Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 July 13

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Today's featured article
Somerset is a county in South West England. The county town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county. The ceremonial county of Somerset borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the River Severn. Somerset is a rural county of rolling hills, such as the Mendips, Quantocks and Exmoor, and large, flat expanses of land including the Somerset Levels. There is evidence of human occupation from Paleolithic times, and subsequent settlement in the Roman and Saxon periods. Farming of sheep and cattle, including production of wool and the county's famous cheeses (most notably Cheddar), is traditional, as is the more unusual cultivation of willow for basketry. Apple orchards were once plentiful; to this day, Somerset is known for the production of strong cider. (more...) Recently featured: Walter Bache – Parthian Empire – Lactarius volemus Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the man who bought Sterne's Captive (detail pictured) had John Raphael Smith's engraving plate broken after only 20 prints had been made? ... that of Chris Moorman's twelve World Series of Poker in the money finishes, three have been in $10,000 Championship events and five in six-handed events? ... that the mining settlement of Bwana Mkubwa received thousands of Polish refugees who arrived in Northern Rhodesia during World War II? ... that George Rowe, the High Bailiff of the Manor of Cheltenham, left England to become an Australian gold prospector, but instead found success creating watercolour paintings? ... that in 1953, the Jacksonville Braves became one of the first two racially integrated baseball teams in the South Atlantic League by fielding players including Hank Aaron and Félix Mantilla? ... that in 1929 Thomas Ford Chipp found Bidens chippii in the Imatong Mountains? ... that Confederate officer William L. Brandon had an ankle-joint shattered in battle but refused whiskey as a painkiller because he only liked it with sugar added? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Ahmed Wali Karzai (pictured), Afghan politician and brother of President Hamid Karzai, is assassinated. Twelve people, including the head of the Cyprus Navy, are killed in an explosion at a naval base, the worst peacetime military accident in the history of Cyprus. The sinking of cruise ship Bulgaria on the Volga River in Tatarstan, Russia, leaves 129 people dead or missing. The World Netball Championships conclude with Australia defeating New Zealand in the final. During the Bersih 2.0 rally in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, police arrest more than 1,600 people. Hundreds of thousands of protesters gather in cities across Egypt, demanding swift fulfillment of the goals of this year's revolution. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
July 13: Statehood Day in Montenegro (1878) 1260 – The Livonian Order suffered its greatest defeat in the 13th century in the Battle of Durbe against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. 1793 – Charlotte Corday (pictured) assassinated Jean-Paul Marat, a leader in both the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, in his bathtub. 1863 – Three days of rioting began in New York City by opponents of new laws passed by the United States Congress to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War. 1923 – The Hollywoodland Sign was officially dedicated in the hills above Hollywood, California. The last four letters of the sign were removed in 1949. 2008 – War in Afghanistan: Taliban guerrillas attacked NATO troops near the village of Wanat in the Waygal district in Afghanistan's far eastern province of Nuristan. More anniversaries: July 12 – July 13 – July 14 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now July 13, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The cover to the June 1914 issue of Vanity Fair, an American magazine published from 1913 to 1936 by Condé Montrose Nast, the first of many published by his company Condé Nast Publications. Nast purchased a men's fashion magazine titled Dress in 1913 and renamed it Dress and Vanity Fair. In 1914, the title was shortened to Vanity Fair. During its run, it competed with The New Yorker as the American establishment's top culture chronicle and featured writing by Thomas Wolfe, T. S. Eliot, P. G. Wodehouse, and Dorothy Parker. However, it became a casualty of the Great Depression and declining advertising revenues, and it was folded into Vogue in 1936. In 1983, Condé Nast revived the title as a new publication.

Artist: Ethel McClellan Plummer; Restoration: Lise Broer

Recently featured: "After the war, a medal and maybe a job" – Common Nighthawk – Eastbourne, East Sussex, England

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