Wikiwand Today

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Latest News

Abdelaziz Bouteflika

Former President of Algeria Abdelaziz Bouteflika (pictured) dies at the age of 84.
SpaceX launches Inspiration4, the first all-civilian orbital spaceflight.
The United States, United Kingdom and Australia sign a security pact that will provide Australia with nuclear submarines.
British tennis player Emma Raducanu wins the US Open, becoming the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam title.
In Gaelic football, Tyrone win the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, defeating Mayo in the final.

Today in History

September 19: Battle of Britain Day in Canada (2021); International Talk Like a Pirate Day

1777 – American Revolutionary War: British troops engaged American forces at the first Battle of Saratoga in New York.
1846 – French shepherd children Mélanie Calvat and Maximin Giraud reported a Marian apparition, now known as Our Lady of La Salette (statue pictured), near La Salette-Fallavaux.
1893 – New Zealand became the first country to introduce universal suffrage following the women's suffrage movement led by Kate Sheppard.
1991 – Ötzi, a well-preserved natural mummy of a man dating from about 3300 BC, was discovered by two German tourists in the Alps.
2011 – Mariano Rivera surpassed Trevor Hoffman to become Major League Baseball's all-time leader in the number of saves.

William Robertson (b. 1721)
Mabel Vernon (b. 1883)
Jackie Collins (d. 2015)

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Did You Know?

Isatou Nyang

... that after the Paralympics, Gambian athlete Isatou Nyang (pictured) continued to train at night, and during the day she would beg to support herself?
... that "Nun saget Dank und lobt den Herren", a 16th-century German hymn based on Psalm 118, was rewritten and shortened in the 20th century for a hymnal of the Swiss Reformed Church?
... that Devon Powers argues in Writing the Record that 1960s counter-culture music journalists Richard Goldstein and Robert Christgau acted as public intellectuals despite working outside of academia?
... that the critically endangered Menai Strait whitebeam has a population of roughly 30 individuals?
... that Headreach Island had 175 acres (71 ha) of farmland in 1923, but by 1974 was mostly marshland or underwater?
... that a temporary two-lane viaduct was built along Cross Street to replace the closed lanes during the construction of Singapore's Telok Ayer MRT station?
... that Thomas J. Hannon succeeded in having a playground in his neighborhood named after his mother?
... that British M-class destroyers such as HMS Obdurate were built to counter German ships that did not exist?

Today's Featured Article

M-1 is a north–south state trunkline highway in the Metro Detroit area of the US state of Michigan. The highway runs from Detroit north-northwesterly to Pontiac. The Federal Highway Administration has listed it as the Automotive Heritage Trail, an All-American Road in the National Scenic Byways Program. Created after Detroit's Great Fire of 1805, the road follows the route of the Saginaw Trail, a Native American trail that linked Detroit with Pontiac, Flint, and Saginaw. M-1 passes through several historic districts in Detroit, and runs next to the Highland Park Ford Plant, home of the original moving assembly line used to produce Model Ts. Commonly known as Woodward Avenue, the street has become synonymous with Detroit's cruising culture and automotive industry. Downtown entertainment venues along Woodward include the Fox Theatre and the Majestic Theatre. M-1 exits Detroit at 8 Mile Road and runs through the city's northern suburbs in Oakland County. (Full article...)

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Today's Featured Picture

Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791–1864) was a German opera composer. Born to a wealthy Berlin family, he began his musical career as a pianist but soon decided to devote himself to opera. Meyerbeer spent several years in Italy studying and composing, before moving to Paris, where he became a dominant figure in the world of opera. This poster advertised the premiere of Meyerbeer's opera Le pardon de Ploërmel, which opened at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on 4 April 1859.

Poster credit: Henri Télory; restored by Adam Cuerden