Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 October 27

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From today's featured article

Æthelstan presenting a book to St Cuthbert

Æthelstan (died 939) is regarded by historians as one of the greatest Anglo-Saxon monarchs and the first king of England. The grandson of Alfred the Great, he succeeded as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 924. In 927 he conquered Viking-ruled York and thus became the first king to rule the whole of England. In 934 he invaded Scotland, and in 937 the Scots and the Vikings united to launch an invasion of England, but Æthelstan won a crucial victory at the Battle of Brunanburh. This gave him great prestige both in England and on the Continent. Æthelstan centralised government and summoned leading figures from distant areas to his councils, including Welsh kings, who acknowledged his lordship by their attendance. He was one of the most pious West Saxon kings (depicted presenting a book to St Cuthbert), and was known for collecting relics and founding churches. His household was the centre of English learning during his reign, and it laid the foundation for the English Benedictine Reform later in the century. No other West Saxon king played as important a role in European politics, and he arranged the marriages of several of his sisters to continental rulers. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that Roger Sant, after whom Liopropoma santi (the spot-tailed golden bass) (pictured) was named, participated in a manned submersible dive in which an exemplar of the fish was collected?
... that the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series have seen multiple actors, such as Clark Gregg and Hayley Atwell, reprise their roles from the MCU films?
... that in his album Sinema, rapper Swoope asks listeners to examine themselves to discover their selfish desires?
... that psychologist Jonas Wood explores the psychological effects of various spaces through art?
... that toads found in Egypt around 1909 and identified as Degen's toad are now considered a separate species, the Nile Delta toad?
... that the upcoming film The Stanford Prison Experiment is about a psychological experiment involving prisoners and prison guards, conducted by Philip Zimbardo at Stanford University in 1971?
... that one of Lilian Shelley's jobs at The Cave of the Golden Calf was to feed Madame Strindberg's monkey each evening at the Savoy Hotel?

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In the news

China launches an experimental lunar mission, Chang'e 5-T1, which will loop behind the Moon and return to Earth.
A soldier is shot dead at the National War Memorial (pictured) in Ottawa, Canada, and shots are fired in the Centre Block Parliament building.
Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege is awarded the Sakharov Prize for helping victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Comet Siding Spring makes a very close approach to Mars and is observed by means of surface rovers and satellites.
At least 43 people are killed in Nepal's worst snowstorm disaster around the mountains of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri.
Jean Tirole is awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his analysis of market power and regulation.

Ongoing: Ebola outbreak – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Recent deaths: Ben Bradlee – Gough Whitlam – Oscar de la Renta

On this day...

October 27: Labour Day in New Zealand (2014)

1275 – The earliest recorded usage of the name "Amsterdam" was made on a certificate by Count Floris V of Holland that granted the inhabitants, who had built a bridge with a dam across the Amstel (pictured), an exemption from paying the bridge's tolls.
1644 – English Civil War: The combined armies of Parliament inflicted a tactical defeat on the Royalists, but failed to gain any strategic advantage in the Second Battle of Newbury.
1916 – Supporters of deposed Ethiopian Emperor-designate Iyasu V were defeated at the Battle of Segale, ending their attempt to restore him to the throne.
1944 – World War II: German forces captured Banská Bystrica, the center of anti-Nazi opposition in Slovakia, bringing the Slovak National Uprising to an end.
2004 – The Boston Red Sox completed a sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals to win the World Series, the club's first championship in 86 years.

More anniversaries: October 26 – October 27 – October 28

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From today's featured list

The World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given to the player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the Major League Baseball postseason. The award was first presented in 1955 as the SPORT Magazine Award, but is now decided during the final game of the Series by a committee of reporters and officials present at the game. Pitchers have been named Series MVP twenty-six times; four of them were relief pitchers. Twelve of the first fourteen World Series MVPs were won by pitchers; from 1969 until 1986, the proportion of pitcher MVPs declined—Rollie Fingers (pictured) and Bret Saberhagen were the only two pitchers to win the award in this period. From 1987 until 1991, all of the World Series MVPs were pitchers, and, since 1995, pitchers have won the award eight times. Bobby Richardson of the 1960 New York Yankees is the only player in World Series history to be named MVP despite being on the losing team. (Full list...)

Part of the Major League Baseball awards series, one of Wikipedia's featured topics.

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Today's featured picture

Yacht racing is a sport in which yachts and larger sailboats are raced. Modern yacht racing emerged in the 18th century, and attempts to standardize rules began in the 1800s. Depicted here is the start of the 2013 Cabo San Lucas Race, in which the yachts are raced from Newport Beach, California, to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Photograph: D Ramey Logan

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