Wikipedia:Today's featured article/July 2013

Today's featured articles for July 2013

Today's featured article archive

July 1

Frank Pick (1878–1941) was a British transport administrator. In 1906, he joined the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL) where he rose through the corporate ranks, becoming managing director in 1928. On 1 July 1933, he became chief executive officer and vice-chairman of the London Passenger Transport Board when it was formed to take charge of most of the transport operations in and around London. Pick had a strong interest in public design, steering the development of the London Underground's corporate identity by commissioning commercial art, modern architecture and graphic design, including the first version of the Underground's roundel (pictured). Under his direction, London's Underground network and associated bus services expanded considerably, reaching out into new areas and stimulating the growth of London's suburbs. His impact on the growth of London between the world wars led to him being likened to Baron Haussmann and Robert Moses. Pick wrote and lectured extensively on sociological issues and on the place of art and design in society, for which he was compared to Gaius Maecenas and Thomas Aquinas. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Golden-crowned sifaka – HMS Speedy – Jürgen Ehlers

July 2

Alec Douglas-Home (1903–95) was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister from October 1963 to October 1964. His reputation rests more on the two periods when he served as the UK foreign minister than on his brief, uneventful premiership. As parliamentary aide to Neville Chamberlain, he witnessed Chamberlain's efforts to preserve peace before the Second World War. In 1951 he inherited the earldom of Home and became a member of the House of Lords. Under Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan he was appointed to posts including Leader of the House of Lords and Foreign Secretary. In October 1963 Macmillan resigned as Prime Minister. Home was controversially chosen to succeed him, renouncing his earldom and winning election to the House of Commons. He was criticised by the Labour Party as an out-of-touch aristocrat, and he came over stiffly in television interviews. After narrow defeat in the 1964 general election he resigned as party leader; he later served under Edward Heath as Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. After the defeat of the Heath government in 1974 he retired from front-line politics. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Frank Pick – Golden-crowned sifaka – HMS Speedy

July 3

Franz Kafka (1883–1924) was a German-language writer of novels and short stories, and is regarded as one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. His works, such as "Die Verwandlung" ("The Metamorphosis"), Der Process (The Trial), and Das Schloss (The Castle), are filled with themes and archetypes of alienation, brutality, parent–child conflict, and mystical transformations. Kafka was born into a middle-class Jewish family in Prague, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He trained as a lawyer and worked for an insurance company, writing in his spare time – he complained all his life about his lack of time to write. Kafka wrote hundreds of letters to family and close female friends, including his fiancée Felice Bauer. Only a few of Kafka's stories appeared during his lifetime in story collections and literary magazines. His novels and other unfinished works were published posthumously, mostly by his friend Max Brod, who ignored his wish to have the manuscripts destroyed. Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre are among the writers influenced by Kafka's work; the term Kafkaesque has entered the English language to describe surreal situations like those in his writing. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Alec Douglas-Home – Frank Pick – Golden-crowned sifaka

July 4

The Battle of Quebec was fought on December 31, 1775, early in the American Revolutionary War, between American Continental Army forces and the British defenders of the city of Quebec. The battle was the first major defeat of the war for the Americans, and it came at a high price: General Richard Montgomery (pictured) was killed, Benedict Arnold was wounded, and Daniel Morgan and more than 400 men were taken prisoner. The city's garrison, led by Quebec's provincial governor, General Guy Carleton, suffered few casualties. Montgomery's army had earlier captured Montreal, and then joined Arnold's forces. Carleton had escaped from Montreal to Quebec, and last-minute reinforcements arrived to bolster the city's limited defenses. Concerned that expiring enlistments would reduce his force, Montgomery made the end-of-year attack in a blinding snowstorm to conceal his army's movements. Montgomery's force turned back after he was killed by cannon fire; Arnold was injured early in the attack, and Morgan then led the assault until he became trapped and had to surrender. Arnold and the Americans maintained an ineffectual blockade of the city until spring, when British reinforcements arrived. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Franz Kafka – Alec Douglas-Home – Frank Pick

