Wikipedia:Main Page history/2016 January 30

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The Romney Literary Society, established on January 30, 1819, as the Polemic Society of Romney, was the first literary society in what is now West Virginia, and one of the first in the United States. It was founded by nine prominent Romney men with the objectives of advancing literature and science, purchasing and maintaining a library, and improving educational opportunities. The society debated a range of scientific and social topics, and often violated its own rules banning religious and political subjects. The society's library began in 1819 and grew to contain around 3,000 volumes in 1861. The organization also sought to establish an institution for "the higher education of the youth of the community". During the Civil War the contents of the library were plundered by Union Army forces. The society was reorganized in 1869 and took a leading role in Romney's civil development. In 1870 the group built the Literary Hall (pictured) and offered its former campus to the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind. The Literary Hall housed the library and group meetings until their last recorded meeting in 1886. (Full article...)

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Agnieszka Popielewicz

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In the news

U.S. winter storm on January 23

AlphaGo becomes the first computer program to defeat a professional human Go player.
A cold wave across East Asia results in more than 100 deaths, primarily in Taiwan.
Amid an outbreak of the Zika virus, several countries in the Americas warn women to postpone pregnancy due to a suspected link to microcephaly in newborn babies.
A winter storm (satellite image pictured) causes more than 50 deaths and paralyzes travel across the Eastern United States.

Ongoing events:
- European migrant crisis
Recent deaths:
- Paul Kantner
- Marvin Minsky

On this day...

January 30: Martyrs' Day in India

Assassination attempt by Richard Lawrence against Andrew Jackson

1018 – The German–Polish War ended with the signing of the Peace of Bautzen between Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor, and the Piast ruler of Poland, Bolesław I.
1835 – Richard Lawrence became the first person to make an assassination attempt on a sitting US president when he failed to kill Andrew Jackson (assassination attempt pictured) and was subdued by the crowd.
1930 – Soviet meteorologist Pavel Molchanov launched one of the world's first radiosondes, a device attached to weather balloons to measure various atmospheric parameters.
1959 – On the return leg of her maiden voyage, the "unsinkable" Danish ocean liner Hans Hedtoft struck an iceberg and sank with all 95 passengers and crew lost.
2000 – Kenya Airways Flight 431 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Côte d'Ivoire shortly after takeoff, killing 169 on board.

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Today's featured picture

The Cathedral is an abstract oil painting on canvas created by Czech artist František Kupka in 1912–1913. Measuring 180 by 150 centimetres (71 in × 59 in), the painting is held by the Museum Kampa in Prague, Czech Republic. In this painting, vertical lines running the entire length of the canvas are intersected by diagonal lines to form rectilinear shapes of various sizes and colors.

Painting: František Kupka

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