Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 November 12

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Jo Stafford (1917–2008) was an American traditional pop music singer and occasional actress whose career spanned five decades. Admired for the purity of her voice, she achieved by 1955 more worldwide record sales than any other woman artist. Born in Coalinga, California, Stafford made her first musical appearance at age twelve. She was trained as an opera singer before turning to popular music. With her two older sisters, she appeared in Alexander's Ragtime Band in 1938, where she met musicians with whom she formed the The Pied Pipers and became the group's lead singer. Her work with the USO, giving concerts for soldiers, earned her the nickname "G.I. Jo". From 1945, Stafford was a regular host of the NBC series The Chesterfield Supper Club and later appeared on television including two series called The Jo Stafford Show. In 1961, the album Jonathan and Darlene Edwards in Paris won Stafford her only Grammy Award. In the 1970s, she recorded a cover of the Bee Gees hit "Stayin' Alive". Her work is recognized by three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her 1952 song "You Belong to Me" made her the first woman to reach number one on the U.K. Singles Chart. (Full article...)

Recently featured: "Goodbyeee" – Ontario Highway 401 – SMS Emden (1908)

Archive – By email – More featured articles...

Did you know...

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that the museum Nordland fylkesmuseum bought the Nordlandsjekt Anna Karoline (pictured) after their first choice, Brødrene, was shipwrecked?
... that CIA case officer James William Lair recruited Vang Pao, and they founded a covert 30,000-man guerrilla army?
... that the wasp Blastophaga psenes has a symbiotic relationship with figs?
... that John Lewger, Maryland's first practicing attorney and its first Attorney General, is considered the father of the Maryland Bar?
... that although Ran Qiu was severely criticized by Confucius, he is still considered one of the Master's top ten disciples?
... that several reviewers consider Master of Puppets the best heavy metal album of all time?
... that engineer Benjamin Bevan had a heart attack while watching an eclipse?

Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news

In Mexico City, thousands protest the disappearance of 43 students and subsequent discovery of mass graves.
The ALMA radio telescope array shows a protoplanetary disk around the star HL Tauri (pictured).
In the United States midterm elections, the Republican Party wins control of the Senate and increases its majority in the House of Representatives.
In horse racing, Protectionist wins the Melbourne Cup.
One World Trade Center, at 1,776 feet (541 m) the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, opens.
A suicide attack at Pakistan's Wagah border kills at least 60 people and injures more than 100 others.

Ongoing: Ebola outbreak – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Recent deaths: Acker Bilk

On this day...

November 12: Birth of Bahá'u'lláh, a holy day in the Bahá'í Faith

1330 – Led by voivode Basarab I, Wallachian forces defeated the Hungarian army in an ambush at the Battle of Posada.
1892 – William Heffelfinger (pictured) was paid $525 by the Allegheny Athletic Association, becoming the first professional American football player on record.
1944 – Second World War: The Royal Air Force sank the German battleship Tirpitz on the ninth attempt, resulting in about 1,000 deaths of the sailors on board.
1996 – A Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747 and a Kazakhstan Airlines cargo plane collided in mid-air near New Delhi, killing 349 people.
2006 – Although the Georgian government declared it illegal, South Ossetia held a referendum on independence, with about 99 percent of voters supporting, to preserve the region's status as a de facto independent state.

More anniversaries: November 11 – November 12 – November 13

Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries

It is now November 12, 2014 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture

Burj Khalifa is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and currently the tallest man-made structure in the world, at 829.8 m (2,722 ft). It was designed to be the centerpiece of a large-scale, mixed-use development known as Downtown Dubai. Construction took over five years, and the skyscraper was officially opened in January 2010.

Photograph: Donald Y Tong

Recently featured: Papaver rhoeas – Marsh sandpiper – Land offers in Iowa and Nebraska

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.