Wikipedia:Main Page history/2015 May 25

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The Texas Revolution (1835–36) began when colonists in the Mexican province of Texas rebelled after President Santa Anna overturned the Mexican constitution, dismissing state legislatures and militias and centralizing the government. He stepped down from the presidency to lead Mexican troops in quashing the revolt. Sam Houston was named commander of the Texian Army, a mix of native settlers and recent immigrants from the US, and sent Jim Bowie to destroy the Alamo to keep it out of Mexican hands. Bowie and William B. Travis chose instead to lead the Alamo defenders in what became the most famous battle of Texas history. Three weeks later the Mexican army executed 400 Texians at the Goliad massacre, then marched east as terrified civilians fled. The Texian army moved in the same direction, giving the impression that they were running away, when they were actually moving to a Brazos River training site. Under a false sense of complacency, Santa Anna was asleep and his army was on stand-down on April 21, 1836, when shouts of "Remember the Alamo!" and "Remember Goliad!" pierced the air as Texians overran them, winning the decisive Battle of San Jacinto in 18 minutes (monument pictured). Santa Anna fled on horseback but was captured the next day. (Full article...)

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In the news

In motorsport, Nico Rosberg wins the Monaco Grand Prix.
In cricket, Mumbai Indians win the Indian Premier League after defeating Chennai Super Kings in the final.
Måns Zelmerlöw (pictured), representing Sweden with the song "Heroes", wins the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria.
At least 40 people are killed in a shootout in Mexico between Federal police and members of Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
Ireland becomes the first country to legalise same-sex marriage by constitutional referendum.
At least 21 people are killed by a suicide bomb in Qatif, Saudi Arabia.
Five banks charged with manipulating foreign exchange rates plead guilty and agree to fines totaling over US$5.7 billion.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant captures the strategic city of Ramadi, Iraq, and the historic city of Palmyra, Syria.

Ongoing events:
- Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen
Recent deaths:
- John Forbes Nash, Jr.
- Marques Haynes

On this day...

May 25: First Patriotic Government in Argentina (1810); Independence Day in Jordan (1946); Memorial Day in the United States (2015); Towel Day

1644 – Ming general Wu Sangui let the invading Manchus pass through the Great Wall of China (pictured), allowing them to capture Beijing, leading to the foundation of the Qing dynasty.
1810 – The Primera Junta, the first independent government in Argentina, was established in an open cabildo in Buenos Aires, marking the end of the May Revolution.
1878 – Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore opened at the Opera Comique in London.
1979 – Six-year-old Etan Patz disappeared on his way to school in New York City, and later became the first missing child to have his picture featured on milk cartons.
2013 – Naxalite insurgents of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) attacked a convoy of Indian National Congress leaders in the state of Chhattisgarh, causing at least 27 deaths.

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From today's featured list

The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award is an annual award presented by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to the author of the best short science fiction story published in English in the preceding calendar year. It is the short fiction counterpart of the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, awarded by the same organization. The award is named in honor of Theodore Sturgeon (1918–85), one of the leading authors of the Golden Age of Science Fiction from 1939 to 1950. The award was established in 1987 by his heirs—including his widow, Jayne Sturgeon—and James Gunn, at the time the Director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction. From 1987 through 1994 the award was given out by a panel of science fiction experts led by Orson Scott Card. Beginning in 1995, the committee was replaced by a group of jurors, who vote on the nominations submitted for consideration. The winner is selected by May of each year, and is presented at the Campbell Conference awards banquet in June at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. During the 28 years the award has been active, 167 authors have had works nominated, 29 of whom have won, including one tie. No author has won more than once. (Full list...)

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Trithemis annulata, or violet dropwing, is a species of dragonfly which is found in most of Africa, in the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula, and is increasing its range in southern Europe. As the larvae develop rapidly, this highly adaptable species can breed in temporary bodies of water.

Photograph: Muhammad Mahdi Karim

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