Wikipedia:Main Page history/2016 July 29

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From today's featured article

Bockscar with temporary triangle N tail marking, on August 9, 1945, the day of its atomic bombing mission

Bockscar on August 9, 1945, the day of its atomic bombing mission

Silverplate was the codename for the United States Army Air Forces' participation in the Manhattan Project during World War II. Originally the name for the aircraft modification project for the B-29 Superfortress bomber to enable it to drop an atomic weapon, Silverplate eventually came to identify the training and operational aspects of the program as well. Modifications began in November 1943 on a prototype B-29 known as the "Pullman", used for bomb flight testing at Muroc Army Air Field in California commencing in March 1944. Seventeen production Silverplate aircraft were ordered in August 1944 for 509th Composite Group training, and to allow the 216th Army Air Forces Base Unit to test bomb configurations. In February 1945, 28 more were ordered, including Bockscar (pictured), the plane that carried out the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in August 1945. A total of 65 Silverplate B-29s were made. The use of the Silverplate codename was discontinued after the war; modifications to an additional 80 aircraft continued under a new codename, Saddletree. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Female (left) and male yellow-legged buttonquails

... that female red-backed buttonquails and yellow-legged buttonquails (illustrated, left) rely on their mates to incubate the eggs and raise the young, and start breeding afresh with different males?
... that Leonid Solodkov was the last recipient of the title Hero of the Soviet Union?
... that the value of gambling using virtual cosmetic weapon skins for the video game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was estimated at $2.3 billion in 2015?
... that María Isabel Maya Pineda won two elections in under 120 days, and three over a three-year period?
... that the cinema organ in Kino Babylon is the only one in Germany played at its original location?
... that Green Bay Packers rookie offensive lineman Kyle Murphy wore two jerseys in the same game in college?
... that Samiun dan Dasima (1971), which featured explicit sexuality, garnered an award for best child actor?

In the news

Solar Impulse 2

Solar Impulse 2 (pictured) becomes the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the Earth, completing a 16-month voyage.
At least 19 people are killed and 26 others are injured in a stabbing incident at a disabled care home in Sagamihara, Japan.
In cycling, Chris Froome wins his third Tour de France title.
ISIL suicide bombers attack a peaceful protest in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing at least 80 people and injuring 260 others.
In athletics, American sprinter Kendra Harrison breaks the 28-year-old 100 metres hurdles world record at the London Grand Prix.

On this day...

July 29

Battle of Kleidion

1014 – Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: Forces of the Byzantine Empire defeated troops of the Bulgarian Empire at the Battle of Kleidion (pictured) in the Belasica Mountains near present-day Klyuch, Bulgaria.
1858 – Japan reluctantly signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, an unequal treaty giving the United States various commercial and diplomatic privileges.
1899 – The first Hague Convention, among the first formal statements of the laws of war and war crimes in international law, was signed.
1958 – US President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act into law, establishing a new federal non-military space agency known as NASA.
1987 – Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayewardene signed the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to resolve the ongoing Sri Lankan Civil War.

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From today's featured list

Gene Roddenberry's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

American screenwriter and producer Gene Roddenberry's work includes the creation of the Star Trek franchise. He began a writing career while he was a sergeant in the Los Angeles Police Department, and his first work to be bought by a network was The Secret Defense of 117, although it took four years to be broadcast. While writing for The Lieutenant, he began working on a science fiction premise that became Star Trek. He oversaw the production of the series for the first two seasons, but following budget cuts and the move to an unfavorable timeslot for the third season, he stepped back from working on Star Trek but remained credited as an executive producer. Star Trek was resurrected twice, first as an animated series, and then as Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The studio brought in a new producer for the sequel to the film, to which Roddenberry demanded creative control or else he would refuse an executive producer credit, instead only willing to be credited as creative consultant. This credit started with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued through to Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

The chequered skipper (Carterocephalus palaemon) is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae named for its uppersides, which are dark brown with a dusting of orange scales at the base of the wings and golden spots. It is widely distributed in northern and central Europe, and its range extends across Asia and Japan and also into North America.

Photograph: Haeferl

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