Wikipedia:Main Page history/2019 December 16

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From today's featured article

Frontispiece of Rundell's cookbook

Maria Rundell (1745–1828) was an English writer. In 1805, when she was over 60, she sent an unedited collection of recipes and household advice to John Murray, of whose family—owners of the John Murray publishing house—she was a friend. Murray published the work, A New System of Domestic Cookery (frontispiece shown), in November 1805. It was a huge success and several editions followed; the book sold around half a million copies in Rundell's lifetime. It was aimed at middle class housewives. In addition to dealing with food preparation, it offers advice on medical remedies and how to set up a home brewery, and includes a section entitled "Directions to Servants". She also advises readers on being economical with their food and avoiding waste. Rundell wrote a second book, Letters Addressed to Two Absent Daughters (1814), with advice concerning death, friendship, how to behave in polite company and the types of books a well-mannered young woman should read. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Christ Mocked

... that Christ Mocked (shown), which recently sold for €24 million, is a long-lost painting by Cimabue discovered in the kitchen of an elderly Frenchwoman?
... that Concert Grove in New York City's Prospect Park is used as a sculpture garden because its acoustics turned out to be bad for musical performances?
... that Juli Briskman, who received international coverage for flipping off President Donald Trump, went on to enter politics and win an election?
... that an article published in the Satyaprakash weekly, which criticised Hindu religious leaders, resulted in a libel case?
... that after her own childhood experiences, Carla Herrero founded Rompe el Silencio ("Breaking the Silence") to support youth who have suffered bullying, abuse, and psychological disorders?
... that St. Louis County police arrested engineers and announcers of KXLW because their tower violated local zoning laws?
... that water damage postponed the premiere production of the science fiction folk musical Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future?
... that John Blackwell was dismissed for being "bigoted and obstinate" by Isambard Kingdom Brunel for suggesting a new road might cause a landslide, which indeed happened once the road was built?

In the news

Boris Johnson

The Conservatives, led by Boris Johnson (pictured), win a majority of seats in the UK general election.
In a non-binding referendum, Bougainville votes for independence from Papua New Guinea.
After a three-day search, the crash site of a Chilean military aircraft is located with no survivors of the thirty-eight people onboard.
In New Zealand, the Whakaari/White Island volcano erupts, leaving sixteen people dead, two missing, and twenty-nine others injured.

On this day

December 16: National Day in Bahrain (1961); Day of Reconciliation in South Africa

Peter Rabbit

1598 – The Korean navy, led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin, defeated a Japanese fleet at the Battle of Noryang, ending their invasions of the Korean peninsula.
1689 – The Parliament of England enacted the Bill of Rights, setting out basic civil rights and later influencing other documents such as the U.S. Bill of Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
1901 – English writer Beatrix Potter privately published 250 copies of The Tale of Peter Rabbit (illustration shown) after several publishers' rejections.
1930 – German-American gangster Herman Lamm, the "father of modern bank robbery", killed himself during a botched robbery attempt in Clinton, Indiana, rather than be captured by police.
2012 – A woman was gang-raped and fatally assaulted on a bus in New Delhi, generating public protests across India against the authorities for not providing adequate security for women.

Nathaniel Fiennes (d. 1669) · Bertha Lamme Feicht (b. 1869) · H. D. Kumaraswamy (b. 1959)

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From today's featured list

Margaret

Polish singer and songwriter Margaret has won various accolades during her career, including five Eska Music Awards out of eleven nominations, a Kids' Choice Award for Favourite Polish Star, and three MTV Europe Music Awards for Best Polish Act out of five nominations. Margaret's third MTV Europe Music Award win in 2018 made her the first and only Polish artist to win the award more than twice. In 2013, Margaret received an award for coming second against nine other competitors at the 2013 Baltic Song Contest in Sweden, where she sang her debut single "Thank You Very Much", and "I Get Along", a cut from her first EP. "Thank You Very Much" won an award as the third-best selling digital single of 2013 in Poland by a Polish artist, which she was presented at the 2014 Sopot TOPtrendy Festival. Margaret has also received two awards at the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole: a SuperJedynka award in 2014 and the TVP1 Special Award in 2017. In 2015, the Polish magazine Wprost named her one of the fifty most influential Polish celebrities. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Duke Humfrey's Library is the oldest reading room in the Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford. It is named after Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, a connoisseur of literature, who donated his collection of 281 books to the university at his death in 1447. Books were hand-written at the time and his legacy was considered an extraordinarily generous donation, since the university previously had only 20 books. Only three books from the original donation remain, the rest having been removed in 1550 and probably burnt during the Reformation. The library was restored and restocked by Thomas Bodley from 1598 onwards. The books in the oldest part of the library are accommodated in oak bookcases that are at right angles to the walls on either side, with integrated reading desks. The ceiling consists of panels painted with the coat of arms of the University of Oxford.

Photograph credit: David Iliff

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