Wikipedia:Main Page history/2013 December 9

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Joseph Desha (1768–1842) was a U.S. Representative and the ninth Governor of Kentucky. After serving in the Northwest Indian War, he moved to Mason County, Kentucky, and parlayed his military record into several terms in the state legislature. In 1807, he was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the first of six consecutive terms in the U.S. House. He was a war hawk, supporting the War of 1812, and commanded a division at the Battle of the Thames. Leaving the House in 1818, he lost to John Adair in the 1820 gubernatorial election. In 1824, he made a second campaign for governor based on promises of relief for the state's debtor class. He was elected by a large majority, and debt relief partisans captured both houses of the General Assembly. When the Kentucky Court of Appeals struck down debt relief legislation he favored, he lobbied the legislature to replace it with a new court. His reputation was damaged when he issued a pardon for his son, who was accused of murder. He also hastened the resignation of Transylvania University president Horace Holley, whom he considered too liberal. Desha retired from public life in 1828. (Full article...)

Recently featured: AdS/CFT correspondence – Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi – Law school of Beirut

Archive – By email – More featured articles...

Did you know...

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that after a 16-year absence from the Paralympic Games, Spain's men's national wheelchair basketball team (pictured) appeared at the 2012 Summer Paralympics?
... that the contracts for the two Charodeika-class monitors were transferred to their designer, Charles Mitchell, upon the death of their builder, S. G. Kudriavtsev, in August 1865?
... that the Institute of War and Peace Studies was begun, to "study war as a tragic social phenomenon", by President Dwight D. Eisenhower – President of Columbia University, that is?
... that Catholic priest Carlos Ornelas Puga was recently kidnapped by gunmen in Mexico, and his whereabouts remain unknown?
... that Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is a seven-part BBC adaptation of Susanna Clarke's first novel of the same name?
... that neither of the principal combatants won the bloody Greater Poland Civil War which terminated after the accession of ten-year old Jadwiga of Poland to the Polish throne?
... that the first car to cross Clackline Bridge carried two politicians and a boy who hitched a ride?

Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news

The World Trade Organization unanimously adopts the Bali Package, aimed at liberalizing world trade.
Former President of South Africa and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela (pictured) dies at the age of 95.
The United Nations Security Council passes resolution 2127, creating MISCA in response to civil conflict in the Central African Republic.
China's first lunar rover mission, Chang'e 3, launches successfully.
Clashes between anti-government protesters and government supporters leave four people dead and fifty-seven injured in Bangkok.

Recent deaths: Paul Walker – Tabu Ley Rochereau

More current events...

On this day...

December 9: Independence Day in Tanzania (1961)

1775 – American Revolutionary War: After their loss in the Battle of Great Bridge, British authorities were forced to evacuate from the Colony of Virginia.
1917 – First World War: Hussein al-Husayni, the Ottoman mayor of Jerusalem, surrendered the city to the British.
1968 – Douglas Engelbart gave what became known as "The Mother of All Demos", publicly debuting the computer mouse (pictured), hypertext, and the bit-mapped graphical user interface using the oN-Line System (NLS).
1979 – A World Health Organization commission of scientists certified the global eradication of smallpox, making it the only human infectious disease to date to have been completely eradicated from nature.
2008 – Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich was arrested for a number of corruption crimes, including attempting to sell the U.S. Senate seat that was being vacated by then-U.S. President-elect Barack Obama.

More anniversaries: December 8 – December 9 – December 10

Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries

It is now December 9, 2013 (UTC) – Reload this page

From today's featured list

The army groups of the National Revolutionary Army (flag pictured) were the largest conventional mobile formations in the organization of the army of the Republic of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The first army groups were established immediately after the Japanese attack at Marco Polo Bridge on 7 July 1937, and new army groups continued to be formed throughout the war. During the war, the only military formations larger than the army group were the military regions, which were defined by geographical boundaries, and the army corps, of which only four were formed and only during the Battle of Wuhan. In effect, the army group was the largest fighting unit of the National Revolutionary Army, and usually exercised command over two or more field armies or several corps, and assorted lesser units. By the end of the war with Japan, 40 army groups were in existence. The civil war saw three additional army groups being formed, even as they were gradually being replaced by newly-formed army corps, by then a largely analogous formation. (Full list...)

Recently featured: X-Men video games – Italian orders of knighthood – Ashes series

Archive – More featured lists...

Today's featured picture

The Bush Stone-curlew (Burhinus grallarius) is a large bird endemic to Australia. This nocturnal bird is a terrestrial predator which specialises in hunting small grassland animals. Though it lives mostly on the ground, it is also capable of flight.

Photo: JJ Harrison

Recently featured: Papilio ulysses – USS Arizona burning after the attack on Pearl Harbor – Wulfenite

Archive – More featured pictures...

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.