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The Cenotaph is a war memorial on Whitehall in London. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it was unveiled in 1920 as the United Kingdom's national memorial to the British and Commonwealth dead of the First World War. It was rededicated in 1946 to also commemorate those who had fallen in the Second World War, and has since come to represent British casualties from later conflicts. The word cenotaph is derived from Greek, meaning 'empty tomb'; the monument symbolises the absence of the dead and is a focal point for public mourning. The original temporary Cenotaph was erected in 1919 for a parade celebrating the end of the First World War; calls for it to be rebuilt in permanent form began almost immediately. The permanent Cenotaph was unveiled by George V on 11 November 1920 in a ceremony combined with the repatriation of the Unknown Warrior. The National Service of Remembrance is held annually at the site on Remembrance Sunday. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Stele depicting Meni

... that the tomb of the overseer of every cultivated place and every desert place (stele pictured) threatens grave robbers with crocodiles and snakes?
... that Terra Invicta's development company is a group of former volunteer video game modders that decided to release their own game after the success of their mod?
... that Tang dynasty poet and calligrapher Li Yong was falsely accused and executed for attempted treason in 747, but had actually committed treason 37 years earlier?
... that Meteor Studios created "realistic CG on TV budgets", but went bankrupt after completing visual effects work for Journey to the Center of the Earth?
... that Nicole Lloyd-Ronning returned to astrophysics research after a ten-year hiatus, aided by an American Physical Society award for women with interrupted careers?
... that when built in the 1880s, London's Hesper Mews was home to servants, stables, and horses, but within a century it was populated by artists, military officers, and an Astronomer Royal?
... that after being considered too lean for his position, college football player Jalen Dalton gained 40 pounds (18 kg) for his sophomore season, describing his diet as "eat whatever"?
... that the song "Phenomenal Cat" was misspelt as "Phenominal Cat" on the original album sleeve?

In the news

Francesco Bagnaia

In motorcycle racing, Francesco Bagnaia (pictured) wins the MotoGP World Championship.
Precision Air Flight 494 crashes into Lake Victoria in Tanzania, killing 19 of the 43 people onboard.
In baseball, the Houston Astros defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series.
The Ethiopian government and Tigrayan forces sign a peace treaty, agreeing to end the Tigray War.
In the Israeli legislative election, the national camp, led by the Likud party and Benjamin Netanyahu, wins a majority of seats.

On this day

November 11: Armistice Day; Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations; Singles' Day in China; Veterans Day in the United States

John Kerr

1778 – American Revolutionary War: British forces and their Iroquois allies attacked a fort and the village of Cherry Valley, New York, killing 14 soldiers and 30 civilians.
1805 – War of the Third Coalition: French, Austrian and Russian units suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Dürenstein.
1960 – A coup attempt by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam against President Ngô Đình Diệm was crushed after he falsely promised reform, allowing loyalists to rescue him.
1975 – During a constitutional crisis, Governor-General John Kerr (pictured) dismissed Prime Minister Gough Whitlam's government and dissolved the Parliament of Australia for a double-dissolution election.

Shrimad Rajchandra (b. 1867)
Ben Gascoigne (b. 1915)
Maria Teresa de Filippis (b. 1926)

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From today's featured list

Seal of the State of Washington

In the U.S. state of Washington, ballot measures have been a feature of every statewide election since 1898 and become a prominent feature of the state's electoral landscape. Washington has had a system of direct voting since gaining statehood in 1889. Ballot measures have allowed Washington to lead the nation on social issues, including legalizing assisted suicide in 2008 via Initiative Measure 1000, recognizing same-sex marriage in 2012 with the passage of Referendum Measure 74, and requiring comprehensive sex education in public schools in 2020 with Referendum Measure 90. As of 2020, more than 2000 different initiatives have been filed with the state, along with a significantly smaller number of referendums. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Recruitment to the British Army during World War I was carried out initially by seeking volunteers: 100,000 were called up in early August, and within two months, almost half a million men had enlisted. This 1914 recruitment poster by the Parliamentary Recruitment Committee shows a Scottish soldier in Belgium, in response to German chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg having described the Treaty of London (which protected Belgium's independence and neutrality) as a "scrap of paper" when Germany invaded Belgium in August 1914.

Poster credit: Lawson Wood; restored by Adam Cuerden

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