July 5

SheiKra is a steel Dive Coaster roller coaster at the Busch Gardens Tampa Bay amusement park in Tampa, Florida, United States. The name is derived from "shikra", an Asian-African hawk that is known to dive vertically for its prey. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride was planned to reach a height of approximately 160 feet (49 m), but this was later changed to 200 feet (61 m). It reaches a maximum speed of 70 miles per hour (110 km/h), and has a total track length of 3,188 feet (972 m). It opened in 2005, and was converted to a floorless roller coaster in 2007, following the opening of its sister Dive Coaster Griffon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. SheiKra was the first Dive Coaster to be constructed in North America; it was also the first of its kind to feature a vertical drop, a splashdown and an Immelmann loop. It broke the records for the world's longest, tallest, and fastest Dive Coaster, but has since lost these records. In 2005, Amusement Today's annual Golden Ticket Awards voted it the fourth-best new steel roller coaster of that year (in a three-way tie) and the 28th-best steel roller coaster. It was voted the 30th-best steel roller coaster in 2012. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Battle of Quebec (1775) – Franz Kafka – Alec Douglas-Home

July 6

The Dodo is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Its appearance in life is evidenced only by 17th-century paintings and written accounts that vary considerably, so its exact appearance is a mystery. Little is certain about its habitat and behaviour. Subfossil remains show the Dodo was about 1 metre (3.3 feet) tall and may have weighed 10–18 kg (22–40 lb). It is presumed that the Dodo became flightless because of the ready availability of abundant food sources and a relative absence of predators on Mauritius. The first recorded mention of the Dodo was by Dutch sailors in 1598. In the following years, the bird was preyed upon by hungry sailors, their domesticated animals, and invasive species introduced during that time. The last widely accepted sighting of a Dodo was in 1662. Its extinction within only about a century of its discovery called attention to the previously unrecognised problem of human involvement in the disappearance of entire species. The Dodo achieved widespread recognition from its role in Alice in Wonderland, and it has become a fixture in popular culture, often as a symbol of extinction and obsolescence. (Full article...)

Recently featured: SheiKra – Battle of Quebec (1775) – Franz Kafka

July 7

To be hanged, drawn and quartered was, from 1351, a penalty in England for men convicted of high treason, although the ritual was first recorded in the 13th century. Convicts were fastened to a hurdle, or wooden panel, and drawn by horse to the place of execution. Once there, they were hanged (almost to the point of death), emasculated, disembowelled, beheaded and quartered (chopped into four pieces). For reasons of public decency, women convicted of high treason were instead burnt at the stake. The severity of the sentence was measured against the seriousness of the crime. As an attack on the monarch's authority, high treason was considered an act deplorable enough to demand the most extreme form of punishment. Over a period of several hundred years many men found guilty of high treason were punished in this fashion, including English Catholic priests executed during the Elizabethan era. Although the Act of Parliament that defines high treason remains on the United Kingdom's statute books, the sentence was modified in the 19th century and became obsolete in England in 1870. The death penalty for treason was abolished in 1998. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Dodo – SheiKra – Battle of Quebec (1775)

July 8

Troops of I Corps pick their way through the rubble of Caen

Operation Charnwood was a Second World War Anglo-Canadian offensive to capture the German-occupied French city of Caen that took place from 8 to 9 July 1944, during the Battle of Normandy. It was also hoped to forestall the transfer of German armoured units to the American sector of the front. Preceded by a controversial bombing raid that destroyed much of Caen's historic Old City, Charnwood began with three infantry divisions attacking German positions supported by artillery and tanks. British I Corps made gradual progress against the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend and 16th Luftwaffe Field Division. By the end of the first day, the 3rd Canadian and British 3rd and 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Divisions had reached Caen's outskirts. Entering the city the following morning, the Allies encountered resistance from German units withdrawing across the Orne river. Carpiquet airfield was captured, and by evening the Allies had reached the Orne's north bank. The operation was then halted as the bridges south were defended or impassable and German reserves were positioned to oppose their crossing. Despite I Corps' losses, Charnwood was a tactical success. Operationally, it achieved mixed results. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Hanged, drawn and quartered – Dodo – SheiKra

