Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 June 8

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Mary van Kleeck (1883–1972) was an American social scientist and social feminist who advocated for scientific management and a planned economy. She began her career in the settlement movement, investigating women's labor in New York City. In 1916 she became the director of the Russell Sage Foundation's Department of Industrial Studies, which she led for over 30 years. During World War I, she was appointed by U.S. president Woodrow Wilson to lead the development of workplace standards for women entering the labor force. After the war, she led the creation of the Women's Bureau, a federal agency that advocates for women in the workforce. By the 1930s, van Kleeck had become a socialist, arguing that central planning of economies was the most effective way to protect labor rights. During the Great Depression, she became a prominent left-wing critic of capitalism and the New Deal. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Ambay pumpwood

... that the presence of the beetle Coelomera ruficornis on its host tree (pictured) is tolerated by the ant Azteca alfari, but not by the ant Azteca muelleri?
... that 20-year-old Alejandro Cruz won the 1988 Chicago Marathon after being selected as an emergency replacement for Mauricio González?
... that the American merchant ship Herald served in the U.S. Navy against France before becoming a French privateer, was sold to Britain as a slaver, and ended her days as a West Indiaman?
... that the Cranbrook Strict Baptist Chapel was converted from two cottages?
... that the documentary Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness includes an appearance by Aleichem's granddaughter Bel Kaufman, who was 100 years old at the time of filming?
... that Nottingham Castle was set on fire during the 1831 reform riots?
... that Ludwig Strecker was both director of the Schott music publishing house, and under a pen name the librettist of two of the most successful German contemporary operas of the 1930s?
... that the Medford branch had 21 daily round-trip passenger trains in 1906, but carried just a single carload of fish in 2010?

In the news

COVID-19 pandemic

Norilsk oil spill

Russian president Vladimir Putin declares a state of emergency as melting permafrost causes a diesel spill (satellite image shown) near Norilsk.
SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 make their first crewed launch for NASA.
Protests and riots break out across the United States and elsewhere following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Costa Rica becomes the first Central American country to legalise same-sex marriage.

On this day

June 8

Thomas Blamey

793 – Scandinavian raiders sacked the abbey at Lindisfarne in one of the earliest recorded incidents of Viking activity in the British Isles.
1783 – Laki, a volcanic fissure in Iceland, began an eight-month eruption, triggering major famine and causing massive fluoride poisoning.
1950 – Thomas Blamey (pictured) became the only Australian to attain the rank of field marshal.
1995 – Danish-Canadian programmer Rasmus Lerdorf released the first version of PHP, the most popular server-side language for websites.
2007 – A major storm caused the bulk carrier MV Pasha Bulker to run aground in New South Wales, Australia.

Richard Scrope (d. 1405)
Anne de Xainctonge (d. 1621)
Lauren Burns (b. 1974)

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Chris Evans

American actor Chris Evans's filmography has spanned multiple productions since his first screen performance in 1997. After making his acting debut in an educational film co-produced by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Evans acted in several teen comedies, including Not Another Teen Movie and The Perfect Score. He portrayed the superhero Human Torch in the 2005 film Fantastic Four and its 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. It would be the first of many roles in films adapted from comic books for Evans; his most prolific role in the genre would be as Steve Rogers (Captain America) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series of films, where he has made credited appearances and cameos as the character in eleven films and one video game. Though comic book films have formed the bulk of Evans's filmography since the mid-2000s, he has concurrently acted in a range of non-comic book projects, notably Sunshine, Knives Out, and the Broadway revival of Lobby Hero. (Full list...)

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Lenin, a Soviet nuclear-powered icebreaker, was both the world's first nuclear-powered surface ship and the first nuclear-powered civilian vessel. The ship entered operation in 1959 and worked to clear sea routes for cargo ships along Russia's northern coast. Nuclear power proved to be an ideal technology for a vessel working in such a remote area, as it obviated the need for regular replenishment of fuel. From 1960 to 1965, the ship covered over 85,000 mi (137,000 km) during the Arctic navigation season, of which three-quarters was through ice. After being decommissioned in 1989, the vessel was subsequently converted into a museum ship and is now permanently based at Murmansk.

Photograph credit: Andrew Shiva

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