Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 July 9

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On July 9, 1937, fire gutted a film storage facility (pictured) in Little Ferry, New Jersey, rented by the American studio 20th Century-Fox. Flammable nitrate film had previously contributed to several high-profile fires in film industry laboratories, studios, and vaults, although the precise causes were often unknown. In Little Ferry, gases produced by decaying film, subjected to high temperatures and inadequate ventilation, spontaneously combusted. The fire caused one death and two injuries, and destroyed all of the archived film in the vaults, resulting in the complete loss of most of the silent films produced by the Fox Film Corporation before 1932. Also destroyed were negatives from Educational Pictures and films of several other studios. The fire brought attention to the potential for decaying nitrate film to spontaneously ignite, and to the need for fire safety in film preservation. Production and use of nitrate film were gradually phased out in favor of safer alternatives. (Full article...)

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Aaron Judge

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... that production of mina'i ware, the first pottery to use overglaze enamels, stopped with the Mongol invasion of Persia in 1219?
... that in 2016, on the tenth anniversary of its premiere, the Royal Ballet performed Chroma with five dancers from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater?
... that King Carlos I of Portugal often donated the game shot during his hunts to a soup kitchen founded by Maria Luísa de Sousa Holstein?
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In the news

COVID-19 pandemic

Presidential edition of the Russian constitution

Floods in Kyushu, Japan, kill more than 50 people.
The Russian electorate votes to amend the Russian constitution (pictured).
European police agencies infiltrate EncroChat, an alleged criminal chat system, leading to the arrests of more than 800 people.
More than 170 people are killed in a landslide at a jade mine in Hpakant, Myanmar.

On this day

July 9: Seventeenth of Tammuz (Judaism, 2020); Independence Day in Argentina (1816)

Bertrand Russell

551 – At least 30,000 people died when a massive earthquake struck the Roman province of Phoenice (now Lebanon).
1745 – War of the Austrian Succession: The French victory at the Battle of Melle enabled their subsequent capture of Ghent.
1877 – The inaugural Wimbledon Championship, the world's oldest tennis tournament, began in London.
1955 – Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell (pictured) and nine other preeminent intellectuals and scientists issued the Russell–Einstein Manifesto, calling for a conference to assess the dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction.
1995 – Sri Lankan Civil War: After having advised civilians to take shelter in places of worship, the Sri Lanka Air Force bombed a church in Navaly, killing at least 147 people.

Ariwara no Narihira (d. 880)
Elias Howe (b. 1819)
Margie Gillis (b. 1953)

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Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was the 12th president of the United States, serving from March 4, 1849, until his death in office the following year. He was previously a career officer in the United States Army, rose to the rank of major general and became a national hero as a result of his victories in the Mexican–American War. As a result, he won election to the White House despite his vague political beliefs.

On July 4, 1850, Taylor reportedly consumed copious amounts of raw fruit and iced milk while attending holiday celebrations during a fundraising event at the Washington Monument. Over the course of several days, he became severely ill with an unknown digestive ailment, several of his cabinet members being similarly affected. Despite treatment, Taylor died five days later. His vice-president Millard Fillmore assumed the presidency and completed his term in office.

Engraving credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; restored by Andrew Shiva

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