Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 May 21

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Today's featured article
Mary Anning (1799–1847) was a British fossil collector, dealer and palaeontologist who became known around the world for important finds she made in the Jurassic marine fossil beds at Lyme Regis where she lived. Her work contributed to fundamental changes in scientific thinking about prehistoric life and the history of the earth. Her discoveries included the first ichthyosaur skeleton to be correctly identified, found when she was just twelve years old; the first two plesiosaur skeletons ever found; the first pterosaur skeleton located outside Germany; and important fish fossils. Her observations were critical to the discovery that coprolites were fossilised faeces. Her gender and social class prevented her from fully participating in the scientific community of 19th-century Britain and she struggled financially for much of her life. As a woman she was not eligible to join the Geological Society of London, and she did not always receive full credit for her scientific contributions. After her death her unusual life story attracted increasing interest. In 2010 the Royal Society included Anning in a list of the ten British women who have most influenced the history of science. (more...) Recently featured: C. D. Howe – Indigenous people of the Everglades region – Blakeney Chapel Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the Pont Flavien (pictured) in southern France is the only bridge with an arch over each end to have survived from the time of the Roman emperor Augustus? ... that women's kickboxing in New South Wales, Australia, was banned by law in 1986 and only became legal again in 2008? ... that co-founder Mike Jetter got the idea for Mindjet's first product while recovering from an illness in hospital? ... that Hetty Sarlene could reportedly sing her namesake's songs by age three? ... that the Croatian Littoral is a Croatian region between the cities of Rijeka and Karlobag, but the term is also applied to the entire Croatian coast on the Adriatic Sea? ... that film director Peter Mettler said his documentary Gambling, Gods and LSD was not scripted, but "was making itself while I acted as a medium"? ... that Calvin's Case, an English legal case from 1608, helped establish the principle of birth on American soil as the primary means of acquiring United States citizenship at birth? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
British singer-songwriter Robin Gibb, a founding member of the Bee Gees, dies at the age of 62. In ice hockey, the IIHF World Championship concludes with Russia defeating Slovakia in the final (tournament MVP Evgeni Malkin pictured). Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, convicted in 2001 in connection with the Lockerbie bombing, dies in Libya. In rugby union, the Heineken Cup concludes with Leinster defeating Ulster in the final. In association football, the UEFA Champions League concludes with Chelsea defeating Bayern Munich in a penalty shootout in the final. Facebook, Inc. raises US$16 billion with its initial public offering, the third largest in U.S. history. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
May 21: Victoria Day in Canada (2012); Navy Day in Chile 1856 – A crowd of about 800 pro-slavery Americans ransacked the town of Lawrence, Kansas. 1904 – The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, the international sport governing body of association football, was founded in Paris. 1927 – Aboard the Spirit of St. Louis, American aviator Charles Lindbergh (pictured) completed the first solo non-stop transatlantic flight, flying from Roosevelt Field near New York City to Paris – Le Bourget Airport. 1981 – The Italian government released the membership list of Propaganda Due, an illegal pseudo-Masonic lodge that had been implicated in numerous Italian crimes and mysteries. 1996 – Algerian Civil War: The remains of seven French Trappist monks who had been kidnapped in Algeria nearly two months earlier were found. More anniversaries: May 20 – May 21 – May 22 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now May 21, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured list

Skyscrapers form a city skyline in front of a snow-capped mountain and clear, blue sky

There are 47 buildings and structures in Tokyo that stand taller than 180 metres (591 ft). Tokyo is the most populated of Japan's 47 prefectures. The tallest structure in the prefecture is Tokyo Sky Tree, a lattice tower that rises 634 metres (2,080 ft), which will open to the public on 22 May 2012. It also stands as the tallest structure in Japan, the tallest tower in the world and the second-tallest freestanding structure in the world. The tallest building and third-tallest overall structure in Tokyo is the 248-metre-tall (814 ft) Midtown Tower, which was completed in 2007. The prefecture's second tallest building is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, which rises 48 stories and 243 metres (797 ft) in height. Overall, of the 25 tallest buildings and structures in Japan, 17 are in Tokyo. Skyscrapers are a relatively recent phenomenon in Japan. Due to aesthetic and engineering concerns, Japan's Building Standard Law set an absolute height limit of 31 metres until 1963, when the limit was abolished in favor of a Floor Area Ratio limit. (more...)

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Today's featured picture

On August 1, 2010, almost the entire Earth-facing side of the sun erupted in a tumult of activity. This image of the solar event shows the C3-class solar flare (white area on upper left), a solar tsunami (wave-like structure, upper right), multiple filaments of magnetism lifting off the stellar surface, large-scale shaking of the solar corona, radio bursts, a coronal mass ejection and more. Different colors in the image represent different gas temperatures.

Photo: NASA/SDO/AIA

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