July 9

Pipe Dream is the seventh musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Premiering on Broadway on November 30, 1955, it was a flop and a financial disaster. It is based on John Steinbeck's short novel Sweet Thursday, which he wrote in the hope of having it adapted into a musical. Set in Monterey, California, the musical tells the story of the romance between Doc, a marine biologist, and Suzy, who in the novel is a prostitute; her profession is only alluded to in the stage work. Rodgers and Hammerstein signed operatic diva Helen Traubel to play Fauna, the house madam. They had concerns about featuring a prostitute as female lead and setting part of the musical in a bordello and as the show progressed through tryouts, Hammerstein repeatedly revised it, obscuring Suzy's profession and the nature of Fauna's house. Pipe Dream met with poor reviews, and rapidly closed once it exhausted its advance sale. It had no national tour or London production, and has rarely been presented since. There was no film at the time; the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization once hoped for a film version featuring the Muppets with Fauna played by Miss Piggy. (This article is part of a featured topic: Pipe Dream.)

Recently featured: Operation Charnwood – Hanged, drawn and quartered – Dodo

July 10

Leg before wicket (lbw) is one of the ways in which a batsman can be dismissed in the sport of cricket. The umpire may rule a batsman out lbw if the ball would have struck the wicket but was intercepted by any part of the batsman except his bat. The umpire's decision, however, will depend on a number of criteria, including where the ball pitched, whether the ball hit in line with the wickets and whether the batsman was offering a shot. Lbw first appeared in the laws in 1774, as batsmen began to use their pads to prevent the ball hitting their wicket. Since the 1990s, the availability of television replays and, later, ball-tracking technology to assist umpires has increased the percentage of lbws in major matches. However, the accuracy of the technology and the consequences of its use remain controversial. Owing to its complexity, the law is widely misunderstood among the general public and lbw decisions have sometimes caused crowd trouble. Since the law's introduction, the proportion of lbw dismissals has risen steadily. Statistics reveal that the probability of a batsman being dismissed lbw in a test match varies depending on where the match is played and which teams are playing. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Pipe Dream – Operation Charnwood – Hanged, drawn and quartered

July 11

The effects of Hurricane Ivan in the Lesser Antilles and South America in September 2004 included 44 deaths and over $1 billion in damage, primarily in Grenada (damage pictured) where it was considered the worst hurricane in nearly 50 years. Hurricane Ivan developed from a tropical wave on September 2 and rapidly intensified to become a major hurricane, passing through the southern Lesser Antilles on September 7 with winds of 125 mph (205 km/h). At the time, its tropical storm force winds extended outward up to 160 miles (260 km) with hurricane force winds outward to 70 miles (110 km). The northern portion of the eye passed over Grenada, killing 39 people and causing the worst damage in the region: the damage total of $1.1 billion represented 200% of its GDP. The hurricane damaged more than 14,000 homes in Grenada; 30% of the houses were destroyed, leaving about 18,000 people homeless. The United States Agency for International Development, European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office and others helped with reconstruction work. Moderate damage and at least three fatalities were reported in northern Venezuela, and one person died each in Trinidad and Barbados. The name Ivan was later retired. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Leg before wicket – Pipe Dream – Operation Charnwood

July 12

The Sunbeam Tiger is a high-performance V8 version of the British Rootes Group's Sunbeam Alpine roadster, designed in part by American car designer and racing driver Carroll Shelby. Shelby had carried out a similar V8 conversion on the AC Cobra, and hoped to win the contract to produce the Tiger at his facility in America. Rootes decided instead to contract the assembly work to Jensen at West Bromwich in England, and pay Shelby a royalty on every car produced. Two major versions were built: the Series I (1964–67) was fitted with the 260 cu in (4.3 L) Ford V8; the Series II, of which only 633 were built, was fitted with the larger Ford 289 cu in (4.7 L) engine. Two prototype and extensively modified versions of the Series I competed in the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans, fitted with the larger engine, but neither completed the race. For two years the Tiger was the American Hot Rod Association's national record holder over a quarter-mile drag strip. Production ended in 1967 soon after the Rootes Group was taken over by Chrysler, who did not have a suitable engine to replace the Ford V8. Owing to the ease and affordability of modifying the Tiger, there are few surviving cars in standard form. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Effects of Hurricane Ivan in the Lesser Antilles and South America – Leg before wicket – Pipe Dream

