Wikipedia:Main Page history/2019 November 16

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Bramshill House, in Bramshill, northeast Hampshire, is one of the largest Jacobean prodigy house mansions in England. It was built in the early 17th century by Baron Edward la Zouche of Harringworth, but was partly destroyed by fire a few years later. It was designated a Grade I listed building in 1952. The decorative architecture on the mansion's southern façade includes at its centre a large oriel window above the principal entrance. Interior features include a great hall displaying 92 coats of arms on a Jacobean screen, an ornate drawing room, and a 126.5-foot (38.6 m) gallery containing many portraits. Numerous columns and friezes are found throughout the mansion, and several rooms have large tapestries depicting historical figures and events on their panelled walls. The 262-acre (106 ha) grounds contain an 18-acre (7.3 ha) lake and early 17th-century formal gardens. During the Second World War, the mansion was used as a Red Cross maternity home. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

Naoshi Kanno

... that Japanese fighter ace Naoshi Kanno (pictured), credited with 25 confirmed kills, appears in the anime Drifters?
... that Irish republican O'Donovan Rossa claimed that the phrase "England's difficulty is Ireland's opportunity" was typically used as an excuse for inaction?
... that having received the results of the 1848 U.S. presidential election by telegraph, George F. Lewis helped publish the news of Zachary Taylor's win?
... that much of the stone material studied by archeologists at the 12th-century fortress of Tasghîmût near Marrakesh has since been hauled off by local builders?
... that Dorothy Spiers was the first woman to qualify as an actuary in the United Kingdom?
... that WACH-TV in Newport News, Virginia, pleaded with the FCC to regulate networks because another station was "hogging" affiliations?
... that Renatus Mészár, who made his opera debut at the Munich Biennale and then was a member of the NDR Chor, has appeared as Wotan in Wagner's Ring cycle, including on DVD?
... that the Guinness World Record for the largest bowl of braised pork rice is 647 kg (1,426 lb)?

In the news

Cyclone Bulbul

Cyclone Bulbul (satellite image shown) hits the Indian and Bangladeshi coasts of the Bay of Bengal, killing at least 24 people.
After weeks of protests over electoral fraud, Bolivian president Evo Morales and other high-ranking politicians are forced to resign, and opposition senator Jeanine Áñez becomes interim president.
The Supreme Court of India delivers a unanimous verdict in favour of the construction of a Hindu temple at a disputed holy site in Ayodhya.
A border corridor is opened between Pakistan and India, allowing Indian Sikh pilgrims visa-free access to Kartarpur Sahib for the first time since the partition.

On this day

November 16

Battle of Cajamarca

1532 – Spanish conquest of Peru: Conquistador Francisco Pizarro orchestrated a surprise attack (depiction shown) in Cajamarca, capturing the Inca emperor, Atahualpa.
1920 – Qantas, Australia's national airline, was founded as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited.
1944 – World War II: Operation Queen commenced with one of the heaviest Allied tactical bombings of the war, attacking German targets in the Rur valley.
1974 – The Arecibo message, devised by Frank Drake and Carl Sagan, was transmitted towards the globular star cluster M13, carrying basic information about humanity.

Sofonisba Anguissola (d. 1625) · Kalākaua (b. 1836) · Omayra Sánchez (d. 1985)

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

Helleborus orientalis, also known as the Lenten rose, is a perennial flowering plant and a species of hellebore in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, native to Greece and Turkey. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck described the species in 1789, giving it its current name of Helleborus orientalis ("Hellébore du Levant"). The species name is derived from the Latin oriens ('east'). The common name derives from the plant's flowering during Lent. Within the genus Helleborus, it has been classified in the section Helleborastrum, and is closely related to the other eight species in the section. These species are all highly variable and hybridise with each other freely.

This picture shows an H. orientalis flower from the Netherlands, showing swollen seedpods.

Photograph credit: Dominicus Johannes Bergsma

Recently featured:

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.