Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 October 23

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From today's featured article

Swansea Castle, where Cragh was held before his execution

William Cragh (born c. 1262, died after 1307) was a medieval Welsh warrior and supporter of Rhys ap Maredudd in his rebellion against King Edward I of England. Captured in 1290, Cragh was tried and found guilty of having killed thirteen men. He was hanged just outside Swansea twice, as the gallows collapsed during his first hanging. Signs of life were noticed the next day, and in a few weeks he had made a full recovery; he lived for at least another eighteen years. The main primary source for Cragh's story is the record of the investigation into the canonisation of Thomas de Cantilupe, which is held in the Vatican Library. Cragh's resurrection was one of thirty-eight miracles presented to the papal commissioners who in 1307 were charged with examining the evidence for Cantilupe's saintliness. The hanged man himself gave evidence to the commission, after which nothing more is known of him. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Lisa Nowak

... that the 2019 film Lucy in the Sky is loosely based on the life of astronaut Lisa Nowak (pictured)?
... that a group-stage match at the 2001 Malta Grand Prix snooker tournament was disrupted when electrical cables attached to the television lighting rig snapped and swung across the table?
... that the oath to Hitler sworn by members of the SS may have inspired the Hitler oath sworn by members of the Wehrmacht after 1934?
... that Japanese voice actress Nene Hieda was a member of a 3x3 basketball team?
... that Bang the Drum Slowly, in which Paul Newman stepped in and out of character to double as a Greek chorus, was called "daring television of rare quality"?
... that the Philharmonia Quartet Berlin, formed by principal players of the Berlin Philharmonic, celebrated its 30th anniversary with a recording of all of Beethoven's string quartets?
... that California maintains 16 checkpoints along its borders with Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona to help protect against an invasion by exotic lifeforms?
... that William Cuming missed the Battle of Trafalgar because he had to take Robert Calder back to England for a court-martial?

In the news

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

Luis Arce

The OSIRIS-REx probe touches down and collects a sample from the asteroid Bennu.
Luis Arce (pictured) is elected President of Bolivia in the general election.
Floods in Hyderabad, India, kill at least 81 people.
The New Zealand Labour Party, led by incumbent Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, wins a majority of seats in the general election.

On this day

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.
1942 – World War II: Japanese troops began an unsuccessful attempt to recapture Henderson Field on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands from American forces.
1956 – The Hungarian Revolution began as a peaceful student demonstration that attracted thousands while marching through central Budapest to the parliament building.

Fred Shero (b. 1925)
Stella Obasanjo (d. 2005)

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From today's featured list

English actress Emilia Clarke has been nominated and won multiple awards for her film and television work. She was named as a Star of Tomorrow by film magazine Screen International for her role in the Syfy television film Triassic Attack (2010). Clarke rose to international prominence for her role as Daenerys Targaryen in the HBO fantasy drama television show Game of Thrones (2011–2019). She received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations, three for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and one for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for the final season. For her charitable work, Clarke won a Shorty Award. Time named her as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

1641 gold écu, minted in the reign of Louis XIII

1784 silver écu, minted in the reign of Louis XVI

The écu was a gold and silver coinage system introduced in France in 1266 by Louis IX. It was so called because its design included the French coat of arms. The silver coin proved popular but the gold did not, because of the unrealistic ratio of 1:10 used, which did not properly reflect the metals' exchange rate. The écu remained in use for 500 years. Depicted here are two écu coins, the first made of gold and minted in 1641, in the reign of Louis XIII, and the second made of silver and minted in 1784, in the reign of Louis XVI. Between these two dates, exchange rates were unstable, new coins were issued, and existing ones revalued periodically.

Coin design credit: Kingdom of France; photographed by the National Numismatic Collection

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