Wikipedia:Main Page history/2019 December 20

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From today's featured article

The Brothers Poem is a work by the archaic Greek poet Sappho (c. 630 – c. 530 BC) that had been lost since antiquity until it was rediscovered in 2014. Most of its text survives, apart from its opening lines. Known only from papyrus fragments (pictured), it mentions two of Sappho's brothers, Charaxos and Larichos. This is the only known mention of their names in Sappho's writings, though they are known from other sources. These references, and aspects of the language and style, have been used to establish her authorship. The poem is structured as an address – possibly by Sappho herself – to an unknown person. The speaker chastises the addressee for saying repeatedly that Charaxos will return (possibly from a trading voyage), maintaining that his safety is in the hands of the gods and offering to pray to Hera for his return. The narrative then switches focus from Charaxos to Larichos, who the speaker hopes will relieve the family from their troubles when he becomes a man. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

1937 Stutz Pak-Age-Car

... that the Pak-Age-Car (example pictured) is similar in appearance to a horse-drawn delivery carriage, which it was designed to replace?
... that after Chinese poet Liu Shahe was denounced as a "filial descendant of the landlord class" in 1957, he performed forced labour for eight years and was unable to publish for two decades?
... that since modernization work in 2016, trains can only call at Pilning railway station when travelling eastbound?
... that Andrey Kelin, the new Russian ambassador to the United Kingdom, holds the diplomatic rank of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary?
... that the banana weevil is considered the most serious insect pest of bananas?
... that HIV researcher Diane Havlir was the U.S. national short track champion in 1974?
... that in his 1915 En blanc et noir for two pianos, Claude Debussy quoted Luther's hymn "Ein feste Burg" and dedicated the work in part to Jacques Charlot, who fell in World War I?
... that Tom Chase has described himself as "the Wally Cleaver of porn"?

In the news

Donald Trump

United States president Donald Trump (pictured) is impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf is sentenced to death in absentia for treason and subverting the constitution.
In India, at least six people are killed and many others are arrested in protests against a law on citizenship for migrants.
The Conservatives, led by Boris Johnson, win a majority of seats in the UK general election.

On this day

December 20

MV Doña Paz in port

1860 – South Carolina became the first of eleven slave states to secede from the U.S., leading to the eventual creation of the Confederate States of America and later the American Civil War.
1948 – Indonesian National Revolution: Dutch forces captured the Indonesian Republic's temporary capital, Yogyakarta, and seized President Sukarno.
1971 – Two groups of French doctors involved in humanitarian aid merged to form Médecins Sans Frontières.
1987 – The deadliest peacetime maritime disaster in history occurred when the MV Doña Paz (pictured) sank after colliding with an oil tanker in the Tablas Strait, Philippines, resulting in an estimated 4,000 deaths.
1999 – Portugal transferred the sovereignty of Macau, which it had administered since the mid–16th century, to China.

Jean Jannon (d. 1658) · Kan'ichi Asakawa (b. 1873) · Dawn Steel (d. 1997)

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From today's featured list

The American television police procedural fantasy drama Awake consists of 13 episodes. The series, created by writer and executive producer Kyle Killen, centers on Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs), a detective living in two separate realities after a car accident. The series was conceived by Killen after creating and developing Lone Star for the Fox network. NBC encouraged Killen to conceive a concept for a future television series. Although inspired by the processes of dreaming, the script was cited as potentially being too complex for mainstream American television. The first episode of Awake was released on Hulu on February 16, 2012, officially premiering in the United States on NBC on March 1. On May 11, NBC canceled the series and aired the final episode on May 24, 2012. Awake averaged 4.8 million viewers per episode and ranked 125th in viewership for the 2011–12 television season. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Women Airforce Service Pilots

The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) was a civilian organization whose members were United States federal civil service employees. Its trained pilots tested and ferried aircraft but had no military standing. Their purpose was to free male pilots for combat roles during World War II. Before the program was dissolved on December 20, 1944, the pilots flew over 60 million miles and transported every type of military aircraft. They simulated strafing missions, towed targets for live anti-aircraft gun practice and transported cargo. Thirty-eight WASP members died and one disappeared while on a ferry mission. In 1977, the WASP were granted military veteran status and, in 2009, awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

This short film was part of the Army–Navy Screen Magazine series, directed by Frank Capra. It was intended to be viewed by "service men only", prior to a feature film.

Film credit: United States Armed Forces

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