July 13

The recorded history of Gibraltar (pictured in 1782) spans over 2,900 years. First inhabited 50,000 years ago by the Neanderthals, Gibraltar may have been one of their last refuges before their extinction. To the Carthaginians and Romans it was one of the Pillars of Hercules at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea. Moors from North Africa first settled and fortified it, calling it Jebel al-Tarik, later corrupted into Gibraltar. Castile contested it and eventually conquered it in 1462, after which it became part of Spain. An Anglo-Dutch force seized it in 1704. It was ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Utrecht, signed on 13 July 1713. Spain unsuccessfully besieged Gibraltar in 1704, 1727 and 1779–83; its status is still disputed. The territory became a British Crown colony and an important trading post and base for the Royal Navy during the Peninsular War. During the Second World War it was a key British garrison, controlling access to the Mediterranean. Gibraltar's fourteen sieges have led to it becoming "one of the most densely fortified and fought over places in Europe". Today it is a self-governing British Overseas Territory with an economy based largely on financial services, shipping and tourism. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Sunbeam Tiger – Effects of Hurricane Ivan in the Lesser Antilles and South America – Leg before wicket

July 14

Gospel of the Ebionites is the conventional name given to an apocryphal gospel believed to have been used by a Jewish Christian sect known as the Ebionites. All that is known of the gospel consists of seven brief quotations found in a heresiology known as the Panarion, written by Epiphanius of Salamis (pictured); he believed it to be a truncated and modified version of the Gospel of Matthew. The quotations were used as part of a polemic to point out inconsistencies in the beliefs and practices of the Ebionites relative to Nicene orthodoxy. The text is a gospel harmony of the Synoptic Gospels, composed in Greek with various changes reflecting the writer's theology. It is believed to have been composed some time during the middle of the 2nd century. Distinctive features include the absence of the virgin birth and genealogy of Jesus, an Adoptionist Christology in which Jesus is chosen to be God's Son at the time of his Baptism, Jesus' appointed task of abolishing the Jewish sacrifices, and an advocacy of vegetarianism. Although the gospel was said to be used by "Ebionites" during the time of the early church, the identity of the group or groups that used it remains a matter of conjecture. (Full article...)

Recently featured: History of Gibraltar – Sunbeam Tiger – Effects of Hurricane Ivan in the Lesser Antilles and South America

July 15

A Pisco Sour is a cocktail typical of South American cuisine. The drink's name is a combination of the word pisco, which is its base liquor, and the term sour, in reference to sour citrus juice and sweetener components. Chile and Peru both claim the Pisco Sour as their national drink, and each asserts exclusive ownership of both pisco and the cocktail. The Peruvian Pisco Sour uses Peruvian pisco as the base liquor and adds Key lime (or lemon) juice, syrup, ice, egg white, and Angostura bitters. The Chilean version is similar, but uses Chilean pisco, Pica lemon, and excludes the bitters and egg white. The cocktail was invented by Victor Vaughn Morris, an American bartender working in Peru in the early 1920s. In Chile, the invention of the drink is attributed to Elliot Stubb, an English ship steward, at a bar in the port city of Iquique in 1872, although the source for this attributed the invention of the Whiskey Sour to Stubb, not the Pisco Sour. The two kinds of pisco and the two variations in the style of preparing the Pisco Sour are distinct in both production and taste, and the Pisco Sour has become a significant and oft-debated topic of Latin American popular culture. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Gospel of the Ebionites – History of Gibraltar – Sunbeam Tiger

