Wikipedia:Main Page history/2015 January 26

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From today's featured article

The Peasants' Revolt was an uprising in England in 1381, brought on by economic and social upheaval that had been growing since the Black Death thirty years earlier. The rebels, coming from a wide spectrum of rural society, sought a reduction in the high taxes financing the Hundred Years' War, an end to the system of unfree labour known as serfdom and the removal of the King's senior officials and law courts. Inspired by the radical cleric John Ball and led by Wat Tyler, Kentish rebels entered London on 13 June. They destroyed the Savoy Palace and set fire to law books and buildings in the Temple. The following day, the fourteen-year-old King Richard acceded to most of the rebels' demands, including the abolition of serfdom; meanwhile, the Lord Chancellor and the Lord High Treasurer were killed in the Tower of London (pictured). On 15 June Richard met Tyler and the rebels at Smithfield, but violence broke out and Tyler was killed by the king's party. A London militia then dispersed the rebel forces and Richard rescinded his previous grants to the rebels. Troubles extended as far as East Anglia, Yorkshire and Somerset, but most of the rebel leaders were tracked down and executed, and at least 1,500 rebels were killed. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

... that although giant mouse lemurs (pictured) breed easily in captivity, a managed population of 62 individuals of the endangered species fell to only six within twenty years?
... that King Narathihapate of Pagan compared his Chief Minister Yazathingyan, who had just put him on the throne, to unnecessary scaffold before exiling him to Dala?
... that the sword of the god Vishnu symbolizes knowledge?
... that the Tuyamuyun Hydro Complex on the Amu Darya River irrigates land in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan?
... that almost all of the buildings on Labuan island were destroyed by the bombardment which preceded its invasion by Australian forces during the Battle of North Borneo in June 1945?
... that in 1990, Helen Rollason became the first female presenter of the BBC sports programme Grandstand?
... that Culley Run's official name has been said to be erroneous?

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In the news

Sumo wrestler Hakuhō Shō wins a record-breaking 33rd makuuchi championship.
Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah (pictured) dies and is succeeded by his half brother, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, Prime Minister Khaled Bahah, and the Yemeni cabinet resign after a coup d'état in Yemen by Shia insurgents.
At least 15 people are killed in protests against President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
British spacecraft Beagle 2 is located intact on the surface of Mars after having been declared lost in 2004.

Ongoing: Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Recent deaths: Ernie Banks – Leon Brittan – Faten Hamama

On this day...

January 26: Australia Day (1788); Liberation Day in Uganda (1986)

1500 – Spanish navigator, explorer, and conquistador Vicente Yáñez Pinzón reached the north coast of what today is Brazil.
1788 – Captain Arthur Phillip (pictured) and the British First Fleet landed at Sydney Cove on the shore of Port Jackson in present-day Sydney, establishing the first permanent European settlement in Australia.
1907 – The Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk III, the second oldest military rifle still in official use, was introduced into British military service.
1945 – Audie Murphy engaged in action that won him a Medal of Honor and made him one of the most famous and decorated American combat soldiers of World War II.
2009 – Rioting broke out in Antananarivo, Madagascar, sparking a political crisis that led to deposing of President Marc Ravalomanana.

More anniversaries: January 25 – January 26 – January 27

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It is now January 26, 2015 (UTC) – Reload this page

From today's featured list

Baryons are composite particles made of three quarks, as opposed to mesons, which are composite particles made of one quark and one antiquark. Baryons and mesons are both hadrons, which are particles composed solely of quarks or both quarks and antiquarks. Until a few years ago, it was believed that some experiments showed the existence of pentaquarks – baryons made of four quarks and one antiquark. The particle physics community as a whole did not view their existence as likely by 2006 and, by 2008, considered evidence to be overwhelmingly against the existence of the reported pentaquarks. Since baryons are composed of quarks, they participate in the strong interaction. The most famous baryons are the protons and neutrons that make up most of the mass of the visible matter in the universe. Each baryon has a corresponding antiparticle known as an antibaryon in which quarks are replaced by their corresponding antiquarks. For example, a proton is made of two up quarks and one down quark (diagram pictured), while its corresponding antiparticle, the antiproton, is made of two up antiquarks and one down antiquark. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

The skull of a proto-Nazcan person (c. 200-100 BC), which has been artificially shaped. In the proto-Nazcan culture, this was achieved by binding a cushion to an infant's forehead and a board to the back of the head, creating an elongated shape. It is unknown why this was done; theories suggest that this was meant to create an ethnic identity, form the individual into a social being, or illustrate social status.

Photograph: Didier Descouens

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