Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 September 8

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

First-edition cover of The Bread-Winners

The Bread-Winners is an 1883 anti-labor novel by John Hay, who was Assistant Secretary to the President under Abraham Lincoln, and McKinley's final secretary of state. Originally published anonymously in installments in The Century Magazine, the book attracted wide interest and provoked considerable speculation over the author's identity. Hay wrote his only novel as a reaction to several strikes that affected him and his business interests in the 1870s and early 1880s. In the main storyline, a wealthy former army captain, Arthur Farnham, organizes Civil War veterans to keep the peace when the Bread-winners, a group of lazy and malcontented workers, call a violent general strike. Hay left hints as to his identity in the novel, and some guessed right, but he never acknowledged the book as his, and it did not appear with his name on it until after his death in 1905. Hay's hostile view of organized labor was soon seen as outdated, and the book is best remembered for its onetime popularity and controversial nature. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

Liberty Tower

... that New York City's Liberty Tower (pictured), now a residential building, was once occupied by Franklin D. Roosevelt's law office and by German spies plotting to intervene in World War I?
... that Matthias Hölle, a regular bass singer at the Bayreuth Festival, appeared in the world premieres of Stockhausen's Donnerstag aus Licht and Samstag aus Licht at La Scala in Milan?
... that the Maypole in the Strand ended up being Isaac Newton's telescope stand?
... that a protest against the trial of Indonesian journalist Asa Bafaqih drew some 1,000 journalists and supporters, and a fire-brigade band?
... that The Unknown Comic in the 1984 film Night Patrol is a real-life stand-up comedian?
... that the first item of the Havering hoard, the largest Bronze Age hoard found in London, was discovered by a 23-year-old archaeologist only four weeks into a temporary contract?
... that Florence "Johnny" Frisbie's 1948 autobiographical children's novel, Miss Ulysses of Puka-Puka, was the first published literary work by a Pacific Islander woman author?
... that the teaser trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War features fragments of an interview with real-life KGB defector Yuri Bezmenov?

In the news

COVID-19 pandemic: Disease; Virus; By location; Impact; Portal

Shinzo Abe

Scientists confirm the first detection, using gravitational-wave astronomy, of a black hole in the upper mass gap.
Parliamentary elections in Montenegro result in the first victory for opposition parties in 30 years.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (pictured) of Japan announces his intention to resign due to medical concerns.
Hurricane Laura kills more than 50 people across the Caribbean and the United States.

On this day

September 8: Victory Day in Malta

Huey Long

1566 – Ottoman–Habsburg wars: Although Ottoman forces led by Suleiman the Magnificent captured the fortress of Szigetvár, Hungary, they were forced to end their campaign to capture Vienna.
1775 – Maltese priests discontented with the Order of Saint John led an uprising, which was suppressed by the Order within a few hours.
1831 – The Russian Empire brought the Polish November Uprising to an end when its troops captured Warsaw after a two-day assault.
1935 – U.S. senator Huey Long (pictured) was shot in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, dying two days later.

John Aitken (d. 1831)
Maria Lassnig (b. 1919)
Jos Buttler (b. 1990)

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

Peter Martyr Vermigli (8 September 1499 – 12 November 1562) was an Italian theologian. Born in Florence, he entered a Catholic religious order, but through study, he came to accept Protestant beliefs about salvation and the Eucharist, and to satisfy his conscience and avoid persecution by the Roman Inquisition, he fled Italy for Protestant northern Europe. The Latin inscription in this 1560 oil-on-canvas portrait of Vermigli by Hans Asper translates to: "Florence brought him forth, now he wanders as a foreigner, that he might forever be a citizen among those in heaven. This is his likeness, but a painting cannot reveal his heart, for integrity and piety cannot be represented by art." The painting is now in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Painting credit: Hans Asper

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.