Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 June 29

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Today's featured article
Olivia Shakespear (1863–1938) was a British novelist, playwright, and patron of the arts. She wrote six books that are described as "marriage problem" novels. Her works sold poorly, sometimes only a few hundred copies. Her last novel, Uncle Hilary, is considered her best. She wrote two plays in collaboration with Florence Farr. In 1894 her literary interests led to a friendship with William Butler Yeats that became physically intimate in 1896. Following their consummation he declared that they "had many days of happiness" to come, but the affair ended in 1897. They nevertheless remained lifelong friends and corresponded frequently. Yeats went on to marry Georgie Hyde-Lees, Olivia's step-niece and her daughter Dorothy's best friend. Olivia began hosting a weekly salon frequented by Ezra Pound and other modernist writers and artists in 1909, and became influential in London literary society. Dorothy Shakespear married Pound in 1914, despite the less-than-enthusiastic blessing of her parents. After their marriage, Pound would use funds received from Olivia to support T. S. Eliot and James Joyce. When Dorothy gave birth to a son, Omar Pound, in France in 1926, Olivia assumed guardianship of the boy. He lived with Olivia until her death on 3 October 1938. (more...) Recently featured: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and the Belyayev circle – Rochester Castle – 1907 Tiflis bank robbery Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the Karlskrona Ropewalk (pictured) is Sweden's longest wooden building? ... that the mountain Piotruś in the Low Beskid range is the site of a pond and stream where Saint John of Dukla is said to have rested? ... that extant Burmese chronicles are the most extensive and detailed historical records available in Southeast Asia but many lesser known chronicles remain unstudied? ... that The Twitter Republic is based on Twitter use in the website's fifth-largest market? ... that Emily Little and Larrissa Miller are part of the Australian women's gymnastic team that will compete at the 2012 Summer Olympics? ... that pilgrims would leap off a cliff named Bhairava Jhamp, near the Chorabari Glacier? ... that While She Sleeps' upcoming studio album This Is the Six is titled to reflect the band's connection with their fans? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
The U.S. Supreme Court (Chief Justice John Roberts pictured) upholds a majority of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a statute reforming health insurance in the country. Barclays is fined a total of £290 million for attempting to manipulate the Libor and the Euribor. The European Court of Justice rejects an appeal by Microsoft, confirming a fine of €860 million for the abuse of its dominant position in the market. American director, playwright and screenwriter Nora Ephron dies at the age of 71. The last known specimen of Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii, a subspecies of the Galápagos tortoise, dies. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
June 29: Feast of Saints Peter and Paul in Christianity (Gregorian calendar) Mikhail Baryshnikov 1613 – The original Globe Theatre in London burned to the ground after a cannon employed for special effects misfired during a performance of William Shakespeare's Henry VIII and ignited the theatre's roof. 1659 – Russo-Polish War: The hetman of Ukraine Ivan Vyhovsky and his allies defeated the armies of Russian Tsardom led by Aleksey Trubetskoy at the Battle of Konotop in the present-day Sumy Oblast of Ukraine. 1864 – Canada's worst railway accident took place when a passenger train fell through an open swing bridge into the Richelieu River near present-day Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec. 1974 – Russian dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov (pictured) defected from the Soviet Union while on tour with the Bolshoi Ballet in Toronto. 2002 – North and South Korean patrol boats clashed along a disputed maritime boundary near Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea. More anniversaries: June 28 – June 29 – June 30 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now June 29, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

Chips of cobalt, electrolytically refined, as well as a 1 cm³ cube for comparison. Cobalt is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal that is found naturally only in chemically combined form. Cobalt-based blue pigments have been used since ancient times for jewelry and paints, as well as blue-colored glass.

Photo: Alchemist-hp

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