Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 August 10

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

The Uruguayan War (10 August 1864 – 20 February 1865) was fought between Uruguay's governing Blanco Party and an alliance consisting of the Empire of Brazil and the Uruguayan Colorado Party. In 1863, with covert support from Argentina, the Colorado leader Venancio Flores launched a rebellion aimed at toppling president Bernardo Berro. The Blanco government received support from dissident Argentines and made overtures to Paraguayan dictator, Francisco Solano López, who was suspicious of Argentina's motives and keen to form an alliance. Fearing for its interests in the region, the Empire of Brazil intervened, first trying diplomacy and then, when talks stalled, issuing an ultimatum; the Blanco government rejected the Brazilians' conditions, and Brazil's military were ordered to begin exacting reprisals, marking the beginning of the war. In a combined offensive against Blanco strongholds, the Brazilian–Colorado troops advanced through Uruguayan territory, taking one town after another (storming of Paysandú pictured). Eventually, the Blancos were left isolated in Montevideo, the national capital. Faced with certain defeat, the Blanco government capitulated. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Profumo affair – Electra Heart – American white ibis

Archive – By email – More featured articles...

Did you know...

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that the first described fossil of Aphaenogaster mersa (illustrated) had a white mold coating?
... that the Degree Angular Scale Interferometer was the first instrument to detect polarization anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background?
... that Klesie Kelly, soprano and academic voice teacher in Cologne, recorded love songs for voices and instrumental soloists with tenor Ian Partridge?
... that Giacomo Orefice's 1901 opera Chopin, based very loosely on Chopin's life, has been called "a kitsch contribution to the last vestiges of late 19th-century romanticized bohemianism"?
... that the reign of Ha' K'in Xook, who ruled the Maya city of Piedras Negras from 767–780 AD, seems to have been relatively free from war?
... that former Cardiff MP Ian Grist's signature, I Grist, signifies "Jesus Christ" in Welsh?
... that a critic thought that a "pack of satanic Marmadukes" would be scarier than the film Hellhounds?

Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news

Khmer Rouge leaders Nuon Chea (pictured) and Khieu Samphan are found guilty of crimes against humanity by a UN-backed tribunal.
The ESA spacecraft Rosetta reaches the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake in Yunnan, China, kills at least 589 people and injures more than 2,400 others.
At least 15 soldiers die in clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Gas explosions in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, kill at least 30 people and injure more than 300 others.
Heavy rains trigger a landslide in the Pune district of India, killing more than 130 people.

Ongoing: Libyan conflict – Gaza conflict – Ebola outbreak – Ukrainian unrest
Recent deaths: Dick Smith

On this day...

August 10: Raksha Bandhan (Hinduism, 2014); Feast Day of Saint Lawrence (Roman Catholic Church)

955 – Forces under Otto I were victorious at the Battle of Lechfeld near present-day Augsburg, Germany, holding off the incursions of the Magyars into Central Europe.
1628 – The Swedish warship Vasa (salvaged wreck pictured) sank after sailing less than a nautical mile into her maiden voyage from Stockholm on her way to fight in the Thirty Years' War.
1755 – The first wave of the Expulsion of the Acadians from the present-day Canadian Maritime provinces by the British began with the Bay of Fundy Campaign at Chignecto.
1901 – The Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers organized an ultimately unsuccessful strike to reverse its declining fortunes and organize large numbers of new members.
1990 – NASA's Magellan space probe reached Venus on a mission to map its surface, fifteen months after its launch.

More anniversaries: August 9 – August 10 – August 11

Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries

It is now August 10, 2014 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture

Demand Notes are a type of United States paper money that were issued between August 1861 and April 1862 in denominations of 5, 10, and 20 U.S. dollars. Released during the American Civil War, these notes were used to pay expenses incurred by the Union during the war. They were popularly known as "greenbacks", a name inherited by their successors, the Legal Tender and Federal Reserve Notes.

Shown here is a $20 note, dated 10 August 1861, which features a feminine allegory representing either Liberty, or perhaps America, in the center. The figure has a sword in her right hand and holds a striped shield, featuring a Bald Eagle at the top, in her left. This bill is scanned from the National Numismatic Collection at the National Museum of American History.

See another banknote

Banknote: Bureau of Engraving and Printing (image courtesy of the National Numismatic Collection, National Museum of American History)

Recently featured: Myrtle warbler – Stanford University – Canary Island spurge

Archive – More featured pictures...

Other areas of Wikipedia

Community portal – Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.
Help desk – Ask questions about using Wikipedia.
Local embassy – For Wikipedia-related communication in languages other than English.
Reference desk – Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
Site news – Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
Village pump – For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.