July 16

The Manhattan Project was a research and development project that produced the first atomic bombs during World War II. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army Corps of Engineers. It began modestly in 1939, but grew to employ more than 130,000 people and cost nearly US$2 billion (the equivalent of about $26 billion now). Although it operated under a tight blanket of security, it was penetrated by Soviet atomic spies. The first device ever detonated was an implosion-type nuclear weapon in the Trinity test (pictured), conducted at New Mexico's Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range on 16 July 1945. Project personnel participated in the Alsos Mission in Europe, and in the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After the war the Manhattan Project conducted weapons testing in Operation Crossroads, developed new weapons, established the network of national laboratories, supported medical research into radiology, and laid the foundations for a nuclear navy. It was replaced by the Atomic Energy Commission and the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project in 1947. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Pisco Sour – Gospel of the Ebionites – History of Gibraltar

July 17

Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (1901–18) was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia, and his wife Alexandra Fyodorovna. Anastasia had three older sisters (Olga, Tatiana, and Maria), and a younger brother (Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia). She was executed with her family in an extrajudicial killing by members of Cheka, the Bolshevik secret police, on 17 July 1918. Persistent rumors of her possible escape circulated, fueled by the fact that the location of her burial was unknown during Communist rule. Several women falsely claimed to have been Anastasia, the most notorious of whom was Anna Anderson; DNA testing after Anderson's death showed no link between her and the Imperial family. Anastasia's possible survival has been conclusively disproved. The mass grave near Yekaterinburg which held the remains of the Tsar, his wife, and three daughters was revealed in 1991, but the bodies of Alexei Nikolaevich and one of his sisters—either Anastasia or Maria—were not discovered there. However, the charred bodies of the two missing siblings were found in 2007 and identified using DNA testing. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Manhattan Project – Pisco Sour – Gospel of the Ebionites

July 18

Sair Tjerita Siti Akbari is an 1884 Malay-language syair (poem) by Lie Kim Hok. Adapted from the Sjair Abdoel Moeloek, it tells of a woman who passes as a man to free her husband from the Sultan of Hindustan, who had captured him in an assault on their kingdom. Written over a period of several years and influenced by European literature, the work differs from earlier syairs in its use of suspense and emphasis on prose rather than form. It also incorporates European realist views to expand upon the genre while maintaining several of the hallmarks of traditional syairs. Critical views have emphasised various aspects of its story, finding in the work an increased empathy for women's thoughts and feelings, a call for a unifying language in the Dutch East Indies, and a polemic regarding the relation between tradition and modernity. A commercial and critical success, Siti Akbari was twice reprinted; in 1940 it was adapted to film. When Sjair Abdoel Moeloek's influence became clear in the 1920s, Lie was criticised as unoriginal. However, Siti Akbari remains one of the better known syairs written by an ethnic Chinese author, and Lie was later styled the "father of Chinese Malay literature". (Full article...)

Recently featured: Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia – Manhattan Project – Pisco Sour

July 19

Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded is a reissue of Barbadian recording artist Rihanna's third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). Released to mark the first anniversary of the original album, the album features three newly recorded songs and a DVD showing exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of her Good Girl Gone Bad Tour (2007–09). For the new material, she worked with past collaborators Ne-Yo, StarGate, and C. "Tricky" Stewart, as well as Brian Kennedy, Mark Endert, Mike Elizondo, Mark "Spike" Stent and Maroon 5. Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised the sound and production of the newly added material. Other critics felt that the album was not worthy for re-release with only three new songs. The album sold 63,000 copies in its first week and helped the original album peak at number seven on the US Billboard 200. The reissue charted in New Zealand, peaking at number four. The album was promoted with four singles, including the US number-one hits "Take a Bow" and "Disturbia". Rihanna also performed songs from the reissue on several television programs and award ceremonies including FNMTV and the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Sair Tjerita Siti Akbari – Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia – Manhattan Project

