Wikipedia:Main Page history/2015 October 8

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Shinano was an aircraft carrier built by the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II, the largest one built up to that time. Laid down in May 1940 as the third of the Yamato-class battleships, the ship's partially complete hull was ordered to be converted to a carrier following Japan's disastrous loss of four fleet carriers at the Battle of Midway in mid-1942. Her conversion was still incomplete in November 1944 when she was ordered to sail from the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal to Kure Naval Base to complete her fitting out and to transfer a load of 50 Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka rocket-propelled kamikaze flying bombs. Hastily dispatched with an inexperienced crew and serious design and construction flaws, the ship had inadequate pumps, no fire-control systems, and no carrier aircraft. She was sunk en route, just 10 days after commissioning, on 29 November 1944, by four torpedoes from the US Navy submarine Archerfish. Over a thousand sailors and civilians were rescued, but some 1,435 were lost, including her captain. She remains the largest warship ever sunk by a submarine. (Full article...)

Part of the Yamato-class battleships series, one of Wikipedia's featured topics.

Recently featured:

Did you know...

E. bozenae male

... that the fossil fly Elephantomyia bozenae (pictured) was described from a single male preserved in amber?
... that despite reports to the contrary, Justice James Edelman is not the youngest person to be appointed to the Supreme Court of Western Australia?
... that the word "kissing" was altered in the song "Don't Say You Love Me" as it was considered inappropriate for the Pokémon: The First Movie soundtrack?
... that Vavro Šrobár‎ was the only Slovak to sign the Czechoslovak proclamation of independence?
... that naturalist Edward Frederick Kelaart observed the heart of Elysia grandifolia beating in its back?
... that Egypt‍ 's Mohamed Nagy was the recipient of the golden prize of the Salon du Paris for his "Egypt Renaissance"?
... that Pennsylvania's North Branch Shamokin Creek is too acidic to support aquatic life?
... that all four sons of biologist Angus M. Woodbury earned PhDs in biology, and both of his daughters married biologists?

In the news

TPP leaders in 2010

Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald are awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their discovery of neutrino oscillations.
Twelve Pacific Rim states (leaders in 2010 pictured), amounting to about 40% of the world's GDP, reach an agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
William C. Campbell, Satoshi Ōmura, and Tu Youyou are awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries of novel treatments against parasites.
Hurricane Joaquin and a nor'easter produce flooding in the Bahamas and southeastern U.S., causing an estimated 50 deaths.

On this day...

October 8: Independence Day in Croatia (1991)

Gustav Mahler

1200 – Isabella of Angoulême was crowned queen consort of England at the age of twelve, after having married King John two weeks earlier.
1871 – Four large fires broke out in the United States, including the Great Chicago Fire and the Peshtigo Fire in Wisconsin, the latter being the deadliest in U.S. history.
1897 – Composer Gustav Mahler (pictured) was appointed the director of the Vienna Court Opera.
1932 – The Indian Air Force was founded as an auxiliary air force of the Indian Empire.
1962 – Newsmagazine Der Spiegel revealed the unpreparedness of the West German armed forces against the communist threat from the east, and was accused of treason shortly afterwards.

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

Bernhard Hoetger's 1936 relief Lichtbringer at the entrance to Böttcherstraße, a street in the historic centre of Bremen, Germany. The artist and his patron, Ludwig Roselius, intended to promote a Nazi worldview and to glorify the victory of Adolf Hitler "over the powers of darkness", but Hitler's reaction was negative.

Relief: Bernhard Hoetger; Photograph: Andrew Shiva

Recently featured:

Archive
More featured pictures...

Other areas of Wikipedia

Community portal – Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.
Help desk – Ask questions about using Wikipedia.
Local embassy – For Wikipedia-related communication in languages other than English.
Reference desk – Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
Site news – Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
Village pump – For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.