Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 November 1

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From today's featured article

Daniel "Doc" Adams (1814–1899) was an American baseball player and executive who is regarded as an important figure in the sport's early years. He began his career with the New York Knickerbockers in 1845 and played for the club into his forties (pictured, center, in 1859). Researchers have called Adams the creator of the shortstop position, and as club president six times between 1847 and 1861, Adams advocated rule changes that resulted in nine-man teams and nine-inning games. When the National Association of Base Ball Players was formed in 1858, he led the rules and regulations committee of the new organization. In his role, Adams ruled that the field's bases should be 90 feet (27 m) apart, the modern distance, and supported eliminating the "bound rule", which allowed for balls caught after one bounce to be recorded as outs. Adams' contributions in creating baseball's rules went largely unrecognized for decades after his death, but in 1980 a letter about him appeared in The New York Times and by 1993, researcher John Thorn had written about Adams' role. His nickname came from his medical work; he later became a bank president and member of the Connecticut legislature. (Full article...)

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In the news

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo crashes in the Mojave Desert during a test flight, killing one person.
Following violent protests, Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaoré resigns.
In baseball, the San Francisco Giants defeat the Kansas City Royals to win the World Series (MVP Madison Bumgarner pictured).
An Antares rocket explodes during the launch of the unmanned Cygnus CRS-3 spacecraft to the International Space Station.
The Botswana Democratic Party maintains its majority in Parliament after the general election.

Ongoing: Ebola outbreak – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Recent deaths: Michael Sata – Mbulaeni Mulaudzi

On this day...

November 1: All Saints' Day (Western Christianity); National Day in Algeria (1954); Rajyotsava (Formation Day) in Karnataka, India (1956)

996 – Holy Roman Emperor Otto III issued a document containing the earliest known use of "Osterrîchi", the Old High German name of Austria.
1611 – The first recorded performance of William Shakespeare's play The Tempest was held at the Palace of Whitehall in London, exactly seven years after the first certainly known performance of his tragedy Othello was held in the same building.
1876 – The Colony of New Zealand dissolved its nine provinces and replaced them with 63 counties.
1950 – Two Puerto Rican nationalists attempted to assassinate U.S. President Harry S. Truman (pictured).
1963 – Lê Quang Tung, loyalist head of the South Vietnam Special Forces, was executed in a US-backed coup against President Ngô Đình Diệm following a period of religious unrest.

More anniversaries: October 31 – November 1 – November 2

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It is now November 1, 2014 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture

A wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) in flight off the coast the Tasman Peninsula. The wandering albatross is the largest of its genus, with an average wingspan ranging from 2.51 m to 3.5 m (8 ft 3 in – 11 ft 6 in). It feeds mostly on cephalopods, crustaceans, and small fishes.

Photograph: JJ Harrison

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