July 20

Pipistrellus raceyi, also known as Racey's pipistrelle bat, is a bat from Madagascar, in the genus Pipistrellus. Although unidentified species of Pipistrellus had been previously reported from Madagascar since the 1990s, P. raceyi was not formally named until 2006. The specific name, raceyi, honors bat researcher Paul Racey. It is apparently most closely related to the Asian species P. endoi, P. paterculus, and P. abramus, and its ancestors probably reached Madagascar from Asia, rather than from Africa (from where most of the island's bat fauna originated). P. raceyi has been recorded at four sites, two in the eastern and two in the western lowlands, all below 80 m (260 ft) altitude. In the east, it is found in open areas and has been found roosting in a building; in the west it occurs in dry forest. Because of uncertainties about its ecology, it is listed as "Data Deficient" on the IUCN Red List. With a forearm length of 28.0 to 31.2 mm (1.10 to 1.23 in), Pipistrellus raceyi is small to medium-sized for a species of Pipistrellus. It is long-furred and the body is reddish above, with the head a trifle darker, and yellowish-brown below. The wings are dark and the feet are small. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded – Sair Tjerita Siti Akbari – Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia

July 21

The Battle of Taejon (14–21 July 1950) was an early battle between United States and North Korean forces during the Korean War. U.S. Army forces, attempting to defend the headquarters of the 24th Infantry Division, were overwhelmed by numerically superior forces of the Korean People's Army (KPA) at the major city and transportation hub of Taejon. The Americans were already exhausted after two weeks of attempting to stem the KPA's advance. The entire 24th Division gathered to make a final stand around Taejon, holding a line along the Kum River to the east of the city. The American forces, outnumbered, ill-equipped and untrained, were pushed back from the river bank after several days, before fighting an intense urban battle to defend the city. After a fierce three-day struggle, they withdrew. Although they could not hold the city, the 24th Infantry Division achieved a strategic victory by delaying the North Koreans, providing time for other American divisions to establish a defensive perimeter around Pusan further south. The KPA captured Major General William F. Dean, the commander of the 24th Infantry Division, and the highest-ranking American prisoner during the Korean War. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Pipistrellus raceyi – Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded – Sair Tjerita Siti Akbari

July 22

Albertus Soegijapranata (1896–1963) was a Javanese cleric who became the first native Indonesian bishop upon being created as Archbishop of Semarang in 1940. Born to a Muslim family in Surakarta, Dutch East Indies, in 1910 he converted to Catholicism and was ordained in 1931. First serving as a pastor in Yogyakarta, Soegijapranata was consecrated as the vicar apostolic of the newly established Apostolic Vicariate of Semarang in 1940, moving to the city to take the position. During the Japanese occupation, Soegijapranata resisted attempts to seize Church property, including his vicariate's cathedral, and protected the area's Catholics. During the ensuing national revolution (1945–49) he promoted a nationalist cause, moving his seat to Yogyakarta to support the new government and working to promote international recognition of Indonesia's independence. During the post-revolution years he wrote extensively against communism and worked towards a self-determined Indonesian Roman Catholic hierarchy. He was made an archbishop in 1961, dying two years later in the Netherlands. Soegijapranata is now considered a National Hero of Indonesia and in 2011 a biopic on him was released. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Battle of Taejon – Pipistrellus raceyi – Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded

July 23

Paul Kagame (born 1957) has been President of Rwanda since 2000. Born to a Tutsi family in southern Rwanda, he grew up in Uganda after the Rwandan Revolution ended centuries of Tutsi political dominance. He joined the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which invaded Rwanda in 1990, taking control after the death of Fred Rwigyema. By 1993, the RPF controlled significant territory in Rwanda and a ceasefire was negotiated. The assassination of Rwandan President Habyarimana in 1994 was the starting point of the Rwandan Genocide, in which Hutu extremists killed an estimated 500,000 to 1 million Tutsi and moderate Hutu. Kagame resumed the civil war, and ended the genocide with a military victory. During his vice presidency, Kagame controlled the national army and maintained law and order. Many RPF soldiers carried out retribution killings; it is disputed whether Kagame organised these or was merely powerless to stop them. As president, Kagame has prioritised national development, and the country is developing strongly on key indicators including health care and education. He is popular in Rwanda and with some foreign observers; however, human rights groups accuse him of political repression. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Albertus Soegijapranata – Battle of Taejon – Pipistrellus raceyi

