Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 December 19

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Egbert (c. 770 – 839) was King of Wessex from 802 until his death in 839. Little is known of the first 20 years of Egbert's reign, but it is thought that he was able to maintain Wessex's independence against the kingdom of Mercia, which at that time dominated the other southern English kingdoms. In 825 Egbert defeated Beornwulf of Mercia and ended Mercia's supremacy at the Battle of Ellandun, and proceeded to take control of the Mercian dependencies in southeastern England. In 829 Egbert defeated Wiglaf of Mercia and drove him out of his kingdom, temporarily ruling Mercia directly. Later that year Egbert received the submission of the Northumbrian king at Dore, near present-day Sheffield. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle subsequently described Egbert as a bretwalda, or "Ruler of Britain". Egbert was unable to maintain this dominant position, and within a year Wiglaf regained the throne of Mercia. However, Wessex did retain control of Kent, Sussex and Surrey; these territories were given to Egbert's son Æthelwulf to rule as a subking under Egbert. When Egbert died in 839, Æthelwulf succeeded him; the southeastern kingdoms were finally absorbed into the kingdom of Wessex after Æthelwulf's death in 858. (more...) Recently featured: Star Wars: Episode I: Battle for Naboo – David Lewis – True at First Light Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that Peter Edward Stroehling's portrait of George III (pictured) shows the king with an adoring spaniel? ... that a small volume 2 of The Young Men's Magazine written by a teenage Charlotte Brontë sold for £690,850? ... that the seeds of six-weeks grama grass are eaten by desert kangaroo rats? ... that Gavin Bryars's Doctor Ox's Experiment is the third opera to be based on Jules Verne's science fiction novella "Dr. Ox's Experiment"? ... that mathematician Mikhail Kadets became interested in the theory of normed spaces after reading the Ukrainian edition of the French treatise by the Pole Stefan Banach? ... that one of the highest-ranking generals in China was injured in battle nine times? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
North Korea announces the death of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il (pictured). Czech writer and first President of the Czech Republic Václav Havel dies at the age of 75. The FIFA Club World Cup concludes with FC Barcelona defeating Santos FC in the final. Tropical Storm Washi hits the Philippines, killing more than 650 people. Russia is accepted for membership in the World Trade Organization. British-American author and journalist Christopher Hitchens dies at the age of 62. Former French President Jacques Chirac receives a two-year suspended sentence after being convicted of embezzlement. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
December 19: Liberation Day in Goa (1961) 1843 – A Christmas Carol (frontispiece pictured) by Charles Dickens, a novella about the miser Ebenezer Scrooge and his conversion after being visited by three Christmas ghosts, was first published. 1941 – Second World War: Three Italian Royal Navy manned torpedoes detonated limpet mines on British Royal Navy ships, sinking two battleships. 1946 – The First Indochina War began when Viet Minh operatives attacked French military positions and homes in Hanoi. 1986 – Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev released dissident Andrei Sakharov after six years of internal exile in Gorky. 1998 – The U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Bill Clinton following the Lewinsky scandal. More anniversaries: December 18 – December 19 – December 20 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now December 19, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

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The Chicago Bulls are a professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In their 44 seasons, the Bulls have achieved a winning record 20 times, and have appeared in the NBA playoffs 29 times. The franchise was founded in 1966 by Dick Klein. Coached by Johnny Kerr, the team finished its first season with a 33–48 record, the best record achieved by an expansion team in its first year of play. Dick Motta replaced Kerr in 1969, and under his leadership, the Bulls made the playoffs six times out of eight from 1969 to 1976. The team qualified for the playoffs just twice between 1977 and 1984, a period in which the team used eight different head coaches. The Bulls' form improved after selecting Michael Jordan (pictured) with the third overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. From 1985 to 1998, Jordan led the Bulls to the playoffs every season he was on the team's roster, winning six championships during that span. After he retired in 1998, the Bulls entered a period of rebuilding, failing to reach the playoffs for six years. In 2008, the team drafted Derrick Rose with the first overall pick. In 2011, Rose led the Bulls back to the Conference Finals for the first time since Jordan. (more...)

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The Garden of Earthly Delights is a triptych by the early Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch. The left panel depicts God presenting Eve to Adam, while the central panel is a broad panorama of sexually engaged nude figures, fantastical animals, oversized fruit and hybrid stone formations. The right panel is a hellscape and portrays the torments of damnation. The intricacy of its symbolism, particularly that of the central panel, has led to a wide range of scholarly interpretations over the centuries.

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