Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 September 13

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An attempted coup took place in South Vietnam before dawn on September 13, 1964. Generals Lâm Văn Phát and Dương Văn Đức sent dissident units into the capital Saigon to overthrow the ruling military junta led by General Nguyễn Khánh. They captured key points and announced the overthrow of the regime on national radio. In the previous month, Khánh's leadership had became increasingly troubled. He had tried to augment his powers by declaring a state of emergency; this provoked large-scale protests calling for an end to military rule. Fearful of losing power, Khánh began making concessions and promised democracy in the near future. He also removed military officials linked to the discriminatory Catholic rule of the former President Ngô Đình Diệm, including Phát (Interior Minister) and Đức (IV Corps commander), who responded with a coup. With American help, Khánh rallied support and the coup collapsed the next morning without casualties. Despite Khánh's survival, the historian George McTurnan Kahin has described the coup as the start of Khánh's ultimate political decline. His relations with America became increasingly strained and he was deposed in February 1965 with US connivance. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that Edgewood Avenue (pictured), Atlanta's newest and "most diverse" restaurant and entertainment street, was originally created as a route for Atlanta's first electric streetcar line?
... that Sandy Proctor sculpted The Guardians, depicting two War in Afghanistan SEALs who inspired the film Lone Survivor?
... that the Argentine actor Mike Amigorena refused the role of Andrés Goddzer in the telenovela Graduados?
... that types of habitats in the watershed of Fallow Hollow include a deciduous seepy forest, a shrub swamp, a forested ravine, a graminoid/forb opening, and a pond?
... that the Association of British Secretaries in America was created in the 1960s to assist a wave of such women coming to the United States to work and live?
... that one song by Die Rhöner Säuwäntzt went viral among anti–wind power activists in Germany?
... that James Randi used his 1980 book Flim-Flam! to launch an annual award for "the psychic who fools the greatest number of people with the least effort"?

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In the news

closeup picture of Oscar Pistorius's head and upper body after winning a race in 2011

South African athlete Oscar Pistorius (pictured) is found guilty of the culpable homicide of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.
One of the ships from Franklin's lost expedition, missing since 1845, is discovered off King William Island, Canada.
Researchers announce that newly described Dendrogramma specimens may represent a previously unknown phylum of animal life.
Archaeologists announce the discovery of the oldest known abstract art attributed to Neanderthals, in Gorham's Cave, Gibraltar.
Hamas and Israel agree to a long-term ceasefire brokered by Egypt after seven weeks of conflict.
At the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards, Modern Family wins Outstanding Comedy Series and Breaking Bad wins Outstanding Drama Series.

Ongoing: Ebola outbreak – Ukrainian conflict – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Recent deaths: Joan Rivers

On this day...

September 13: Feast Day of Saint John Chrysostom (Western Christianity)

509 BC – The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on Capitoline Hill, the most important temple in Ancient Rome, was dedicated.
1541 – After three years of exile, John Calvin returned to Geneva to reform the church under a body of doctrine that came to be known as Calvinism.
1848 – An explosion drove an iron rod through the head of railroad foreman Phineas Gage (pictured holding rod), making him an important early case of personality change after brain injury.
1971 – Following a failed coup attempt, Mao Zedong's second-in-command Lin Biao died in a plane crash while attempting to flee the People's Republic of China.
2006 – Kimveer Gill shot 19 people for unknown reasons, killing one, at Dawson College in Montreal.

More anniversaries: September 12 – September 13 – September 14

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Today's featured picture

Lady Elliot Island and nearby coral reefs as imaged by the Seaview SVII camera. Located 46 nautical miles (85 km; 53 mi) north-east of Bundaberg, Australia, the island is the southernmost coral cay of the Great Barrier Reef. It is a common destination for snorkeling.

This image can be viewed in 360 degrees here (Java required)

Photo: Underwater Earth/Catlin Seaview Survey

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