Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 October 20

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Today's featured article
Andjar Asmara (1902–1961) was a dramatist and filmmaker active in the cinema of the Dutch East Indies. Born in West Sumatra, he first found employment as a reporter in Batavia (modern-day Jakarta) before becoming a writer for the Padangsche Opera in Padang. In Padang he developed a new, dialogue-centric style which later spread throughout the region. After returning to Batavia in 1929 he spent several years as a theatre and film critic before joining the Dardanella touring troupe. He left Dardanella in 1936 to establish his own troupe and subsequently worked at a publisher, writing serials based on successful films. In 1940 he was asked to join The Teng Chun's company, Java Industrial Film, helping with marketing and working as a director for two productions. Andjar directed three films in the late 1940s and wrote four screenplays before spending the remainder of his life writing serials based on local films and publishing film criticism. Historians recognise him as a pioneer of theatre and one of the first native Indonesian film directors. (more...) Recently featured: United States v. Wong Kim Ark – Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough – Mercury dime Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the lapis lazuli inlays used in the 25th-century BC Statue of Ebih-Il (pictured), discovered in ancient Mari in Syria, were imported from as far east as Afghanistan? ... that the 1898 torpedo boat *Storm* was the only Norwegian warship to fire a torpedo at the invading Germans during the 1940 Norwegian Campaign? ... that LW5/7 classified skiers use two skis and no ski poles while competing in skiing disciplines like the downhill and Giant Slalom? ... that Vehbi Dibra was the first chairman of the Albanian senate? ... that in Goya's Portrait of the Duchess of Alba, the duchess is wearing her mourning clothes, as her husband died the year before? ... that German historian Hellmut G. Haasis, who won the Schubart Literature Prize for his biography of Joseph Süß Oppenheimer, also performs for school children as "Druiknui, the fairy-tale clown"? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
The discovery of an Earth-sized planet (artist's impression pictured) in Alpha Centauri, the star system closest to Earth, is announced. Hilary Mantel wins the Man Booker Prize for the second time in four years for her novel Bring Up the Bodies. Pakistani child activist Malala Yousafzai, shot by a Taliban gunman last week, is sent to the United Kingdom for treatment. Norodom Sihanouk, former King of Cambodia, dies at the age of 89. Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner sets records for the highest manned balloon flight, highest skydive and fastest freefall speed. Syrian civil war – Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
October 20: Birth of the Báb, a holy day in the Bahá'í Faith 1572 – Eighty Years' War: Soldiers of the Spanish Tercios waded across the river Scheldt at its mouth, walking overnight in water to chest height, to relieve the siege of Goes in the Spanish Netherlands. 1917 – The Military Revolutionary Committee of the Petrograd Soviet, in charge of preparing for and carrying out the Russian Revolution, held its first meeting. 1951 – African-American college football player Johnny Bright was the victim of an on-field assault that eventually provoked changes in NCAA football rules and mandated the use of more protective helmets with face guards. 1961 – The Soviet Union performed the first armed test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile, launching an R-13 (monument pictured) from a Golf class submarine. 1967 – Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin filmed an unidentified subject at Six Rivers National Forest in California who they claimed was a Bigfoot. More anniversaries: October 19 – October 20 – October 21 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now October 20, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The Upper Belvedere, a Baroque palace in Vienna, Austria, part of a four-building complex built as a summer residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy. The entire complex was built during a period of extensive construction in Vienna, which at the time was both the imperial capital and home to the ruling dynasty.

Photo: Murdockcrc

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