Wikipedia:Main Page history/2013 August 15

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From today's featured article

George Lansbury (1859–1940) was a British socialist, editor and campaigner who led the Labour Party from 1932 to 1935. Throughout his political life he fought for equality, social justice, women's rights and world disarmament. Before entering the national scene he served in the East End of London in numerous local government posts. Elected to parliament in 1910, he resigned his seat two years later on the issue of women's suffrage, and was briefly imprisoned after publicly supporting militant action. Lansbury became editor of the Daily Herald newspaper, which maintained a strong pacifist stance during the First World War and supported the 1917 Russian Revolution. Although he returned to parliament in 1922 he was excluded from the brief Labour government of 1924, but served as First Commissioner of Works in the Labour government of 1929–31. After the economic crisis of August 1931 Lansbury refused to join the National Government under Ramsay MacDonald and became leader of the Labour Party in opposition. His pacifism in the face of rising European fascism put him at odds with his party, and in 1935 he resigned the leadership. He spent his final years travelling in the United States and Europe in the cause of peace and disarmament. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's newest content:

... that George St Lo (pictured) was reprimanded for allowing the designer of the Eddystone Lighthouse, and the crew building it, to be captured by a French privateer?

... that the Northwestern Shoshone were paid less than $0.50 per acre in 1968 for lands promised by the United States in the 1863 Box Elder Treaty?

... that the 1904 earthquake destroyed 540 houses on Samos?

... that retired NFL placekicker Fuad Reveiz holds the University of Tennessee record for longest field goal, at 60 yards?

... that the Polish question was a major recurring issue in European diplomacy for well over a century, following the partitions of Poland in the late 18th century?

... that Thomas Yeoman was the first president of a group of non-military engineers in the English-speaking world?

... that in an urban legend, babies are roasted and fed to their parents?

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In the news

The Indian submarine INS Sindhurakshak (pictured) sinks in Mumbai following onboard explosions.

Egypt declares a state of emergency as security forces kill hundreds of demonstrators supporting former president Mohamed Morsi.

After sixteen years as a fugitive, mob boss Whitey Bulger is convicted of racketeering and involvement with eleven murders.

More than a hundred people are killed as tribal fighting breaks out in Darfur.

INS Vikrant, the first aircraft carrier to be built in India, is launched at Cochin Shipyard.

American golfer Jason Dufner wins the PGA Championship.

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On this day...

August 15: Victory over Japan Day; Feast of the Assumption (Christianity); Independence Day in the Congo (1960) and India (1947); Liberation Day in North and South Korea (1945)

718 – Forces of the Umayyad Caliphate abandoned their year-long siege of Constantinople, causing the caliphate to give up its goal of conquering the Byzantine Empire.

1534 – In Montmartre, near Paris, Ignatius of Loyola (pictured) and six others took the vows that led to the establishment of the Society of Jesus.

1907 – Jamaican American Raphael Morgan was ordained as the first Black Orthodox clergyman in America.

1945 – The Gyokuon-hōsō was broadcast in Japan, announcing the unconditional surrender of the Japanese army and naval forces.

1963 – President Fulbert Youlou was overthrown in the Republic of Congo, after a three-day uprising in the capital.

More anniversaries: August 14 – August 15 – August 16

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Today's featured picture

The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly and perhaps the best known of all North American butterflies (though it sometimes wanders to Oceania and Europe). Every year the population east of the Rocky Mountains goes on a southward migration and northward return, the only butterfly species to do so. Females, such as the one pictured here, will lay eggs during the trip; the migration spans the life of three to four generations.

Photograph: Kenneth Dwain Harrelson

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