Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 October 14

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The Southern Cross Expedition, officially known as the British Antarctic Expedition 1898–1900, was the first British venture of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, and the forerunner of the more celebrated journeys of Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton. The brainchild of the Norwegian-born, half-British explorer and schoolmaster Carsten Borchgrevink, it was the first expedition to over-winter on the Antarctic mainland, the first to visit the Great Ice Barrier since James Clark Ross in 1839–43, and the first to successfully land on the Barrier's surface. It also pioneered the use of dogs and sledges in Antarctic travel. The expedition was privately financed by the British magazine publisher Sir George Newnes. Taken south in the ship Southern Cross in August 1898, Borchgrevink's party spent the winter of 1899 at Cape Adare, the north-west extremity of the Ross Sea. (more...) Recently featured: Bernard Bosanquet – Ruth Norman – Madagascar Archive – By email – More featured articles...
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From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the organ of the Baroque Stiftsbasilika Waldsassen (pictured), a papal basilica minor, has over seven thousand pipes? ... that Abd al-Karim al-Jundi presided over the state appropriation of Syrian farm land from its traditional owners after becoming the minister of agrarian reform? ... that "Bleeding Love", a song performed by Leona Lewis, is her first and only song to reach number one on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart? ... that World War II memoirist Kirsten Brunvoll, who survived Ravensbrück and Auschwitz, saw her husband and oldest son survive Sachsenhausen, while her youngest son was trained as a pilot in Canada? ... that university professor Brian Dawson is a successful Australian rules football coach? ... that some graves in the Sanhedria Cemetery of Jerusalem are five times closer to residential housing than the law allows? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
The High Court of Botswana rules that women have the constitutional right to inherit property. The European Union (flag pictured) is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe". Chinese author Mo Yan, famous for working in the style of writing known as hallucinatory realism, wins the Nobel Prize in Literature. Robert Lefkowitz and Brian Kobilka win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their studies of G protein-coupled receptors. Syrian civil war – Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
October 14: Teachers' Day in Poland 1805 – War of the Third Coalition: French forces under Marshal Michel Ney defeated Austrian forces in Elchingen, present-day Germany. 1938 – One of the most-produced American fighter aircraft, the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk (pictured), made its first flight in Buffalo, New York. 1940 – Second World War: During the Blitz, a 1,400 kg (3,100 lb) semi-armour piercing fragmentation bomb fell on the road above Balham station, which was being used as an air-raid shelter, killing at least 64 people. 1969 – The British fifty pence coin was introduced to replace the ten shilling note, but its size initially caused people to mistake it for both the old half crown and the new ten pence piece. 1981 – Hosni Mubarak was elected President of Egypt, one week after Anwar Sadat was assassinated. More anniversaries: October 13 – October 14 – October 15 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now October 14, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

A tabby is any cat that has a distinctive coat that features stripes, dots, lines or swirling patterns, usually together with a mark resembling an "M" on its forehead. Tabbies are not a cat breed, but a coat pattern found in many breeds of cat, as well as among the general mixed-breed population. The tabby pattern may be related to the coloration of the domestic cat's direct ancestor, the African Wildcat, which (along with the European Wildcat and Asiatic Wildcat) has a similar coloration. There are four genetically distinct tabby patterns: mackerel (shown here), classic, spotted, and ticked.

Photo: Joaquim Alves Gaspar

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