July 24

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and The Five argued about music in Russia in the 19th century. The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful, were composers Mily Balakirev, Alexander Borodin, César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, who wanted to produce a specifically Russian kind of art music, rather than one that imitated older European music or relied on European-style conservatory training. Tchaikovsky wanted to write professional compositions of a quality that would stand up to Western scrutiny and thus transcend national barriers, yet remain distinctively Russian in melody, rhythm and other compositional characteristics. The Five also believed in using the melodic, harmonic, tonal and rhythmic properties of Russian folk song, along with exotic melodic, harmonic and rhythmic elements from music originating in the middle- and far-eastern parts of the Russian Empire (a practice that would become known as musical orientalism), as compositional devices in their own works. Tchaikovsky remained friendly but never intimate with most of The Five, ambivalent about their music. He took pains to ensure his musical independence from them as well as from the conservative faction at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Paul Kagame – Albertus Soegijapranata – Battle of Taejon

July 25

F-Zero GX is a futuristic racing video game for the Nintendo GameCube console. The first video game collaboration between Nintendo and Sega, it was released in Japan, North America and Europe in 2003. F-Zero AX (pictured), the arcade counterpart of GX, uses hardware conceived from a business alliance between Nintendo, Namco and Sega. F-Zero GX runs on an enhanced version of the engine used in Super Monkey Ball. The game continues the difficult, high-speed racing style of the F-Zero series, retaining the basic gameplay and control system from the Nintendo 64 game. A heavy emphasis is placed on track memorization and reflexes, which aids in completing the game. GX introduces a "story mode" element, where the player assumes the role of F-Zero pilot Captain Falcon through nine chapters while completing various missions. The game received critical acclaim as one of the best racers of its time and the greatest racer on the GameCube platform. Overall, the game was well received by critics for its visuals, intense action, high sense of speed and track design. Complaints centered on its sharp increase in difficulty that may alienate players. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and The Five – Paul Kagame – Albertus Soegijapranata

July 26

Adenanthos cuneatus is a shrub of the Proteaceae family, native to the south coast of Western Australia. It was originally described by French naturalist Jacques Labillardière in 1805. It is most closely related to A. stictus and has hybridized with four other species of Adenanthos. Several common names have been recorded for this species, two alluding to its consumption by horses: Bridle Bush because horses favour it as fodder, and Sweat Bush from the claim that horses break out in sweat after consuming young growth. Growing to 2 m (7 ft) high and wide, it is erect to prostrate in habit, with wedge-shaped lobed leaves covered in fine silvery hair. The single red flowers are insignificant, and appear all year, though especially in late spring. The reddish new growth occurs over the summer. The shrub grows on sandy soils in heathland. Pollinators include honeyeaters, particularly Western Spinebills, Silvereyes, honey possums and bees. It is sensitive to Phytophthora cinnamomi dieback, and so requires a sandy soil and good drainage to grow in cultivation. A. cuneatus is grown in gardens in Australia and the western United States, and a dwarf and prostrate form are commercially available. (Full article...)

Recently featured: F-Zero GX – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and The Five – Paul Kagame

July 27

The War of the Bavarian Succession (July 1778 – May 1779) was fought between the Habsburg Monarchy and a Saxon–Prussian alliance to prevent the Habsburg acquisition of the Duchy of Bavaria. There were only a few minor skirmishes, but several thousand soldiers died from disease and starvation. It began after Maximilian Joseph (pictured) died, leaving no children. Charles IV Theodore, his heir, also had no children to succeed him; Charles II August had a claim as Charles Theodore's heir presumptive. Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II wanted Bavaria, to expand his family's influence. For Frederick II of Prussia, Joseph's claim threatened the Hohenzollern ascendancy in German politics, but he saw no point in pursuing hostilities. Frederick Augustus I of Saxony wanted to preserve the territorial integrity of the Duchy for his brother-in-law, Charles August, and had no interest in seeing the Habsburgs acquire additional territory on his borders. France became involved to maintain the balance of power. Finally, Catherine II of Russia's threat to intervene on the side of Prussia with 50,000 Russian troops forced Joseph to reconsider his position, leading to the Treaty of Teschen in May 1779. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Adenanthos cuneatus – F-Zero GX – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and The Five

