tennis player to win the event on grass and on Rebound Ace surfaces, which he won twice on grass and once on the Rebound Ace. Federer is the only player to have won on both the Rebound Ace and Plexicushion tennis surfaces. In 2010, the winner received prize money of A$2,100,000. (Full list...)
April 28
There will be 224 solar eclipses in the 21st century, of which 77 will be partial, 72 will be annular, 68 will be total, and 7 will be hybrids between total and annular eclipses. Of these, two annular and one total eclipse will be off-centre, in the sense that the path of the maximum eclipse will only touch Earth's surface rather than traversing it. The greatest number of solar eclipses in one year will be four, in 2011, 2029, 2047, 2065, 2076, and 2094. So far, the longest duration in which the moon totally covered the sun, known as totality, was during the solar eclipse of July 22, 2009 (pictured). This total solar eclipse had a maximum duration of 6 minutes and 39 seconds. The longest possible duration of a total solar eclipse is 7 minutes and 32 seconds. The longest annular eclipse was on January 15, 2010, with a duration of 11 minutes and 8 seconds. The possible maximum duration is 12 minutes and 29 seconds. The eclipse of May 20, 2050 will be the second hybrid eclipse in the span of less than one year, the first one being on November 25, 2049. (Full list...)