Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 May 7

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From today's featured article

Albert Ball (1896–1917) was an English fighter pilot during the First World War. At the time of his death he was, with 44 victories, the United Kingdom's leading flying ace. Raised in Nottingham, Ball was commissioned as a second lieutenant in October 1914. He transferred to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) the following year, and gained his pilot's wings in January 1916. He then joined No. 13 Squadron RFC in France, flying reconnaissance missions before being posted in May to No. 11 Squadron, a fighter unit. From then until his return to England on leave in October, he accrued many aerial victories, earning two Distinguished Service Orders and the Military Cross. He was the first British ace to become a popular hero. After a period on home establishment, Ball was posted to No. 56 Squadron, which was sent to the Western Front in April 1917. He crashed to his death in a field in France on 7 May, sparking a wave of national mourning and posthumous recognition, which included the award of the Victoria Cross for his actions during his final tour of duty. His most renowned enemy, Manfred von Richthofen, remarked upon hearing of Ball's death that he was "by far the best English flying man". (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that the flower spikes of Banksia praemorsa (pictured) can reach 27 cm (11 in) high?
... that Belgian tennis champion Philippe Washer lent his Ferrari 250 Europa GT Pinin Farina Coupé to his cousin, driver Olivier Gendebien, who then finished third at the 1955 Liège-Rome-Liège rally?
... that Igone de Jongh, principal dancer with the Dutch National Ballet, is featured in Anouk's music video Birds, the official Netherlands entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2013?
... that readers of Focus: A Journal for Lesbians could pay extra to buy the magazine in a brown wrapper?
... that Tom Hulatt finished third when the barrier of running a mile in under four minutes was broken 60 years ago today?
... that the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance commissioned a survey which found that 72% of consumers said they knew little or nothing about farming or ranching?

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In the news

Mark Selby (pictured) defeats Ronnie O'Sullivan to win the World Snooker Championship.
Two bus bombings in Nairobi, Kenya, kill three people and injure sixty-two others.
Lyricist Gulzar receives the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award in Indian cinema.
In horse racing, California Chrome, ridden by Victor Espinoza, wins the Kentucky Derby.
The first-ever outbreak of chikungunya in the Caribbean reaches epidemic levels.

Ongoing: Ukrainian unrest – MV Sewol – Chibok kidnapping

Recent deaths

On this day...

May 7

1864 – The world's oldest surviving clipper ship, the City of Adelaide (pictured) was launched by William Pile, Hay and Co. in Sunderland, England, for transporting passengers and goods between Britain and Australia.
1895 – Alexander Stepanovich Popov presented his radio receiver, refined as a lightning detector, to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society.
1940 – A debate in the British House of Commons began, and culminated in the replacement of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with Winston Churchill several days later.
1960 – Cold War: Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announced that his country was holding American pilot Francis Gary Powers, whose U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union six days earlier.
2009 – Police in Napier, New Zealand, began a 40-hour siege of the home of a former New Zealand Army member who shot at officers during the routine execution of a search warrant.

More anniversaries: May 6 – May 7 – May 8

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It is now May 7, 2014 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture

A panoramic view of the northwest façade of Château de Chambord. Built between 1519 and 1547 by King Francis I as a hunting lodge, it was heavily extended afterwards. The château is an example of Renaissance architecture, which blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Renaissance structures. This château is the largest of the Loire Valley, measuring 156 metres (512 ft) long and topping 56 metres (184 ft) in height. Chambord has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981.

Photograph: Benh Lieu Song

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