Wikipedia:Main Page history/2018 February 12

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From today's featured article

The Indian Head gold pieces were two coin series struck by the United States Mint: a two-and-a-half dollar piece, or quarter eagle (1908–1915, 1925–1929), and a five-dollar coin, or half eagle (1908–1916, 1929). The only US coins with recessed (engraved) designs ever to enter circulation, they were the last of a long series of coins in those denominations. President Theodore Roosevelt vigorously advocated new coin designs, and had the Mint engage his friend, the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, to design coins that could be changed without congressional authorization. The sculptor completed an eagle ($10 piece) and double eagle before his death in 1907. Roosevelt convinced Mint Director Frank Leach to reproduce the eagle's design on both of the smaller coins, but recessed below the background. The job fell to Boston sculptor Bela Lyon Pratt, and after some difficulty, the Mint was able to strike the coins, though Pratt was unhappy with modifications made by the Mint's engravers. The quarter eagle enjoyed popularity as a Christmas present, but neither coin circulated much. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Summer Lake Hot Springs bathhouse

... that the Summer Lake Hot Springs bathhouse (pictured), built in 1928, is a timber and tin structure with a 15-by-30-foot (4.6 m × 9.1 m) bathing pool inside?
... that the Zulu festival Umkhosi Wokweshwama was a partial inspiration for the African-American holiday of Kwanzaa?
... that American psychiatrist Bandy X. Lee briefed 12 members of the U.S. Congress on the mental health of President Donald Trump, although she had never met him?
... that despite being considered obsolete, the yacht Voortrekker placed second in the 1982/83 BOC Challenge, beaten only by a yacht purpose-built for the race?
... that Viking expert David M. Wilson became just the 17th Director of the British Museum in its 224 years?
... that the history of speciation largely began with Charles Darwin's publication of On the Origin of Species?
... that Siegfried Lorenz, the first lyrical baritone of the Berlin State Opera, recorded 151 songs by Schubert and sang "with an enviable control of line and dynamics", according to Alan Blyth?
... that the director of the Noyes Museum of Art said it "was in a beautiful location but it was in the middle of nowhere"?

In the news

The Antonov An-148 operated by Saratov Airlines Flight 703

Saratov Airlines Flight 703 (aircraft pictured) crashes in Russia, killing all 71 people on board.
A bus accident kills 19 people in Hong Kong.
The Winter Olympics open in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
An earthquake strikes Hualien, Taiwan, killing at least 17 people and injuring more than 280 others.
The SpaceX launch vehicle Falcon Heavy makes its maiden flight, carrying Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster as a dummy payload.

On this day...

February 12: Shrove Monday (Western Christianity, 2018)

Soviet frigate Bezzavetny (right) bumping the USS Yorktown

1502 – Isabella I issued an edict outlawing Islam in the Crown of Castile, forcing virtually all her Muslim subjects to convert to Christianity.
1855 – Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, was founded as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the United States' first agricultural college.
1946 – The British Royal Navy concluded Operation Deadlight, its operation to scuttle German U-boats that had been captured during World War II.
1988 – While claiming the right of innocent passage through Soviet territorial waters in the Black Sea American cruiser USS Yorktown and destroyer USS Caron were bumped by Soviet warships (pictured).
1993 – Two-year-old James Bulger was led away from New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, England, and brutally murdered by two ten-year-old boys, who became the youngest convicted murderers in modern English history.

Jan Ladislav Dussek (b. 1760) · Charles Darwin (b. 1809) · Anna Anderson (d. 1984)

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From today's featured list

She & Him

American musical duo She & Him has recorded more than 90 songs. Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward formed the band after working on their rendition of "When I Get to the Border" from the soundtrack of The Go-Getter (2007). Their debut album, Volume One was released under indie label Merge Records in 2008. In 2010, Deschanel penned eleven tracks for their follow-up release Volume Two (2010), where her lyrics touch on themes of romance and self-appreciation. The duo's first Christmas album A Very She & Him Christmas (2011) was recorded over the course of six days. Their fourth studio album, Volume 3 (2013) features more disco elements and string arrangements than their previous work. After signing with Columbia Records, She & Him started working on their major-label debut Classics (2014) with thirteen covers, recorded live and accompanied by a 20-piece orchestra. Their second Christmas release, Christmas Party was released in 2016. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Scott Thwaites (born 1990) is a British cyclist and member of Team Dimension Data. He represented England in the 2014 Commonwealth Games road race, winning a bronze medal, and was named in the startlist for the 2016 Vuelta a España and 2017 Tour de France. He is shown here in the 2014 Tour of Britain.

Photograph: Katie Chan

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