Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 July 17

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Today's featured article
The Courageous class comprised three battlecruisers built for the Royal Navy during World War I. Nominally designed to support Admiral of the Fleet Lord John Fisher's Baltic Project, which was intended to land troops on the German Baltic Coast, ships of this class were fast but very lightly armoured with only a few heavy guns. To maximize their speed, the Courageous-class battlecruisers were the first capital ships of the Royal Navy to use geared steam turbines and small-tube boilers. The first two ships, Courageous and Glorious, were commissioned in 1917 and spent the war patrolling the North Sea. Their half-sister Furious was designed with a pair of 18-inch (457 mm) guns, the largest guns ever fitted on a ship of the Royal Navy, but was modified during construction to take a flying-off deck and hangar in lieu of her forward gun turret and barbette. All three ships were laid up after the end of the war and were rebuilt as aircraft carriers during the 1920s. (more...) Recently featured: Uncle Tupelo – RKO Pictures – Bal des Ardents Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the invention of Greek fire (pictured) was crucial in breaking the First Arab Siege of Constantinople? ... that Lorinda de Roulet is the first woman to direct the day-to-day operations of a Major League Baseball franchise? ... that the Siljan Ring, a very large impact crater in central Sweden, has been the site for two attempts at commercial exploitation of natural gas and oil based on the theory of abiogenic petroleum? ... that Darin Morgan included a satire of Fox Broadcasting Company's censorship in "Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me", after having difficulty with the network over the earlier "War of the Coprophages"? ... that the New Zealand Army's 1st Division was one of three such units formed to defend the country from invasion during World War II? ... that EA Sports Active NFL Training Camp was developed with the help of NFL strength and conditioning coaches? ... that Endhita received a best supporting actress nomination for ?? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (pictured) is elected head of the African Union Commission, becoming the first woman to lead the organisation. The Red Cross declares the Syrian uprising a civil war, triggering the application of international humanitarian law. A road tanker explosion kills more than 100 people in Okobie, Nigeria. Tongan Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala marries Sinaitakala Fakafanua in Nukuʻalofa. Astronomers announce the discovery of S/2012 P 1, the fifth moon of Pluto. In tennis, Roger Federer and Serena Williams win the men's singles and women's singles, respectively, at the Wimbledon Championships. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
July 17: Constitution Day in South Korea (1948) 1867 – In Boston, Massachusetts, the Harvard School of Dental Medicine was established as the first dental school in the United States. 1918 – The RMS Carpathia, which had rescued the survivors of the RMS Titanic sinking, was itself sunk by a German U-boat. 1945 – Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Harry S. Truman, leaders of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States respectively, met in Potsdam to decide what should be done with post-World War II Germany. 1968 – Led by Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr (pictured), the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party overthrew Iraqi President Abdul Rahman Arif. 2009 – Two suicide bombers detonated themselves at two separate hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia. More anniversaries: July 16 – July 17 – July 18 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now July 17, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

Arrangement in Gray: Portrait of the Painter, a self-portrait painting by American-born British-based artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834–1903). Whistler, best known for the painting Whistler's Mother, was the founder of tonalist movement in art, as well as a leader in the Aesthetic Movement and a proponent of "art for art's sake". Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, he lived in Russia, England, and the U.S. in his youth, studied art in France, and finally moved permanently to London in 1859. He was highly influential and during his life, he affected two generations of artists, in Europe and in the U.S.

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