Wikipedia:Main Page history/2013 June 1

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From today's featured article

The Tichborne case, a Victorian legal cause célèbre, concerned the claim by an individual known as "the Claimant" (pictured) to be the missing heir to the Tichborne baronetcy and fortune. The real Roger Tichborne disappeared after a shipwreck in 1854; later, rumours surfaced that he had survived and made his way to Australia. In 1866 a butcher called Thomas Castro from Wagga Wagga came forward claiming to be Roger Tichborne; he travelled to England where, despite his unrefined manners and bearing, he was accepted by Lady Tichborne as her son. Although other family members were unconvinced, the Claimant gained considerable public support. However, by 1871 evidence suggested that Castro was actually Arthur Orton, a butcher's son from Wapping in London, who had gone to sea as a boy. A civil case ended with charges of perjury against him, and in 1874 a criminal court jury decided that he was indeed Orton. He was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment. He was released in 1884; in 1895 he confessed to being Orton, only to recant immediately. He died destitute in 1898. While most commentators accept that the Claimant was Orton, for some a slight possibility exists that, after all, he was Roger Tichborne. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's newest content:

... that Cicindela albissima (pictured) is a beetle found only in the Coral Pink Sand Dunes of southern Utah and has a population of less than 1800?

... that 18th-century Virginia pioneer and physician Robert White previously served as a surgeon in the Royal Navy and was the father of U.S. House Representative Alexander White?

... that an 11th-century pagoda was demolished in order to construct Hanoi's St. Joseph's Cathedral in 1886?

... that Singaporean politician Abdul Hamid bin Haji Jumat was "Singapore's first Malay minister"?

... that the Bach cantata Wer mich liebet, der wird mein Wort halten, BWV 74, includes both "childlike openness" and "manic chortling"?

... that Lilian Faithfull, the first women's hockey captain at Oxford University, was the first to suggest the Lady Blue for women competing in a game between Oxford and Cambridge?

... that there is an Indian Salt Service?

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In the news

The asteroid (285263) 1998 QE₂ and its moon make their closest approach to Earth for the next two centuries.

Aurornis xui is described as the most basal species of Avialae, potentially unseating Archaeopteryx as the oldest known bird.

Digital currency service Liberty Reserve is shut down and charged with facilitating US$6 billion of illegal financial transactions.

In auto racing, Nico Rosberg (pictured) wins the Monaco Grand Prix and Tony Kanaan wins the Indianapolis 500.

In road cycling, Italian Vincenzo Nibali wins the Giro d'Italia.

In Twenty20 cricket, the Mumbai Indians defeat the Chennai Super Kings to win the Indian Premier League.

Blue Is the Warmest Colour, directed by Abdellatif Kechiche, wins the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Recent deaths: Rituparno Ghosh – Jack Vance

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On this day...

June 1: International Children's Day

1495 – An entry in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland made the first recorded mention of Scotch whisky (bottle pictured).

1676 – The Swedish warship Kronan, one of the largest ships in the world of its time, sank at the Battle of Öland with a loss of around 800 men.

1831 – British naval officer and explorer James Clark Ross successfully led the first expedition to reach the North Magnetic Pole.

1916 – Louis Brandeis became the first Jew to be appointed to the United States Supreme Court.

1943 – Eight German Junkers Ju 88s shot down British Overseas Airways Corporation Flight 777 over the Bay of Biscay off the coast of Spain and France, killing actor Leslie Howard and several other notable passengers.

More anniversaries: May 31 – June 1 – June 2

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Today's featured picture

Lady with an Ermine is a painting by Leonardo da Vinci, dated to around 1489–1490, which depicts Cecilia Gallerani. It is currently displayed in the Wawel Castle, Kraków, Poland.

Painting: Leonardo da Vinci

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