Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 September 21

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From today's featured article

Townsend's big-eared bat

Bats, of the order Chiroptera, are the only mammals capable of sustained flight. Their wings, spread-out fingers covered by a thin membrane, make them more manoeuvrable than birds. Bats range in size from Kitti's hog-nosed bat, weighing 2–2.6 g (0.07–0.09 oz), to the giant golden-crowned flying fox, up to 1.6 kg (4 lb) with a wingspan of up to 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in). The second largest order of mammals after rodents, bats comprise about 20% of all mammal species, with over 1,200 species distributed across the world. Most bats are nocturnal. They are mostly insect- or fruit-eaters, but some are carnivorous, such as vampire bats. Some are important for pollinating flowers and dispersing seeds; others consume insect pests, reducing the need for pesticides. Bats harbour the agents of many communicable diseases, such as rabies and coronaviruses. They are often associated with darkness, malevolence, vampires, and death. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Interior of the Mahavira temple

... that only five Jain temples (one pictured) remain in the Kumbhariya district of Gujarat out of hundreds that were destroyed by volcanic activity?
... that Nellie Weekes ran for public office even before women received the right to vote in Barbados?
... that the merchant vessel MS Nordic Ferry was awarded a battle honour for service in the Falklands War?
... that Chinese peasants mostly armed with spears and swords repeatedly defeated modern warlord armies during the Spirit Soldier rebellions?
... that West Virginia State College professor Angie Turner King was an educator and mentor to entomologist Margaret S. Collins and NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson of Hidden Figures?
... that Perspectiva corporum regularium, a 1568 book of engraved polyhedra, demonstrates visually the medieval theory that the complexity of the physical world comes from four basic elements?
... that the Postal Telegraph Building contained the first electric elevators, commissioned by Frank J. Sprague?
... that Newcastle architect Gibson Kyle lay in wait and caught a burglar who was absconding with 33 lb (15 kg) of lead belonging to Richard Grainger?

In the news

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

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg (pictured), Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and advocate for women's rights, dies at the age of 87.
Yoshihide Suga becomes Prime Minister of Japan, replacing Shinzo Abe.
Astronomers report the detection of phosphine, a possible signature of organic life, in the atmosphere of Venus.
In tennis, Naomi Osaka wins the Women's Singles and Dominic Thiem wins the Men's Singles at the US Open.

On this day

September 21: International Day of Peace

Charles Edward Stuart

1170 – Norman invasion of Ireland: English and Irish forces conquered Dublin, forcing Ascall mac Ragnaill, the last Norse–Gaelic king of Dublin, into exile.
1745 – Jacobite risings: Jacobite troops led by Charles Edward Stuart (pictured) defeated Hanoverian forces in Prestonpans, Scotland.
1965 – Portugal accepted a diplomatic mission from Southern Rhodesia despite objections by Britain, which had required the colony to implement black majority rule as a condition of independence.
1996 – The Defense of Marriage Act was passed by the United States Congress, prohibiting federal recognition of same-sex marriage, while allowing states to adopt any marital definition of their choosing.

Abu Ishaq Ibrahim (b. 953)
Emanuel Schikaneder (d. 1812)
Kay Ryan (b. 1945)

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From today's featured list

William of Wykeham

Old Wykehamists are former pupils of Winchester College, an independent boarding school in Winchester, Hampshire. They are named in memory of the school's founder, William of Wykeham (pictured), who was Bishop of Winchester and Lord Chancellor of England. He used the wealth these positions gave him to establish both the school and a university college, New College, Oxford, in 1382; both were set up to provide an education for 70 scholars. Winchester College opened in 1394. The school's traditions include a 600-year-old ceremony in which the warden, wearing the Founder's Ring, admits each new scholar; "Illumina", an autumn celebration, in which candles are placed into niches all over the medieval walls around the playing fields; and "Morning Hills", held once a year, when all the school's pupils and teachers climb St Catherine's Hill for a roll call and prayers. Among the Old Wykehamists are four archbishops, including one of the school's earliest pupils, Henry Chichele; four field marshals; commanders of both Fighter Command and Bomber Command during the Second World War; two viceroys of India; and six chancellors of the Exchequer, including Rishi Sunak. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Portrait of Dürer's Father at 70 is an oil-on-linden-panel painting attributed to the German painter and printmaker Albrecht Dürer. Although a master goldsmith and well travelled, Albrecht Dürer the Elder, the painter's father, lived in poverty all his life. With his much younger wife, he fathered 17 children, of whom only two reached adulthood. He was supportive of his son's precocious talent and sent him to an apprenticeship with Michael Wolgemut, one of the most highly regarded painters in Nuremberg at the time. This portrait was painted in 1497, on his son's return, but whether it is the original work, or one of several copies done in the artist's workshop, is unclear. The painting currently hangs at the National Gallery, London.

Painting credit: Albrecht Dürer (attributed)

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