Wikipedia:Main Page history/2017 March 18

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From today's featured article

The Rosetta Stone is a large black stone stele bearing a translation of Ancient Egyptian text, the first recovered in modern times. Found in 1799, it is inscribed with three versions of a decree from 196 BC announcing the rule of King Ptolemy V. The texts are in Ancient Egyptian using hieroglyphic script and Demotic script and in Ancient Greek. The stone proved to be the key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs. It was taken from building material in Fort Julien near the town of Rashid (Rosetta) in the Nile Delta when it was rediscovered during the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt. After British troops defeated the French in Egypt in 1801, they seized the stone and transported it to London. It has been on public display at the British Museum since 1802, and is the museum's most-visited object. Since its rediscovery, the stone has been the focus of nationalist rivalries, including a long-running dispute over the relative value of Thomas Young's and Jean-François Champollion's contributions to the decipherment, and demands this century for the stone's return to Egypt. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Sacra conversazione

... that in earlier paintings of a sacra conversazione ("holy conversation"), the figures are rarely shown speaking (example pictured)?
... that the planned Toluca–Mexico City commuter rail suffered four construction accidents in a three-month period in 2016?
... that Liza Ferschtman used seven different violins for her "tour de force" performance of the Rosary Sonatas?
... that Roz Chast's graphic memoir Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, about her parents in their final years, was No. 1 New York Times Bestseller in 2014?
... that Mike Watt chose the Italian band name Il Sogno del Marinaio in honor of his mother's Italian heritage and father's maritime service?
... that Susanna Elm's book Virgins of God draws on little-known sources such as the Letter to the Virgins Who Went to Jerusalem?
... that proper use of engineering controls should prevent contaminants from being excessively deposited on sticky mats at a laboratory's exits?
... that George W. Hooker captured a Confederate troop detachment, consisting of 116 men and their colonel, all by himself?

In the news

Mark Rutte

The VVD, led by incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte (pictured), wins the most seats in the Dutch general election, but the governing coalition loses its majority.
Disputes over a Turkish constitutional referendum trigger a diplomatic incident between Turkey and the Netherlands.
South Korea's Constitutional Court removes President Park Geun-hye from office.
Donald Tusk is re-elected as President of the European Council despite opposition from his home country, Poland.
An attack on a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, kills 49 people and injures more than 60 others.

On this day...

March 18

The French battleship Bouvet capsizing

1793 – War of the First Coalition: Habsburg Austrians together with Dutch Republic troops repulsed a series of French assaults after bitter fighting in Neerwinden, present-day Belgium.
1834 – The Tolpuddle Martyrs were sentenced to transportation to Australia for swearing an illegal oath to join their friendly society in Dorset, England.
1915 – First World War: In one of the largest naval battles in the Gallipoli Campaign, the Ottoman Empire sank three Allied battleships (French battleship Bouvet pictured) and severely damaged three others.
1970 – United States postal workers began an eight-day strike after Congress raised its own wages by 41% but raised the wages of postal workers by only 4%.
1985 – The first episode of the Australian soap opera Neighbours was broadcast on the Seven Network, eventually becoming the longest-running drama in Australian television history.

Edward the Martyr (b. 978) · Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (b. 1844) · Minnie Pwerle (d. 2006)

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Today's featured picture

Phelsuma grandis is a species of day gecko that lives in Madagascar. Found in a wide range of habitats, it can measure up to 30 centimetres (12 in) in length.

Photograph: H. Krisp

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