Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 June 12

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Milorad Petrović (18 April 1882 – 12 June 1981) was a lieutenant general in the Royal Yugoslav Army who commanded the 1st Army Group during World War II. He was commissioned into the Royal Serbian Army in 1901 and served in staff positions during the Balkan Wars and the Serbian campaign of World War I. After the 27 March 1941 Yugoslav coup d'état, he was appointed to command the 1st Army Group, responsible for the northern borders of Yugoslavia with Italy, Germany and Hungary. His formations were only partially mobilised when the German-led invasion of Yugoslavia began on 6 April. Significant fifth column activities affected the Yugoslav units from the outset. On 10 April, two determined armoured thrusts by the Germans caused the 1st Army Group to disintegrate, and the following day Petrović was captured by fifth columnists. He was soon handed over to the Germans and spent the rest of the war in a prisoner of war camp in Germany. After the war, he chose to return to communist-led Yugoslavia, living in Belgrade, and remaining active, swimming daily in the Sava well into his nineties. (This article is part of a featured topic: 1st Army Group (Kingdom of Yugoslavia).)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

Portia White

... that after joining her father's church choir at the age of six, contralto Portia White (pictured) grew up to become the first Black Canadian concert singer to achieve international fame?
... that Blackrocks Brewery was created by two unemployed pharmaceutical salesmen?
... that in medieval Tutbury, Staffordshire, minstrels chased a bull that, if caught, could be eaten or exchanged for forty pennies?
... that William G. King Jr. explored and surveyed islands where downrange stations were subsequently established as part of the Eastern Test Range?
... that the hills of Hárshegy offer commanding views of Budapest?
... that some types of incitement to terrorism are constitutionally protected in the United States?
... that Béla Bartók mixed and matched selections from his Eight Hungarian Folksongs in performance?
... that President Ulysses S. Grant planned but failed to annex the Dominican Republic from his summer cottage?

In the news

COVID-19 pandemic

Pierre Nkurunziza

Burundian president Pierre Nkurunziza (pictured) dies in office at the age of 55.
Russian president Vladimir Putin declares a state of emergency after a diesel spill near Norilsk.
SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 make their first crewed launch for NASA.
Protests and riots break out across the United States and elsewhere following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

On this day

June 12: Dia dos Namorados in Brazil; Independence Day in the Philippines (1898); Loving Day in the United States (1967)

Dominic Savio

1240 – The Disputation of Paris, in which four rabbis defended the Talmud against Nicholas Donin's accusations of blasphemy, began in the court of King Louis IX.
1954 – Dominic Savio (portrait shown), who was 14 years old when he died, was canonised by Pope Pius XII, making him one of the youngest non-martyred saints in the Catholic Church.
1967 – The U.S. Supreme Court struck down laws restricting interracial marriage in the landmark civil rights case Loving v. Virginia.
1994 – The Boeing 777, the world's largest twinjet, made its maiden flight.

Adriaen van Stalbemt (b. 1580)
Egwale Seyon (d. 1818)
Billy Butlin (d. 1980)

More anniversaries:

From today's featured list

Ciudad Juárez

The Mexican state of Chihuahua is divided into 67 municipalities. According to the 2015 Mexican Intercensal Survey, Chihuahua is the 11th most populous state, with 3,556,574 inhabitants, and the largest by land area, spanning 247,798.08 square kilometres (95,675.37 sq mi). Municipalities in Chihuahua are administratively autonomous of the state, according to the 115th article of the 1917 Constitution of Mexico. Every three years, citizens elect a municipal president (Spanish: presidente municipal) by a plurality voting system who heads a concurrently elected municipal council (ayuntamiento) responsible for providing all the public services for their constituents. The largest municipality by population is Ciudad Juárez (pictured), Mexico's fifth largest municipality, with 1,391,180 residents or approximately 39.1 percent of the state population. The smallest municipality by population is Huejotitán, with 952 residents. (Full list...)

Recently featured:

Today's featured picture

Mariana is an 1851 oil-on-panel painting by John Everett Millais, depicting a young female character from William Shakespeare's Measure for Measure. In the play, Mariana was engaged to be married, but was rejected when her dowry was lost in a shipwreck. Her story was retold in "Mariana", a poem published in 1830 by Tennyson; Millais's painting includes many details that relate directly to Tennyson's poem. Mariana is depicted in a blue dress and stretching her aching back, having toiled too long on a needlepoint that lies on the table in front of her. The painting now hangs in Tate Britain in London.

Painting credit: John Everett Millais

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.