Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 September 9

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From today's featured article

The willie wagtail is a passerine bird native to Australia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Bismarck Archipelago, and eastern Indonesia. It is a common and familiar bird throughout much of its range, living in most habitats apart from thick forest. Measuring 19.0–21.5 cm (7½–8½ in) in length, the willie wagtail is contrastingly coloured with almost entirely black upperparts and white underparts; the male and female have similar plumage. Three subspecies are recognised: one from central and southern Australia, another from northern Australia, and the third from New Guinea and islands in its vicinity. The willie wagtail is insectivorous and spends much time chasing prey in open habitat. Its name is derived from its habit of wagging its tail horizontally when foraging on the ground. Aggressive and territorial, the willie wagtail will often harass much larger birds such as the laughing kookaburra and wedge-tailed eagle. It has responded well to human alteration of the landscape and is a common sight in urban lawns, parks, and gardens. It was widely featured in aboriginal folklore around the country as either a bringer of bad news or a stealer of secrets. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that Ernst Plassmann's statue of Benjamin Franklin (pictured), situated at Print House Square, commemorates him as a printer by including an issue of the Pennsylvania Gazette in his left hand?
... that infection in childcare is a risk when groups of children meet for school or daycare, but hygiene reduces its prevalence?
... that the Indian author Krishnalal Shridharani's book War Without Violence was studied by Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Montgomery Bus Boycott?
... that José Carlos Cocarelli studied the piano in New York on a scholarship from the Brazilian government and won important competitions?
... that Riddles of the Sphinx has been called "one of the most important avant-garde films to have emerged from Britain during the 1970s"?
... that Colonel Elliott Fitch Shepard was president of the New York State Bar Association, and a Union recruiter, wealthy landowner, church founder, and newspaper owner?
... that Dylan Penn—daughter of Sean Penn and Robin Wright—declined a US$150,000 offer to pose for a Playboy cover, but later appeared nude behind a $6000 Fendi bag on a treats! cover?

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In the news

Vertical and horizontal intersecting scratches on a dark rock face.

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 (pictured) 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.
A copy of the 1938 Action Comics #1 is auctioned for US$3.2 million, the highest price paid for a single issue of a comic book.

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

On this day...

September 9: Independence Day in Tajikistan (1991)

1493 – Ottoman Empire forces defeated the Croatian army at the Battle of Krbava Field.
1739 – The Stono Rebellion, at the time the largest slave rebellion in the Thirteen Colonies of British America, erupted near Charleston, South Carolina.
1969 – Allegheny Airlines Flight 853 collided in mid-air with a Piper PA-28 Cherokee flown by a student pilot near Fairland, Indiana, US, destroying both planes and killing all occupants.
1990 – Sri Lankan Civil War: The Sri Lankan Army massacred at least 184 Tamil refugees in the Batticaloa District.
2009 – The Dubai Metro (train pictured), the first urban train network in the Arabian Peninsula and the world's longest fully automated metro network, was ceremonially inaugurated at 9:09:09 PM.

More anniversaries: September 8 – September 9 – September 10

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Today's featured picture

Armand Jean du Plessis, best known as Cardinal Richelieu (1585–1642) was a French clergyman, noble and statesman. Born to a family of the Poitou lesser nobility, by 1607 he had become Bishop of Luçon, and he soon entered politics. He worked to consolidate the royal power of King Louis XIII, and in 1624 – two years after being elevated to cardinal – he was made the King's chief minister. Richelieu was also a patron of the arts, establishing the Académie française, which is responsible for matters pertaining to the French language.

Painting: Philippe de Champaigne

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