Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 July 27

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Lancaster's childhood home on
Elgin Crescent with a blue plaque

Osbert Lancaster (4 August 1908 – 27 July 1986) was an English cartoonist, architectural historian and stage designer. He became known in the 1930s for his books on architecture, aiming to amuse the general reader while demystifying the subject. Several of the terms he coined as labels for architectural styles such as "Pont Street Dutch" have gained common usage, and his books have continued to be regarded as important works of reference on the subject. In the Daily Express from 1938 to 1981 he drew the "pocket cartoons", a form he introduced to Britain. They featured a cast of regular characters, led by his best-known creation, Maudie Littlehampton, through whom he expressed his views on the fashions, fads and political events of the day. In 1951 he was commissioned to create costumes and scenery for a new ballet, Pineapple Poll. Between then and the early 1970s he designed new productions for the Royal Ballet, Glyndebourne, D'Oyly Carte, the Old Vic and the West End. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

Builders Building

... that the Builders Building (pictured), originally built to house construction industries, would eventually be home to the Chicago Board of Education and later be renovated into a hotel?
... that BTS's Japanese single "Lights" surpassed one million pre-orders in Japan and broke the 24-year-old record of Celine Dion's 1995 single "To Love You More"?
... that Priscilla Johnson McMillan is the only individual who personally knew both President John F. Kennedy and his assassin Lee Harvey Oswald?
... that Lel and Polel are considered divine twins in Slavic mythology?
... that many structures in the Shackelford County Courthouse Historic District were built in the 1880s after Albany, Texas, became the terminus of the now-defunct Texas Central Railroad?
... that harpsichords built and restored by Claude Mercier-Ythier were played in thousands of concerts and on hundreds of recordings?
... that Walter Lord's book The Dawn's Early Light was called "the definitive book about the burning of Washington during the War of 1812" by the Los Angeles Times?
... that a peace treaty signed between Venice and the Byzantine Empire in 1277 allowed both parties to fight one another over possession of Negroponte, without violating its terms?

In the news

COVID-19 pandemic

Comet NEOWISE seen from Split, Croatia

A security breach in the administration system of Twitter results in many prominent accounts promoting a bitcoin scam.
At least sixteen people are killed in border clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces.
Comet NEOWISE (pictured) is visible to the naked eye in the Northern Hemisphere.

On this day

July 27: José Celso Barbosa Day in Puerto Rico

Charles Fryatt

1689 – First Jacobite rising: Scottish and Irish Jacobites defeated Williamite forces at Killiecrankie, Scotland.
1778 – The Battle of Ushant, the first encounter between the French and British fleets in the American Revolutionary War, ended indecisively and led to political disputes in both countries.
1916 – First World War: British mariner Charles Fryatt (pictured) was executed in Bruges, Belgium, after a German court-martial found him guilty of being a franc-tireur.
1955 – After straying into Bulgarian airspace, El Al Flight 402 was shot down by two MiG-15 fighter jets, resulting in the deaths of all 58 on board.
1990 – Jamaat al Muslimeen, a radical Islamic group, began a coup attempt against the government of Trinidad and Tobago by taking hostages, including Prime Minister A. N. R. Robinson, before surrendering five days later.

Frances Stewart, Duchess of Lennox (b. 1578)
Emil Theodor Kocher (d. 1917)
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (d. 2015)

More anniversaries:

From today's featured list

Trophies won by Manchester United in the 1998–99 season

The Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year is an award honouring the achievements of teams that have demonstrated "supreme performance" in the world of sports. It was first awarded in 2000 as one of the seven constituent awards presented during the Laureus World Sports Awards. The awards are presented by the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, a global organisation involved in more than 150 charity projects supporting 500,000 young people. The inaugural winner of the award was English football team Manchester United, who had completed an "historic treble" by winning the UEFA Champions League, the Premier League and the FA Cup (trophies pictured) during the 1998–99 season. Football teams, including both domestic and international sides, have won more awards than any other sport with ten, followed by rugby union (four) and Formula One teams (three). Teams from Germany and France have won the award three times, while teams from England, Spain, and South Africa have won it twice. The 2020 winner of the Laureus World Sports Award for Team of the Year was the South Africa national rugby union team. (Full list...)

Part of the Laureus World Sports Awards series, one of Wikipedia's featured topics.

Recently featured:

Today's featured picture

The Belgian franc was the currency of the Kingdom of Belgium from 1832 until 2002, when the euro was introduced. The Belgian mint was innovative, and in 1860, the country became the first to introduce coins made of cupronickel. A few years later, in 1865, Belgium formed the Latin Monetary Union with France, Switzerland and Italy (Greece joined the system later), which facilitated trade between the countries by setting standards by which gold and silver currency could be minted and exchanged.

This 40-franc gold coin was minted in 1835, and depicts Leopold I, the first king of the Belgians following the country's independence in 1830, on the obverse. The coin is now part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.

Coin design credit: Kingdom of Belgium; photographed by the National Numismatic Collection

Recently featured:

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.