Wikipedia:Main Page history/2013 January 10

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From today's featured article
The Metropolitan Railway, the world's first underground line, was opened to the public on 10 January 1863. It connected the mainline railway termini at Paddington, Euston and King's Cross to London's financial heart in the City using gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives. The railway was soon extended and completed the Inner Circle in 1884, but the most important route became the line to Verney Junction in Buckinghamshire, more than 50 miles (80 km) from London. Electric traction was introduced in 1905 and by 1907 electric multiple units operated most of the services. The Railway developed land for housing and after World War I promoted housing estates near the railway with the "Metro-land" brand. On 1 July 1933, the Metropolitan Railway was amalgamated with the railways of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London and the capital's tramway and bus operators to form the London Passenger Transport Board. (Full article...) Recently featured: Richard Nixon – History of Mars observation – Psittacosaurus Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the White Elephant Cave (pictured) in Phnom Sorsia mountain, Cambodia, is named after the many stalagmites which have the shape of white elephants? ... that Italian Antonio Lago bought the Paris factory of Automobiles Talbot and founded the French Talbot-Lago marque? ... that Naoki Yoshida chose to completely remake the massively multiplayer online role-playing game Final Fantasy XIV as Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn in order to regain the trust of its players? ... that "The Lass of Richmond Hill", said to be one of George III's favourite songs, was written by an Irish republican revolutionary leader who became a British government double agent? ... that fashion magazine Marie Claire's co-founder Marcelle Auclair also wrote biographies of socialist Jean Jaures and Catholic Saints Teresa of Avila and Bernadette of Lourdes? ... that the National Intercollegiate Band, established in 1947 by Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma, is the oldest intercollegiate band in the United States? ... that a Turkish Armenian soldier was killed on the Armenian Genocide remembrance day? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
In association football, Lionel Messi (pictured) wins the FIFA Ballon d'Or. In ice hockey, the National Hockey League's owners reach a tentative agreement with the National Hockey League Players' Association to end the 2012–13 NHL lockout. Wegelin & Co., Switzerland's oldest bank, announces it will close after being fined by U.S. authorities for enabling tax evasion. In chess, Magnus Carlsen achieves the highest FIDE rating of all time. At least 60 people are killed and 200 injured in a stampede after celebrations at Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg, Rwanda, and South Korea join the United Nations Security Council. Syrian civil war – Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
January 10: Traditional Day in Benin 1645 – William Laud (pictured), Archbishop of Canterbury and a fervent supporter of King Charles I, was beheaded in the midst of the English Civil War. 1776 – Common Sense by Thomas Paine, a document denouncing British rule in the Thirteen Colonies, was published. 1954 – BOAC Flight 781 suffered an explosive decompression at altitude and crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, killing everyone on board. 1993 – The Braer Storm, the strongest extratropical cyclone ever recorded in the North Atlantic, reached its peak intensity. 2007 – A general strike, an attempt to force President Lansana Conté to resign which eventually resulted in the appointment of two new prime ministers, began in Guinea. More anniversaries: January 9 – January 10 – January 11 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now January 10, 2013 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The Grey-tailed Tattler (Tringa brevipes) is a small shorebird native to northeast Siberia. It is strongly migratory and winters on muddy and sandy coasts from southeast Asia to Australia. It is closely related to and physically resembles the North American Wandering Tattler.

Photo: JJ Harrison

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