Wikipedia:Main Page history/2018 October 23

From today's featured article

Harukichi Hyakutake

The Battle for Henderson Field (23–26 October 1942) on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands was the third of three land offensives conducted by the Japanese during the Guadalcanal campaign of World War II. U.S. Army and Marine forces under Major General Alexander Vandegrift defended Henderson Field against attacks by the Japanese 17th Army under Lieutenant General Harukichi Hyakutake (pictured). Hyakutake's mission was to recapture the airfield from the Allies and drive them off the island. Numerous assaults over three days were repulsed with heavy Japanese losses, and Allied aircraft operating from the airfield successfully defended U.S. positions from attacks by Japanese naval air and sea forces. After a failed attempt to deliver reinforcements in November, Japan conceded the island and successfully evacuated many of its remaining forces in February. (Full article...)

Part of the Guadalcanal Campaign series, one of Wikipedia's featured topics.

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Mary and Henry Pitman

... that Mary Pitman Ailau and her brother Henry Hoʻolulu Pitman (pictured) were educated at a Hilo school with other biracial students of Hawaiian descent?
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BepiColombo spacecraft

A passenger train derails in Yilan County, Taiwan, killing at least 18 people and injuring more than 170 others.
The European and Japanese space agencies launch BepiColombo, two probes (artist's rendering shown) intended to study the planet Mercury.
An estimated 700,000 people attend a People's Vote march in London, calling for a public vote on the final Brexit deal.
Saudi Arabia admits that Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.

October 23: Mole Day

Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis

1641 – Irish Catholic gentry in Ulster tried to seize control of Dublin Castle, the seat of English rule in Ireland, to force concessions to Catholics.
1850 – The first National Women's Rights Convention, presided over by Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis (pictured), began in Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
1934 – Jeannette Piccard piloted a hot-air balloon flight that reached 57,579 feet (17,550 m), and became the first woman to fly in the stratosphere.
1983 – Lebanese Civil War: Suicide bombers destroyed two barracks in Beirut, killing 241 U.S. servicemen, 58 French paratroopers of the international peacekeeping force, and 6 civilians.
2002 – Chechen separatists seized a crowded theater in Moscow, taking approximately 700 patrons and performers hostage, at least 130 of whom were later killed.

Sweyn III of Denmark (d. 1157) · Ludwig Leichhardt (b. 1813) · Soong Mei-ling (d. 2003)

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A Bézier curve is a parametric curve used in computer graphics and related fields. The curve, which is related to the Bernstein polynomial, is named after Pierre Bézier, who used it in the 1960s for designing curves for the bodywork of Renault cars. Other uses include the design of computer fonts and animation. Bézier curves can be combined to form a Bézier spline, or generalized to higher dimensions to form Bézier surfaces.

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