Wikipedia:Main Page history/2013 June 4

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From today's featured article

SMS Markgraf was the third battleship of the four-ship König class and served in the German Imperial Navy during World War I. The battleship was launched on 4 June 1913 and commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 1 October 1914, just over two months after the outbreak of war in Europe. Armed with ten 30.5-centimeter (12.0 in) guns in five twin turrets, she could steam at a top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). Markgraf was named in honor of the royal family of Baden; the name Markgraf is a rank of German nobility. She took part in most of the fleet actions during the war, including the Battle of Jutland in 1916 and Operation Albion, the conquest of the Gulf of Riga, in late 1917. After Germany's defeat, Markgraf was one of the ships interned by the Royal Navy in Scapa Flow while the Allied powers negotiated the final version of the Treaty of Versailles. On 21 June 1919, days before the treaty was signed, the commander of the interned fleet ordered the fleet to be scuttled to ensure that the British would not be able to seize the ships. Unlike most of the scuttled ships, Markgraf was never raised for scrapping; the wreck is still sitting on the bottom of the bay. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's newest content:

... that for the Encore shot, 145 ponderosa pines were transported to the Nevada Test Site, set in concrete, and subjected to an atomic blast (pictured)?

... that Singaporean businessman Lien Ying Chow was the first non-American recipient of the American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award?

... that the Bliss-Leavitt torpedo remained in service for 41 years, until the end of World War II?

... that, in 1973, Washington Saldías Fuentealba was expelled from the mayorship of Pichilemu, Chile, by the military junta of Augusto Pinochet?

... that Swami Vivekananda said it would not have been possible for him to do anything for India without the help of Ajit Singh, eighth king of Shekhawat dynasty of Khetri, Rajasthan?

... that SS-Hauptsturmführer Hans Bothmann was one of at least a dozen high-ranking Nazi functionaries and Holocaust perpetrators who committed suicide?

... that Charlotte Bobcats head coach Steve Clifford was an assistant to Jeff and Stan Van Gundy, and regards both brothers as mentors?

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In the news

At least 119 people are killed in a fire at the Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Plant in Northeast China.

In horse racing, Ruler of the World becomes the first Chester Vase winner since 1981 to win the Epsom Derby.

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

Police response to environmentalist demonstrations in Istanbul provokes anti-government protests across Turkey.

Clashes over control of gum arabic production leave 64 people dead and 6,500 displaced in South Darfur, Sudan.

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

Recent deaths: Frank Lautenberg – Tim Samaras – Jean Stapleton

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On this day...

June 4: Day of National Unity in Hungary; Independence Day in Tonga (1970)

1855 – Major Henry C. Wayne departed New York aboard the USS Supply to procure camels to establish the U.S. Camel Corps.

1913 – Emily Davison, an activist for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, was fatally injured when she was trampled by King George V's horse at the Epsom Derby.

1920 – The Kingdom of Hungary lost 72% of its territory and 64% of its population with the signing of the Treaty of Trianon in Paris.

1944 – A United States Navy task group captured German submarine U-505 (pictured), which survives today as a museum ship at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

1996 – The maiden flight of the Ariane 5 failed, with the rocket self-destructing 37 seconds after launch because of a malfunction in the control software—one of the most expensive computer bugs in history.

More anniversaries: June 3 – June 4 – June 5

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It is now June 4, 2013 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture

A Bananagrams case and tiles. The case is made of fabric and shaped like a banana. It contains 144 cream-coloured letter tiles which are used to play the game, which is similar to the Scrabble variant Take Two.

Photo: Evan Amos

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