Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 May 10

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Today's featured article
The Qayen earthquake was a major earthquake that struck Northern Iran's Khorasan Province on May 10, 1997. The largest in the area since 1990, it measured 7.3 on the moment magnitude scale and was centered approximately 270 kilometers (170 mi) south of Mashhad on the village of Ardekul. The third earthquake that year to cause severe damage, it devastated the Birjand–Qayen region, killing 1,567 and injuring over 2,300. The earthquake—which left 50,000 homeless and damaged or destroyed over 15,000 homes—was described as the deadliest of 1997 by the United States Geological Survey. Some 155 aftershocks caused further destruction and drove away survivors. The earthquake was later discovered to have been caused by a rupture along a fault that runs underneath the Iran–Afghanistan border. Damage was eventually estimated at $100 million, and many countries responded to the emergency with donations of blankets, tents, clothing, and food. Rescue teams were also dispatched to assist local volunteers in finding survivors trapped under the debris. The destruction around the earthquake's epicenter was, in places, almost total; this has been attributed to poor construction practices, and imparted momentum to a growing movement for changes in building codes. With 1 in 3,000 deaths in Iran attributable to earthquakes, one expert has suggested that a country-wide rebuilding program would be needed to address the ongoing public safety concerns. (more...) Recently featured: Cleomenean War – Richard II of England – The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. Archive – By email – More featured articles...
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From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth army (troops pictured) was so underfunded that it was often outnumbered 12 to 1 by neighboring armies? ... that four of the twentieth-century Parkfield earthquakes had similar intensities to the dawn foreshock of the great 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake? ... that while football is the most popular women's sport in Gambia and the U-17 has played in a World Cup qualifier, the Gambia women's national football team has not played a FIFA sanctioned game? ... that the Algerian communist leader Larbi Bouhali went into exile after the 1965 coup d'état? ... that the top of Bear Seamount, an underwater volcano, is covered by sediment and boulders that may have fallen from icebergs? ... that Argentine general Lucio Norberto Mansilla died during the 1871 epidemic of yellow fever in Buenos Aires? ... that Major League Baseball pitcher Dan Jennings of the Miami Marlins has been mistakenly thought to be the son of team vice president Dan Jennings? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Children's author and illustrator Maurice Sendak dies at the age of 83. The Progressive Liberal Party, led by Perry Christie, gains a majority in the Bahamian general election. Ronnie O'Sullivan (pictured) wins the World Snooker Championship. The coalition Let's Get Serbia Moving, led by Tomislav Nikolić, gains a plurality in the Serbian parliamentary election. The ruling Republican Party gains a majority in the Armenian parliamentary election. New Democracy gains a plurality in the Greek legislative election. François Hollande is elected President of France. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
May 10: Lag BaOmer (Judaism, 2012); Mother's Day in El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico; Constitution Day in the Federated States of Micronesia 1775 – American Revolutionary War: Delegates from the Thirteen Colonies met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to convene the Second Continental Congress, which would serve as the de facto national government of the future United States. 1824 – The National Gallery (pictured) in London opened to the public, in the former townhouse of the collector John Julius Angerstein. 1833 – Le Van Khoi broke out of prison to start a revolt against Vietnamese Emperor Minh Mạng, primarily to avenge the desecration of the grave of his adopted father Lê Văn Duyệt, former viceroy of the southern part of Vietnam. 1849 – A personal dispute between actors Edwin Forrest and William Macready in New York City devolved into a riot that left at least 25 dead and more than 120 injured. 1941 – World War II: Nazi leader Rudolf Hess parachuted into Scotland, claiming to be on a peace mission. 2005 – Armenian Vladimir Arutyunian attempted to assassinate U.S. President George W. Bush and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili in Tbilisi using a hand grenade, which failed to detonate. More anniversaries: May 9 – May 10 – May 11 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now May 10, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

Lakota Sioux Sitting Bull (left) and American showman William F. Cody (right), better known as "Buffalo Bill", circa 1885. Buffalo Bill was best known as the inventor of the Wild West show, traveling vaudeville performances that introduced a romanticized version of the American Old West to a wide audience. Sitting Bull was a tribal chief who led his people during years of resistance to United States government policies, most notably in the victory against U.S. Army troops in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, although he eventually surrendered afterwards. In 1884, he joined Bill's troupe for four months, during which time he gave speeches advocating education for the young and reconciling relations between the Sioux and whites.

Photo: William Notman Studios; Restoration: PLW/Adam Cuerden

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