Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 February 6

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From today's featured article

The original Oslo flag used in the 1952 Winter Olympics

The 1952 Winter Olympics took place in Oslo, Norway, from 14 to 25 February. All of the venues for the games were located in Oslo's metropolitan area with the exception of the alpine skiing events, which were held at Norefjell, 113 km (70 mi) away. A new hotel was built for the press and dignitaries, along with three dormitories to house athletes and coaches, creating the first modern Olympic Village. The games attracted 694 athletes representing 30 countries, who participated in four sports and 22 events. There was one demonstration sport, bandy, in which three Scandinavian countries competed. Women were allowed to compete in cross-country skiing for the first time. Portugal and New Zealand competed at their first Winter Olympics, and Japan and Germany competed for the first time since World War II. Norway won the overall medal count with sixteen medals, seven of which were gold. Hjalmar Andersen from Norway was the most decorated athlete with three gold medals for speed skating. The games closed with the presentation of a flag (pictured) by the city of Oslo to the International Olympic Committee. The "Oslo Flag" has been displayed in the host city during each subsequent winter games. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that William Joy used scissors to save the tower of Wells Cathedral (pictured) from collapse?
... that ostrich farming in the Philippines was promoted by the Philippines Department of Agriculture during the food crisis of 2008?
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... that the Black Sea jellyfish has become established in the estuaries of the Petaluma and Napa Rivers flowing into San Francisco Bay?
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... that Portrait of Isabel Rawsthorne Standing in a Street in Soho is one of the few paintings in which Francis Bacon showed his subject in an outdoor setting?
... that in a by-election in Britain in 1908, before women were given the vote, a Mrs Lois Dawson was allowed to vote because her name appeared on the electoral register by accident?

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In the news

In American football, the Seattle Seahawks defeat the Denver Broncos to win Super Bowl XLVIII.
Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman (pictured) dies at the age of 46.
India's first monorail since independence, the Mumbai Monorail, is inaugurated.
Two previously unknown poems written by seventh-century BC Greek poet Sappho are discovered.
Scientists announce a new technique for creating stem cells.
Amidst ongoing anti-government riots, Ukrainian prime minister Mykola Azarov resigns.
At the 56th Grammy Awards, French group Daft Punk wins four awards, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year.

Recent deaths: Maximilian Schell – Arthur Rankin, Jr. – Pete Seeger

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On this day...

February 6: Sami National Day (Sami people); Waitangi Day in New Zealand (1840)

1806 – Napoleonic Wars: When squadrons of British and French ships of the line engaged in the Battle of San Domingo (pictured) in the Caribbean Sea, the French ships Impérial and Diomède ran aground to avoid capture, but were caught and destroyed anyway.
1833 – Otto became the first modern King of Greece.
1919 – Over 65,000 workers in Seattle, Washington, US, began a five-day general strike to gain higher wages after two years of World War I wage controls.
1976 – In testimony before a U.S. Senate subcommittee, Lockheed president Carl Kotchian admitted that the company had paid out approximately US$3 million in bribes to the office of Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka.
1987 – Mary Gaudron was appointed as the first female Justice of the High Court of Australia.

More anniversaries: February 5 – February 6 – February 7

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It is now February 6, 2014 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture

The Hubble Extreme Deep Field is an image of a small area of space in the constellation Fornax released by NASA on September 25, 2012. The successor to the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field, this image was compiled from 10 years of previous images with a total exposure time of two million seconds, or approximately 23 days.

Image: NASA

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