Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 July 7

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Today's featured article
The River Parrett flows through the counties of Dorset and Somerset in South West England, from its source in the Thorney Mills springs in the hills around Chedington in Dorset. Flowing northwest through Somerset and the Somerset Levels to its mouth at Burnham-on-Sea, into the Bridgwater Bay Nature Reserve on the Bristol Channel, the Parrett drains about 50 per cent of Somerset's land area. The 37-mile (60 km) long river is tidal for 27 miles (43 km) up to Oath. Because the fall of the river between Langport and Bridgwater is only 1 foot per mile (0.2 m/km), it is prone to frequent flooding in winter and during high tides. During the Roman era the river was crossed by a ford, and in Anglo-Saxon times formed a boundary between Wessex and Dumnonia. From the medieval period the river served the Port of Bridgwater, enabling cargoes to be transported inland. The arrival of the railways led to a decline and commercial shipping now only docks at Dunball. The Parrett along with its connected waterways and network of drains supports an ecosystem that includes several rare species of flora and fauna. The River Parrett Trail has been established along the banks of the river. (more...) Recently featured: Primate – Battle of Osan – U.S. Route 491 Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that Bach has a trumpet tell God's glory in cantata Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes, BWV 76, first performed in the Thomaskirche (pictured), but oboe d'amore and viola da gamba express "brotherly devotion"? ... that Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus partnered with The Jed Foundation to help teenagers cope with personal struggles? ... that Marimba Ani first introduced the term Maafa to describe the African holocaust? ... that Mikhail Lakhitov started competing in international poker competitions in 2010 and by June 2011 was one of the top 20 poker players in the world? ... that the critically acclaimed 2010 novel And the Land Lay Still by James Robertson won the prestigious Scottish Book of the Year Award? ... that Germany, prohibited by the Treaty of Versailles from having an air force, operated the secret fighter-pilot school Lipetsk in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1933? ... that the Nigerian NAPEP poverty reduction program has been a recent target for hacktivists? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
The International Olympic Committee announces that Pyeongchang, South Korea, will host the 2018 Winter Olympics. Otto von Habsburg (pictured), former Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary, dies at the age of 98. In the Thai general election, the Pheu Thai Party, led by Yingluck Shinawatra, wins a landslide majority. In tennis, Petra Kvitova wins the women's singles and Novak Djokovic wins the men's singles at the Wimbledon Championships. Treasure worth at least 25 billion rupees (€385 million) is found at the Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala, India. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
July 7: Independence Day in the Solomon Islands (1978); Tanabata in Japan 1911 – The United States, United Kingdom, Japan, and Russia signed the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention banning open-water seal hunting, the first international treaty to address wildlife conservation issues. 1963 – The police of Ngo Dinh Nhu, brother and chief political adviser of President of South Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem, attacked a group of American journalists who were covering a protest during the Buddhist crisis. 1983 – After writing a letter to Soviet premier Yuri Andropov, American schoolgirl Samantha Smith visited the Soviet Union as Andropov's personal guest, becoming known as "America's Youngest Ambassador". 1994 – Troops from the former North Yemen captured Aden, ending the Yemeni civil war. 2005 – Suicide bombers killed 52 people in a series of four explosions on London's public transport system (victims trapped in train pictured). More anniversaries: July 6 – July 7 – July 8 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now July 7, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

On July 7, 1865, at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt (shown left-to-right) were hanged for their roles in the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Eight people were convicted for the crime; three others were sentenced to life imprisonment, with the last receiving a six-year sentence. Mary Surratt's son John was able to escape and was never convicted for his role. His mother was the first woman to be executed by the United States federal government.

Photo: Alexander Gardner; Restoration: Lise Broer

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