Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 May 12

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Today's featured article
Katharine Hepburn (1907–2003) was an American actress of film, stage, and television. Known for her headstrong independence and spirited personality, Hepburn's career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned more than 60 years. She won a record four Academy Awards, and in 1999 was named by the American Film Institute as Hollywood's top female legend. Hepburn began acting in college, and spent four years in the theatre before entering films in 1932. She became an instant star, but after a series of unsuccessful films was named "box office poison". The Philadelphia Story revived her career, and she subsequently formed a popular alliance with Spencer Tracy that lasted 25 years. In middle age Hepburn found a niche playing spinsters, such as in The African Queen, and became a Shakespearean stage actress. She continued to work into old age, making her final screen appearance in 1994 at the age of 87. Hepburn is remembered as an important cultural figure, as she came to epitomize the "modern woman" in 20th-century America and helped change perceptions of women. (more...) Recently featured: FC Barcelona – 1997 Qayen earthquake – Cleomenean War Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that former Major League Baseball pitcher Paul Shuey (pictured) is now a professional bass fisherman? ... that Rambhadracharya believes that Tulsi Peeth stands at the place where Rama gave his sandals to Bharata, as described in the Ramayana? ... that due to the strength of The Dismemberment Plan album The Dismemberment Plan Is Terrified, the band was able to sign with major record label Interscope? ... that Hungarian-born Endre Nemes was a pioneer in Sweden in the use of enamels in public art? ... that when John Ollivier contested the Lincoln electorate in New Zealand in a 1889 by-election, he was praised by his opponent for his good-humoured campaign? ... that the onion-eye grenadier is often caught unintentionally when the Greenland halibut is being fished? ... that the 1941 film Christmas Under Fire features people celebrating Christmas underground? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
A Sukhoi Superjet 100 (pictured) crashes during a demonstration flight in Indonesia, killing all 45 people on board. Pioneering hairdresser Vidal Sassoon dies at the age of 84. Children's author and illustrator Maurice Sendak dies at the age of 83. The Progressive Liberal Party, led by Perry Christie, gains a majority in the Bahamian general election. Ronnie O'Sullivan wins the World Snooker Championship. The coalition Let's Get Serbia Moving, led by Tomislav Nikolić, gains a plurality in the Serbian parliamentary election. The ruling Republican Party gains a majority in the Armenian parliamentary election. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
May 12: International Nurses Day; 200th anniversary of the birth of English poet Edward Lear (pictured) 1588 – An apparently spontaneous public uprising arose in staunchly Catholic Paris against the moderate policies of Henry III. 1926 – The Trades Union Congress, a federation of British trade unions, announced that it would end its week-long general strike "in defence of [coal] miners' wages and hours". 1942 – World War II: Soviet forces under Marshal Semyon Timoshenko launched a major offensive in eastern Ukraine, only to be encircled and destroyed by German troops two weeks later. 1998 – Four students were shot and killed at Trisakti University in Indonesia, leading to widespread riots and eventually the fall of Suharto. 2008 – In Postville, Iowa, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted the largest-ever raid of a workplace and arrested nearly 400 immigrants for identity theft and document fraud. More anniversaries: May 11 – May 12 – May 13 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now May 12, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The Black-headed Bunting (Emberiza melanocephala) is a passerine bird in the bunting family. It breeds in southeast Europe east to Iran. It is migratory, wintering in India. It is a rare but regular wanderer to western Europe. The breeding male (shown here) has bright yellow underparts, chestnut upperparts and a black hood.

Photo: Mark S Jobling

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