Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 April 6

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Today's featured article
Philitas of Cos (c. 340 – c. 285 BC) was a scholar and poet during the early Hellenistic period of ancient Greece. A Greek associated with Alexandria, he flourished in the second half of the 4th century BC and was appointed tutor to the heir to the throne of Ptolemaic Egypt. He was thin and frail; Athenaeus later caricatured him as an academic so consumed by his studies that he wasted away and died. Philitas was the first major writer who was both a scholar and a poet. His reputation continued for centuries, based on both his pioneering study of words and his verse in elegiac meter. His vocabulary Disorderly Words described the meanings of rare literary words, including those used by Homer. His poetry, notably his elegiac poem Demeter, was highly respected by later ancient poets. However, almost all his work has since been lost. (more...) Recently featured: Polyozellus – William Henry Harrison – Umbriel Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest articles: ... that Cubs pitcher Carl Lundgren (pictured) had "speed to burn green hickory and an assortment of curves that would keep a cryptograph specialist figuring all night but he was wild as a March hare in a cyclone"? ... that Hezekiah Holland reckoned in 1650 that the end of the world and the Day of Judgment were then 216 years away? ... that the 2011 Jerusalem bus stop bombing was a bomb attack carried out in a bus station in downtown Jerusalem which killed a 59-year-old British national? ... that the Argentine superhero live-action TV series Los únicos is influenced by the X-Men film series, Heroes and Sky High? ... that sociologist Max Weber suffered a nervous breakdown after his father, Max Weber Sr., suddenly died following a father–son argument? ... that Polish State Forests oversee 77.8% of forests in Poland? ... that Rebecca Black's "Friday", dubbed the "worst song ever" by some critics, has made Black a "viral star" with the video attracting over 80 million Youtube hits? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Jim Calhoun In college basketball, UConn (head coach Jim Calhoun pictured) defeats Butler to win the men's NCAA Championship. A United Nations aircraft crashes in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing 32 of the 33 people on board. The discovery of Zhuchengtyrannus, a carnivorous dinosaur genus almost as big as a Tyrannosaurus rex, in eastern China is announced. Two suicide bombings at a Sufi shrine in Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan, leave 50 people dead and 120 wounded. The wreckage of Air France Flight 447, which disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean in 2009, is found. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
April 6: Tartan Day 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Ships of the Continental Navy unsuccessfully attempted to capture the HMS Glasgow near Block Island. 1793 – French Revolution: The Committee of Public Safety was established, and would become the de facto executive government during the forthcoming Reign of Terror. 1886 – Vancouver, one of British Columbia's youngest cities, was incorporated. 1941 – World War II: The Axis Powers began both Operation Marita and Directive n. 25, invading Greece and Yugoslavia, respectively. 2009 – A 6.3 M_w earthquake struck the region of Abruzzo in central Italy (damage pictured), killing 308 people and injuring more than 1,500 others. More anniversaries: April 5 – April 6 – April 7 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now April 6, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The Pipevine swallowtail (Battus philenor) is a swallowtail butterfly found in North and Central America. Its common name derives from the fact that caterpillars of this species feed on pipevine plants, which makes them unpalatable to predators. Because of this, it is mimicked by other butterfly species.

Photo: Ryan Kaldari

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