July 28

Harold Davidson (1875–1937), rector of the Norfolk parish of Stiffkey (church pictured), was a Church of England priest who was convicted in 1932 on charges of immorality and defrocked by the Church. Ordained in 1903, he worked among London's poor and homeless. Styling himself the "Prostitutes' Padre", his declared mission was to rescue young girls he considered in danger of falling into prostitution. In this role he approached and befriended hundreds of women, and although there was little evidence of improper behaviour, he was often found in compromising situations and his neglect of his parish and family caused difficulties. A formal complaint led to church disciplinary proceedings, in which his defence was damaged beyond repair by a photograph of him with a near-naked teenage girl. Davidson then pursued a career as a showman to raise funds for his reinstatement campaign, performing novelty acts such as exhibiting himself in a barrel on the Blackpool seafront. He died after being attacked by a lion in whose cage he was appearing. Later commentators have accepted that however inappropriate his behaviour, his motives were genuine and he did not deserve the humiliations he endured. (Full article...)

Recently featured: War of the Bavarian Succession – Adenanthos cuneatus – F-Zero GX

July 29

The Barber coinage consisted of a dime, quarter, and half dollar designed by United States Bureau of the Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber. They were minted between 1892 and 1916, though no half dollars were struck in the final year of the series. By the late 1880s, there were increasing calls for the replacement of the Seated Liberty design, used since the 1830s on most denominations of silver coins. In 1891, Mint Director Edward O. Leech instructed Barber to prepare new designs for the dime, quarter, and half dollar, after a public competition failed to produce suitable entries. Barber's designs were approved by President Benjamin Harrison that November. Striking of the new coins began the following January. Public and artistic opinion of the new pieces was, and remains, mixed. In 1915, Mint officials began plans to replace them when the design's minimum term expired the following year. Before the end of 1916, the Mercury dime, Standing Liberty quarter, and Walking Liberty half dollar had begun production. Most dates in the Barber coin series are not difficult to obtain, but the 1894 dime struck at the San Francisco Mint (1894-S), with a mintage of 24, is a great rarity. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Harold Davidson – War of the Bavarian Succession – Adenanthos cuneatus

July 30

Postman's Park is a 0.67-acre (2,700 m²) park in the City of London, adjacent to the site of the former head office of the General Post Office and a short distance north of St Paul's Cathedral. Opened in 1880 on the site of the former churchyard and burial ground of St Botolph's Aldersgate church, it expanded over the next 20 years to incorporate some adjacent burial grounds and nearby land previously occupied by housing. A shortage of space for burials in London meant that corpses were often laid above existing graves and covered over with soil instead of being buried, and thus Postman's Park, as an interment site for over 800 years, is significantly elevated above the streets which surround it. Since 1900 it has been the location of the Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice, a monument erected by George Frederic Watts to ordinary people who died saving the lives of others, and who might otherwise have been forgotten. In 1972, key elements of the park, including the Memorial to Heroic Self Sacrifice, were grade II listed to preserve their character. Following the 2004 film Closer, Postman's Park experienced a resurgence of interest, as key scenes were filmed in the park. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Barber coinage – Harold Davidson – War of the Bavarian Succession

July 31

Hedley Verity (1905–43) was a professional cricketer who played for Yorkshire and England between 1930 and 1939. He was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1932 and is regarded by critics as one of the most effective slow left-arm bowlers to have played cricket. In 1932, he took all 10 wickets in an innings against Nottinghamshire while conceding just 10 runs. These bowling figures remain, as of 2013, a record in first-class cricket for the fewest runs conceded while taking all 10 wickets. Verity was never lower than fifth in the national bowling averages and took over 150 wickets in every year except his first, assisting Yorkshire to the County Championship seven times in his ten seasons with the club. He played regularly for England and achieved the best performance of his career when he took 15 wickets against Australia in a Test match at Lord's Cricket Ground in 1934. The outbreak of the Second World War ended his career and he joined the Green Howards in 1939, achieving the rank of captain. During the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943, Verity was severely wounded and captured by the Germans. Taken to Italy, he died in Caserta from his injuries and was buried there. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Postman's Park – Barber coinage – Harold Davidson