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From today's featured article

David Duchovny

"The Truth" was the two-hour ninth-season finale of the American science fiction television series The X-Files, premiering on May 19, 2002. Written by series creator Chris Carter and directed by Kim Manners, the finale was the most-watched episode of the ninth season, with 13.25 million viewers. It received mixed reviews, with many commentators criticizing its lack of closure. Others were pleased with the episode's conclusion and with the full return of actor David Duchovny (pictured) as Fox Mulder, following his departure from the series after the eighth-season finale. The ninth season focused on the paranormal investigations of FBI special agents John Doggett (Robert Patrick), Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish), and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). In the finale, Scully learns that Mulder—who had been missing for almost a year—was being held for the supposed murder of a bioenhanced soldier in a secret government program. "The Truth" served to conclude many story arcs. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Mexico–United States barrier in Smuggler's Gulch

... that trash, sediment, and debris from Tijuana flow into the United States through Smuggler's Gulch (pictured)?
... that Johann Münzberg ran leading textile factories in Bohemia and promoted the building of the Empress Elisabeth Bridge over the Elbe?
... that WBUZ and four other operating radio stations lost their FCC licenses as a result of the owner being convicted of felonies?
... that Mother Berry, a jockey who rode disguised as a man, earned her nickname after she adopted a runaway child?
... that the Chief Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation investigates both Nazi crimes and communist crimes?
... that Ning Bin, who won a national special prize for his contribution to the Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway, died in a traffic accident?
... that the tree Humbertia madagascariensis, whose durable timber is used in heavy construction, is a member of the morning glory family?
... that Hollywood furrier Willard H. George was known as "the chinchilla industry's greatest friend"?

In the news

Egan Bernal

A prison riot in Altamira, Brazil, leaves 57 people dead.
In cycling, Colombian Egan Bernal (pictured) becomes the first Latin American to win the Tour de France.
Incumbent President of Tunisia Beji Caid Essebsi dies at the age of 92, and Mohamed Ennaceur is named as his interim replacement.
In a European heat wave, national all-time temperature records are broken in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom.

On this day

August 3: Feast day of W. E. B. Du Bois (pictured) in The Episcopal Church

W. E. B. Du Bois

1857 – Indian Rebellion of 1857: An eight-day siege of a fortified outbuilding occupied by 68 people by a force of more than 10,000 ended when a relief party dispersed the besieging forces.
1903 – Macedonian rebels in Kruševo proclaimed a republic, which existed for only ten days before Ottoman forces destroyed the town.
1929 – Jiddu Krishnamurti, believed likely to be the messianic "World Teacher" by Charles Webster Leadbeater, shocked the Theosophy movement by dissolving the Order of the Star, the organisation established to support him.
1940 – World War II: Italy began an invasion of British Somaliland and captured the region in 16 days.
2005 – President of Mauritania Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya was overthrown in a military coup while he was attending the funeral of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.

Empress Dowager Cao (d. 925) · Christopher Anstey (d. 1805) · Alexander Mair (d. 1969)

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Today's featured picture

Lot M. Morrill (1813–1883) was an American statesman who served as Governor of Maine and a United States Senator, before serving in the government of President Ulysses S. Grant as Secretary of the Treasury. After setting up a successful law practice, specializing in work with Maine's legislative committees, Morrill entered politics when he was appointed chairman of the Maine Democratic Party in 1849. He was elected to the state's House of Representatives in 1854 and switched allegiance to the Republican Party in 1856. Morrill was elected a state senator that year, serving as President of the Senate, and was elected governor in 1858. In 1861 he was elected as a U.S. senator and served for 15 years during the American Civil War and subsequent years. He argued strongly against compromise on the principles of slavery, advocating to help pass a bill that freed slaves in Washington, D.C. During the Reconstruction era, Morrill pushed to authorize the U.S. military to protect African Americans. He was popularly received as Treasury Secretary in the American press and Wall Street, as he was known for his financial and political integrity. During his months-long tenure at the Department of the Treasury, from July 1876 to March 1877, Morrill favored the gold standard rather than irredeemable paper currency in the financial debate of the time.

This picture is a portrait engraving of Morrill, produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) c. 1902 as part of a BEP presentation album of the first 42 secretaries of the treasury.

Engraving credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; restored by Andrew Shiva

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