Wikipedia:Main Page history/2019 February 8

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From today's featured article

September 11 memorial at the Pentagon

Khalid al-Mihdhar (1975–2001) was one of five hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, which was deliberately crashed into the Pentagon as part of the September 11 attacks. He was born in Saudi Arabia and fought in the Bosnian War during the 1990s. In early 1999, he traveled to Afghanistan where, as an experienced al-Qaeda member, he was selected by Osama bin Laden to participate in the attacks. Mihdhar attended the Kuala Lumpur al-Qaeda Summit in Malaysia and then went to California with fellow hijacker Nawaf al-Hazmi in January 2000. Arriving in San Diego, they were to train as pilots, but spoke English poorly and did not do well with flight lessons. In June 2000, Mihdhar left the United States for Yemen; after spending time in Afghanistan, he returned to the U.S. in early July 2001. On the morning of September 11, he boarded Flight 77. The attack killed all 64 people aboard, along with 125 on the ground. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

The Hague map of Crusader Jerusalem

... that almost all pre-modern maps of Jerusalem (example pictured) were made by Christians for a Christian European audience?
... that in 1908, Silver Quilty was the first man to play the flying wing position in Canadian football?
... that a ditch in Scotland has been the subject of acts of parliament since 1696?
... that Australian actor George Pullar attended an army boot camp to prepare for his role in the drama series Fighting Season?
... that Larry Kramer frequently invoked the AIDS–Holocaust metaphor and compared Reagan Administration officials to Nazi war criminals?
... that the role-playing video game Kenshi was inspired by stories of wandering rōnin, and the idea of a survivor traveling a wasteland?
... that Juan Gabriel's own cover of "Así Fue", which he originally composed for Isabel Pantoja, was the best-performing Latin single of 1998 in the United States?
... that Alexina Maude Wildman's biting, sarcastic gossip column in The Bulletin was headed by the cartoon image of an old woman, disguising the fact that she was in her 20s?

In the news

Julian Edelman

In American football, the New England Patriots defeat the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl (MVP Julian Edelman pictured).
Both the United States and Russia suspend the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
In association football, the AFC Asian Cup concludes with Qatar defeating Japan in the final.
A cold wave impacts North America, killing at least 22 people.

On this day

February 8

Mary, Queen of Scots

1587 – Mary, Queen of Scots (pictured), was executed at Fotheringhay Castle for her involvement in the Babington Plot to murder her cousin, Elizabeth I of England.
1837 – Richard Mentor Johnson became the only person to be elected Vice President of the United States by the Senate.
1879 – Enraged by a controversial umpiring decision, cricket spectators rioted and attacked the England cricket team during a match in Sydney, Australia.
1910 – Newspaper and magazine publisher William D. Boyce established the Boy Scouts of America, expanding the Scout Movement into the United States.
1965 – After taking evasive action to avoid a mid-air collision just after takeoff from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean and exploded, killing all 84 people on board.

Guercino (b. 1591) · John Ruskin (b. 1819) · A. Chandranehru (d. 2005)

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From today's featured list

Excerpt from the 1833 Nautical Almanac with symbols

Astronomical symbols are abstract pictorial symbols used to represent astronomical objects, theoretical constructs and observational events in European astronomy. The earliest forms of these symbols appear in Greek papyrus texts of late antiquity. The Byzantine codices in which many Greek papyrus texts were preserved continued and extended the inventory of astronomical symbols. Further new symbols were invented to represent many newly discovered planets and minor planets discovered in the 18th to 20th centuries. These symbols were once commonly used by professional astronomers, amateur astronomers, alchemists, and astrologers. While they are still commonly used in almanacs and astrological publications, their occurrence in published research and texts on astronomy is relatively infrequent, with some exceptions such as the Sun and Earth symbols appearing in astronomical constants, and certain zodiacal signs used to represent the solstices and equinoxes. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Panoramic view of the Amphitheatre of El Jem, an archeological site in the city of El Djem, Tunisia. The amphitheatre, one of the best-preserved Roman ruins and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, was built around 238 AD, when modern Tunisia belonged to the Roman province of Africa. It is the third-biggest amphitheatre in the world, with axes of 148 m (486 ft) and 122 m (400 ft) and a seating capacity of 35,000, unique in Africa.

Photograph: Poco a poco

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