Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 June 26

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Today's featured article
SMS Baden was a Bayern class dreadnought battleship built for the German Imperial Navy during World War I. Launched in October 1915 and completed in March 1917, she was the last battleship completed for use in the war. The ship mounted eight 38-centimeter (15 in) guns in four twin turrets, displaced 32,200 metric tons (31,700 LT; 35,500 ST) at full combat load, and had a top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). Along with her sister, Bayern, Baden was the largest and most powerfully armed German battleship. On being commissioned into the High Seas Fleet, Baden replaced Friedrich der Grosse as the fleet flagship. Baden saw little action during her short career; the only major sortie in April 1918 ended without combat. Following the German collapse in November 1918, Baden was interned with most of the High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow by the British Royal Navy. On 21 June 1919, Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter ordered the scuttling of the fleet. However, British sailors in the harbor managed to board Baden and beach her to prevent her sinking. The ship was re-floated, thoroughly examined, and eventually sunk in extensive gunnery testing by the Royal Navy in 1921. (more...) Recently featured: Coenred of Mercia – Peregrine Falcon – Holy Thorn Reliquary Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that June mating displays of Photinus carolinus (pictured) create moving bands of light and darkness that draw crowds one firefly scientist calls "obscene"? ... that Golden Pond, Kentucky, earned a national reputation for its moonshine whiskey distillers during Prohibition? ... that in 2006, in the UK, 14 Approved Premises (residential units for offenders) were banned from housing paedophiles due to their proximity to schools and nurseries? ... that boro glycerine, an effective oral antiseptic used in the treatment of mouth ulcers, was once considered a potential cure for cancer of the uterus? ... that although Museo Estatal de Arte Popular de Oaxaca's site in Oaxaca, Mexico, was donated to create a cultural center in 1904, efforts to establish a museum there did not begin until the 1990s? ... that only ten men of the 181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance returned from the Battle of Arnhem? ... that the British tanker SS El Grillo, sunk in February 1944 after a German air raid in Seyðisfjörður, Iceland, gave its name to a local beer? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Mario Draghi (pictured) is appointed for an eight-year term as President of the European Central Bank, effective 1 November. Pauline Nyiramasuhuko is convicted of genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The Nabro Volcano erupts, 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 26: International Day in Support of Victims of Torture; Independence Day in Madagascar (1960); Flag Day in Romania 363 – Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate (pictured) was killed during the retreat from his campaign against the Sassanid Empire. 1907 – Bolshevik revolutionaries in Tiflis, Georgia, robbed a bank stagecoach, getting away with 341,000 rubles. 1918 – World War I: The 26-day Battle of Belleau Wood near the Marne River in France ended with American forces finally clearing that forest of German troops. 1945 – At a conference in San Francisco, delegates from 50 nations signed a charter establishing the United Nations. 1996 – Irish crime reporter Veronica Guerin was murdered while she was stopped at a traffic light, an event which helped establish Ireland's Criminal Assets Bureau. 2006 – Mari Alkatiri, the first Prime Minister of East Timor, resigned after weeks of political unrest. More anniversaries: June 25 – June 26 – June 27 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now June 26, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The Great Coat of Arms of the Russian Empire, as presented to Emperor Paul I in October 1800. The use of the double-headed eagle in the coat of arms (seen in multiple locations here) goes back to the 15th century. With the fall of Constantinople and the end of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, the Grand Dukes of Muscovy came to see themselves as the successors of the Byzantine heritage, a notion reinforced by the marriage of Ivan III to Sophia Paleologue. Ivan adopted the golden Byzantine double-headed eagle in his seal, first documented in 1472, marking his direct claim to the Roman imperial heritage and his assertion as sovereign equal and rival to the Holy Roman Empire.

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