Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 November 30

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From today's featured article

Napoleon cannon, similar to those used by the battery

Landis's Missouri Battery was an artillery battery that served in the Confederate States Army during the early stages of the American Civil War. The battery was formed in late 1861 and early 1862, and was crewed by a maximum of 62 men. It fielded two 12-pounder Napoleon cannons (example pictured) and two 24-pounder howitzers. The battery saw limited action at the Battle of Iuka before providing artillery support at the Second Battle of Corinth, both in 1862. It formed part of Confederate defenses at the battles of Port Gibson and Champion Hill in May 1863. The unit may have suffered the capture of two cannons during the Battle of Big Black River Bridge. Landis's Battery next saw action during the Siege of Vicksburg, but was captured when the Confederate garrison there surrendered on July 4. Although the surviving men of the battery were exchanged, the battery was not reorganized; instead, it was absorbed into Guibor's Missouri Battery along with Wade's Missouri Battery. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Talaat Pasha's tomb at the Monument of Liberty, Istanbul

... that the architect of the Armenian genocide, Talaat Pasha, is buried under a monument (pictured) dedicated to "heroes of the fatherland"?
... that Mauree Turner is the first publicly non-binary individual elected to a U.S. state legislature?
... that the annual Indian sports awards ceremony at the Presidential Palace includes awards for adventure, for the top-performing university, and for sports promotion?
... that, by choosing the content included in his classic 1953 introductory textbook on the subject, Charles Kittel helped define the field of solid-state physics?
... that Kwangchul Youn, a bass from South Korea, appeared as Gurnemanz in Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival, as Mephisto at the Vienna State Opera, and as King Marke at the Metropolitan Opera?
... that the U.S. and Canada engaged in a fishing war in the 1990s?
... that a reviewer expressed doubts that the plot of 24 Japan would be accepted by the viewing public since a major terror attack had not occurred in Japan for decades?
... that White House correspondent Bryson Rash started in radio at the age of 12 by voicing Buster Brown?

In the news

COVID-19 pandemic: Disease; Virus; By location; Impact; Portal

Ryoya Kurihara

In baseball, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks defeat the Yomiuri Giants to win their fourth-straight Japan Series (MVP Ryoya Kurihara pictured).
Ingrida Šimonytė takes office as Prime Minister of Lithuania.
Argentine footballer Diego Maradona dies at the age of 60.
Douglas Stuart's debut novel Shuggie Bain wins the Booker Prize.

On this day

November 30: Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare; Saint Andrew's Day (Christianity); Guru Nanak Gurpurab (Sikhism, 2020)

WTO protestors in Seattle

1700 – Great Northern War: Swedish forces led by King Charles XII defeated the Russian army at the Battle of Narva.
1803 – An expedition led by Francisco Javier de Balmis departed A Coruña, Spain, with the aim of vaccinating millions in South America and Asia against smallpox.
1942 – World War II: Japanese warships defeated the U.S. Navy in a nighttime naval battle off Tassafaronga, Guadalcanal.
1962 – Following the death of Dag Hammarskjöld, Burmese diplomat U Thant was elected secretary-general of the United Nations.
1999 – Protests by anti-globalization activists (pictured) against the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in Seattle forced the cancellation of its opening ceremonies.

William Gilbert (d. 1603)
Jagadish Chandra Bose (b. 1858)
Ahmadou Ahidjo (d. 1989)

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From today's featured list

Tree island in the Everglades covered by Old World climbing fern

Invasive species in the Everglades are exotic plants and animals that are not native to the area and have aggressively adapted to conditions in wilderness areas in southern Florida. The Everglades are a massive watershed in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida that drains overflow from the vast shallow Lake Okeechobee that is in turn fed by the Kissimmee River. In the 20th century, Florida experienced a population surge unparalleled in the U.S., accompanied by rapid urban expansion made possible by draining portions of the Everglades. The widespread building created new habitats and disturbed established plant and animal communities. Many of the new residents or tourists in Florida were responsible for introducing plant species to the area by accident, or deliberately to improve landscaping. Approximately 26 percent of all fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals in South Florida are exotic—more than in any other part of the United States—and the region hosts one of the highest numbers of exotic plant species in the world. (This list is part of a featured topic: Everglades.)

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Today's featured picture

An electric match is a device that uses an externally applied electric current to ignite a combustible compound. This image is a collage of three photographs depicting an electric match at the moment of ignition in the centre, together with the same match before detonation on the left and after detonation on the right. To ignite the match, a suitable electric voltage is applied to a heating element, typically a loop or coil of thin wire, which is encased in a quantity of a flammable pyrotechnic initiator fluid, which then ignites.

Photograph credit: Lucasbosch

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