Wikipedia:Main Page history/2015 August 13

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Castell Coch is a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle built above the village of Tongwynlais in South Wales. The first castle on the site was built by the Normans after 1081 to protect the newly conquered town of Cardiff. The castle's earth motte was reused by Gilbert de Clare as the basis for a new stone fortification, built between 1267 and 1277. John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, inherited the castle ruins in 1848. One of Britain's wealthiest men, he employed the architect William Burges to reconstruct the castle as a summer residence. Burges rebuilt the outside before his death in 1881, and the interior work was finished by his team in 1891; it featured elaborate decorations including extensive use of symbolism drawing on classical mythology and legendary themes. Crichton-Stuart planted a vineyard just below the castle, where wine production continued until the First World War. In 1950 his grandson, the 5th Marquess of Bute, placed the property into the care of the state. Castell Coch is considered to be one of the best surviving examples of Victorian architecture. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know...

Trans Am Totem

... that the Trans Am Totem (pictured), a sculpture in Vancouver, Canada, incorporates both a Pontiac Trans Am and a cedar tree?
... that Miss Maine 2015 Kelsey Earley hand-sews superhero capes for patients at a children's hospital?
... that a grouping of shots on a target has a mean point of impact?
... that Rosalynn Bliss was the first woman ever elected mayor of Grand Rapids, Michigan?
... that Challenger Columbia Stadium, currently under construction, is named in honor of the 14 astronauts who lost their lives in the Challenger disaster in 1986 and the Columbia disaster in 2003?
... that Chris McKay was sent to Australia by The Lego Movie‍‍ '‍s directors as an animation co-director while they were working on 22 Jump Street?
... that within five months of its release, Kim Kardashian: Hollywood had been played 5.7 billion minutes, or over 10,000 years?
... that, according to a Rolling Stone writer, in his 2015 single "Trouble" Keith Richards "seems to be channeling his inner Lou Reed"?

In the news

England cricket team

An explosion in Tianjin, China, kills at least 44 people and injures hundreds more.
In cricket, England (pictured) regain the Ashes with a victory against Australia in the fourth Test of the series.
Typhoon Soudelor makes landfalls in Taiwan and eastern China, killing at least 29 people and injuring hundreds more.
A new 35 km (22 mi)-long bypass channel of Egypt's Suez Canal is officially opened, approximately doubling the canal's capacity.
A toxic spill occurs at Gold King Mine near Durango, Colorado, contaminating a river in southern Colorado and threatening other waterways.
Debris found washed ashore on Réunion is confirmed to be from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which went missing in March 2014.

Ongoing events
Recent deaths:

On this day...

August 13

Cardinal Armand de Richelieu

1624 – Cardinal Richelieu (pictured) became the chief minister to King Louis XIII, and under his supervision, France's feudal political structure transformed into one with a powerful central government.
1704 – War of the Spanish Succession: The Duke of Marlborough led Allied forces to a crucial victory in the Battle of Blenheim.
1898 – Spanish–American War: After a mock battle for Manila, the Spanish commander surrendered to the U.S. in order to keep the city out of Filipino rebel hands.
1942 – Major General Eugene Reybold of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorized the construction of facilities that would house the Manhattan Project.
1996 – Belgian man Marc Dutroux was arrested for the kidnapping of 14-year-old Laetitia Delhez, revealing a number of other victims and one of Belgium's biggest child molestation cases.

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

A lateral (left side) anatomical diagram of an adult-stage nematode hermaphrodite Caenorhabditis elegans (full size) with emphasis on the digestive and reproductive systems. C. elegans is a free-living, transparent nematode (roundworm) which measures about 1 millimetre (0.039 in) in length. The hermaphrodite form, as seen here, is the most common, although a male form is also found. When self-inseminated, the species will lay about 300 eggs, but when the hermaphrodite is inseminated by a male, the number of progeny can exceed 1,000.

Diagram: K.D. Schroeder

Recently featured:

Archive
More featured pictures...

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.