Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 June 25

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Today's featured article
Coenred was king of Mercia from 704 to 709. He was a son of the Mercian king Wulfhere, whose brother Æthelred succeeded to the throne in 675 on Wulfhere's death. In 704 Æthelred abdicated in favour of Coenred to become a monk. Coenred's reign is poorly documented, but a contemporary source records that he faced attacks from the Welsh. The same threat may later have led Æthelbald to build Wat's Dyke, a defensive earthwork on the northern Welsh frontier. Coenred is not known to have married or had children, although later chronicles describe him as an ancestor of Wigstan, a 9th-century Mercian king. In 709 Coenred abdicated and went on pilgrimage to Rome, where he later died. Æthelred's son Ceolred succeeded Coenred as king of Mercia. (more...) Recently featured: Peregrine Falcon – Holy Thorn Reliquary – Cerro Azul Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that 4,476 tickets were auctioned for the first concert by the "Swedish Nightingale", soprano Jenny Lind (pictured) in her 1850–52 tour of the United States? ... that mathematician Kosmas Balanos claimed in his work Antipelargisis that he had solved the problem of doubling the cube? ... that despite conceding four goals in the second leg, English club Ipswich Town beat Dutch club AZ Alkmaar 5–4 on aggregate to win the 1981 UEFA Cup Final? ... that Christina Grimmie's song "Liar Liar" from her first album Find Me shot to Number 63 on the US iTunes Singles Charts in less than 72 hours from its release? ... that the International Labour Organization adopted a convention giving workers' rights to domestic workers at its 100th session this month? ... that in the quartier of Mjikura in Mtsamboro on the north coast of Mayotte, there are the ruins of a royal palace and tombs from the time when it was an important town of the Sultans of Mayotte? ... that Royal Navy surgeon Belgrave Ninnis attempted to revive a drowned sailor by, among other things, injecting brandy into his rectum? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Nabro, a stratovolcano in the northeast African nation of Eritrea, erupted on June 12, 2011, following a series of earthquakes. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image the next day. Former Rwandan minister Pauline Nyiramasuhuko is convicted of genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The Nabro Volcano erupts (satellite image pictured), emitting the greatest quantity of sulfur dioxide ever recorded by satellite. AirAsia places the largest single order in commercial aviation history, purchasing 200 Airbus A320neo jetliners. Dutch politician Geert Wilders is acquitted of hate speech charges. For their role in the 2011 Bahraini uprising, eight activists are sentenced to life imprisonment. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
June 25: Armed Forces Day in the United Kingdom (2011); Independence Day in Mozambique (1975) 1876 – Black Hills War: United States Army Colonel George Armstrong Custer (pictured) was killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in present-day Big Horn County, Montana. 1910 – The United States Congress passed the Mann Act, which prohibited interstate transport of females for "immoral purposes". 1950 – The Korean War began with North Korean forces launching a pre-dawn raid over the 38th parallel into South Korea. 1967 – More than 400 million people viewed Our World, the first live, international satellite television production. 1978 – The rainbow flag representing gay pride first flew in the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade. More anniversaries: June 24 – June 25 – June 26 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now June 25, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

A westward view of the River Thames passing between the London boroughs of Lambeth and City of Westminster, with the London Eye ferris wheel on the left and the Palace of Westminster on the right. The Thames is the second-longest river in England and has a special significance in flowing through London, although this is only a short part of its course. Its strategic position has made it a physical and political boundary, as well as the centre of many events in British history.

Photo: David Iliff

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