Wikipedia:Main Page history/2016 November 4

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From today's featured article

Miles Davis

Agharta is a live double album by American jazz musician Miles Davis (pictured) and his septet. Titled after the legendary subterranean city, it was recorded at a concert in Japan's Osaka Festival Hall in February 1975. Saxophonist Sonny Fortune, bassist Michael Henderson, and guitarist Pete Cosey improvised against a dense backdrop of riffs, electronic effects, cross-beats, and funk grooves from the rhythm section. Davis had already alienated many in the jazz community while attracting younger rock audiences with his radical electric fusion music. This dark, angry, and somber performance was seen as a reflection of his emotional and spiritual state—he was in physical pain from health issues and a substance abuse problem, and had been touring constantly with his band since 1973. The album was released in Japan in August 1975 by CBS/Sony, and in North America in 1976 by Columbia Records. A highly divisive record, it further challenged Davis' jazz audience and critics. It was reevaluated positively after a generation of younger musicians was influenced by the group's abrasive music and Cosey's effects-laden free improvisations, and is seen as the culmination of Davis' electric period. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

St Thomas the Apostle, Killinghall

... that while Sydney Robert Elliston was vicar of St Thomas, Killinghall (pictured), his fellow clergy appreciated an "improvement in their incomes"?
... that Nike Wagner removed Beethoven's Ninth Symphony from the program of the festival Beethovenfest?
... that while working for the American Fur Company, trapper Warren Angus Ferris was one of the first people to map and describe Yellowstone?
... that the white-eared night heron had been recorded from only about 20 localities by 2001, but was discovered in over 30 localities between 2001 and 2011?
... that in order to increase his name recognition, Lawton Chiles walked 1,003 miles (1,614 km) across Florida for his United States Senate campaign in 1970?
... that Australian W-League association footballer Gabe Marzano was appointed to the Professional Footballers Australia executive committee in May 2016?
... that scholars in the field of Mongolian studies are often referred to as Mongolists?
... that Jason Graae had to use his ad libbing skills when a fake moustache "started to take on a life of its own" on the opening night of Little Me?

In the news

Ben Zobrist

In baseball, the Chicago Cubs defeat the Cleveland Indians to win the World Series for the first time since 1908 (MVP Ben Zobrist pictured).
In baseball, the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters defeat the Hiroshima Toyo Carp to win the Japan Series.
Yazidi human rights activists Nadia Murad and Lamiya Aji Bashar win the Sakharov Prize.
More than 60 people are killed in an attack on a police training centre in Quetta, Pakistan.
At least 70 people are killed and around 600 others injured in a train derailment in Cameroon.

On this day...

November 4: Unity Day in Russia

Menelik II of Ethiopia

1847 – Scottish physician James Young Simpson discovered the anaesthetic qualities of chloroform.
1889 – Menelik II (pictured), who would later introduce several technological and administrative advances under his reign, was crowned Emperor of Ethiopia.
1966 – The Arno River flooded Florence, Italy, to a maximum depth of 6.7 m (22 ft), leaving thousands homeless and destroying millions of masterpieces of art and rare books.
1991 – Former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos was granted a presidential pardon by Corazon Aquino and allowed to return from exile.
2008 – Barack Obama became the first African American to be elected President of the United States.

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From today's featured list

Matthew McConaughey

Matthew McConaughey's acting career includes over 40 films. He made his breakthrough by starring in Richard Linklater's coming of age comedy Dazed and Confused in 1993. His first lead role was in the 1996 film adaptation of the John Grisham novel A Time to Kill. During the 2000s, McConaughey was typecast as a romantic comedy lead in the films The Wedding Planner (2001), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), and Failure to Launch (2006). In the early 2010s, McConaughey became better known for his dramatic roles. He played Mickey Haller in The Lincoln Lawyer, and reunited with Linklater on the black comedy Bernie (both 2011). His role as Ron Woodroof in the 2013 biographical drama Dallas Buyers Club garnered him the Academy Award for Best Actor. In 2014, he played detective Rust Cohle in the crime drama series True Detective which earned him a nomination for a Primetime Emmy. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Midsummer Eve Bonfire on Skagen Beach is a 1906 painting by P.S. Krøyer. The large work, which took several years to complete, shows many of the artists in the group known as the Skagen Painters as well as influential members of Skagen's local community. Although Krøyer was not satisfied with the work, considering it too dark, the painting is now viewed as one of the most important in the Skagens Museum collection.

Painting: P. S. Krøyer

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