Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 March 31

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From today's featured article

Paul Nobuo Tatsuguchi (1911–1943) was a surgeon in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. A devout Seventh-day Adventist, Tatsuguchi studied medicine and was licensed as a physician in the United States. He returned to Japan to practice medicine at the Tokyo Adventist Sanitarium. In 1941, he was conscripted as an acting medical officer, and was later sent to Attu Island, Alaska, which had been occupied by Japanese forces in October 1942. The U.S. Army landed on the island in May 1943, and throughout the resulting battle, Tatsuguchi kept a diary recording the events of the battle and his struggle to care for the wounded in his field hospital. He was killed on the battle's final day. His diary was recovered and translated, and copies were widely disseminated in the US after the battle. The American public was intrigued by a Christian, American-trained doctor serving with Japanese forces and by his apparent participation in assisting with the deaths of wounded Japanese soldiers. Excerpts from the diary have been widely quoted in Western historical accounts of the battle, especially his final entry in which he recorded a farewell message to his family. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that Jade Etherington (pictured) and Caroline Powell are the most successful female British Winter Paralympians of all time?
... that in 1839, a Chinese official flushed more than 1,000 tons of smuggled opium into the sea, causing the British to declare war?
... that soprano Hannelore Bode appeared in the Bayreuth centenary Jahrhundertring as both Sieglinde and Gutrune?
... that with its "New New York" episode, the focus of Glee shifts to New York City for the remainder of the show's fifth season?
... that Gerd Larsen made her final appearance with London's Royal Ballet on her 75th birthday, after a career there of over half a century?
... that the decree enforcing the 1954 transfer of Crimea from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR was only one paragraph long?

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In the news

At least 70 people are killed in an ebola outbreak in West Africa.
The North Atlantic Council appoints Jens Stoltenberg (pictured) as the next Secretary General of NATO.
Iwao Hakamada, the world's longest-serving death row inmate, is freed and granted a retrial after 48 years in prison.
The World Health Organization announces the eradication of poliomyelitis in the South-East Asia Region, comprising eleven countries.
In sumo, Mongolian wrestler Kakuryū Rikisaburō is promoted to yokozuna, becoming the 71st person to earn the title.
Japanese architect Shigeru Ban wins the Pritzker Prize.

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On this day...

March 31: King Nangklao Memorial Day in Thailand; Cesar Chavez Day in various U.S. states

627 – Muslim–Quraish Wars: A confederation of tribes began an ultimately unsuccessful siege of Yathrib (now Medina) against Muhammad and his army.
1854 – U.S. Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry (Japanese depiction pictured) and the Tokugawa shogunate signed the Convention of Kanagawa, forcing the opening of Japanese ports to American trade.
1910 – Six English towns amalgamated to form a single county borough called Stoke-on-Trent, the first union of its type.
1931 – TWA Flight 599 crashed in Chase County, Kansas, US, and killed eight people, including football coach Knute Rockne, stimulating advances in aircraft design and development.
1964 – Brazilian Armed Forces led an overthrow of Brazilian President João Goulart and established a military government that would last for 21 years.

More anniversaries: March 30 – March 31 – April 1

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From today's featured list

The oldest United States Military Academy alumnus to receive the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government, was John Cleveland Robinson, a non-graduating member of the class of 1839. The first alumnus of the Academy to perform actions to be recognized with the Medal of Honor was Charles Henry Tompkins, a non-graduating member of the class of 1851, while the last alumnus of the Academy to perform actions so recognized was Andre Lucas, a graduating member of the class of 1954. Two graduates, John Gregory Bourke (pictured) and Calvin Pearl Titus, received the Medal of Honor before being appointed to the Academy. Other notable Academy alumni who received the Medal of Honor include William Harding Carter, Douglas MacArthur, and Humbert Roque Versace. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

The Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) is a European damselfly often found among fast-flowing waters. This female was found on the bank of a small brook near Bussy-Saint-Martin, France.

Photo: Nicolas Sanchez

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