Wikipedia:Main Page history/2015 June 9

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From today's featured article

Carl Nielsen (1865–1931) was a Danish musician, conductor and violinist, widely recognized as his country's greatest composer. Brought up by poor, musically talented parents, he attended the Royal Conservatory in Copenhagen from 1884 through 1886, and premiered his Op 1, Suite for Strings at the age of 23. The following year, he began a 16-year stint as a second violinist in the Royal Danish Orchestra under the conductor Johan Svendsen, and later taught at the Royal Danish Academy of Music from 1916 until his death. While his symphonies, concertos and choral music are now internationally acclaimed, Nielsen's career and personal life were marked by many difficulties, often reflected in his music. The works he composed between 1897 and 1904 are sometimes ascribed to his "psychological" period, resulting mainly from a turbulent marriage with the sculptor Anne Marie Brodersen. Nielsen is especially noted for his six symphonies, his Wind Quintet and his concertos for violin, flute and clarinet. For many years, he appeared on the Danish hundred-kroner banknote. The Carl Nielsen Museum in Odense documents his life and that of his wife. Many performances of his works are scheduled in 2015, the 150th anniversary of his birth. (Full article...)

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From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that the Kamran ki Baradari (pictured), built by Kamran Mirza, was the first Mughal structure in Lahore, Pakistan?
... that Vilhelm Andersen wrote the libretto for Carl Nielsen's opera Maskarade based on a comedy by Ludvig Holberg?
... that Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje described the feeling of the television show he voices as "like being high"?
... that Russian biker and political activist Alexander Zaldostanov is a former surgeon?
... that the musical Groundhog Day reunites the creative team behind Matilda the Musical?
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... that the hypothesis that the pachycephalosaurian dinosaurs used their domed skulls in head-butting competitions was first proposed in a work of science fiction?
... that Eddy Creek has been compared to an "old perforated pipe"?

In the news

In horse racing, American Pharoah (pictured) wins the Belmont Stakes to become the first US Triple Crown winner since 1978, and in the UK, Golden Horn wins the Epsom Derby.
In association football, the UEFA Champions League concludes with Barcelona defeating Juventus in the final.
At least 18 people are killed on Mount Kinabalu after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake strikes Ranau, Sabah, Malaysia.
More than 200 people are killed in the explosion of a petrol station in Accra, Ghana, which was being used as a shelter from several days of flooding.
Sepp Blatter announces his resignation as president of FIFA in the wake of corruption indictments of FIFA officials.
At least 432 people are confirmed dead and 10 missing after a Chinese cruise ship is struck by a tornado and sinks in the Yangtze.

Ongoing events:
- Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
Recent deaths:
- Ludvík Vaculík
- Tariq Aziz

On this day...

June 9: St. Colmcille's Day in Ireland

411 BC – Wealthy Athenians overthrew the democratic government of ancient Athens and replaced it with a short-lived oligarchy known as "The Four Hundred".
1772 – In an act of defiance against the Navigation Acts, American patriots led by Abraham Whipple attacked and burned the British schooner Gaspee.
1862 – American Civil War: Confederate General Stonewall Jackson concluded his successful Shenandoah Valley Campaign with a victory in the Battle of Port Republic.
1928 – Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith (pictured) and his crew landed their Southern Cross aircraft in Brisbane, completing the first ever trans-Pacific flight from the United States mainland to Australia.
1965 – The Viet Cong commenced combat with the Army of the Republic of Vietnam in the Battle of Dong Xoai, one of the largest battles in the Vietnam War.

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Today's featured picture

A panoramic view of the skyline of Chicago from Grant Park, showing the celebration following the Chicago Blackhawks' victory in the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. This was the Blackhawks' first championship since 1961, and the following day the city's mayor Richard M. Daley declared June 11 "Chicago Blackhawks Day".

This image shows the CNA Center, featuring the Blackhawks' logo; the Smurfit-Stone Building, displaying "Go Hawks"; and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower, displaying "Hawks win".

Photograph: Daniel Schwen

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