Wikiwand Today

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Latest News

Boris Johnson

The Conservatives, led by Boris Johnson (pictured), win a majority of seats in the UK general election.
In a non-binding referendum, Bougainville votes for independence from Papua New Guinea.
In New Zealand, the Whakaari/White Island volcano erupts, leaving at least fourteen people dead, at least two missing, and at least thirty others injured.
The World Anti-Doping Agency bans Russia from participating in major international sporting events for four years due to doping violations.

Today in History

December 14: Feast day of Saint John of the Cross (Catholicism, Anglicanism, Lutheranism); Martyred Intellectuals Day in Bangladesh (1971); Monkey Day

1911 – Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his team (pictured) became the first people to reach the South Pole.
1963 – The dam containing the Baldwin Hills Reservoir in Los Angeles failed, releasing a flood that killed five people and destroyed 277 homes.
1999 – Torrential rains caused flash floods in the Venezuelan state of Vargas, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the destruction of thousands of homes, and the complete collapse of the state's infrastructure.
2009 – The tino rangatiratanga flag, representing the Māori people, was officially recognized by the government of New Zealand.

Al-Ashraf Khalil (d. 1293) · Lupe Vélez (d. 1944) · KaDee Strickland (b. 1975)

More anniversaries:

Did You Know?

... that along with her business partners, philanthropist Sara Braun (pictured), one of the first businesswomen in Punta Arenas, Chile, was involved in the genocide of the Selk'nam people?
... that the side of the Victoria Warehouse in Old Trafford featured murals by Walter Kershaw for nearly 30 years?
... that Nevada radio station KONE was sued in 1966 by the proprietors of 16 musical works, who claimed that the station did not pay royalties for playing songs such as "San Antonio Rose" and "Sweet Georgia Brown"?
... that Catriona Ida Macleod has received a Social Change Award from Rhodes University for her work in promoting African-based psychology?
... that the Royal Navy's Type 277 radar was so successful that it served as the basis for Navy radars for years, and was used on land by the Royal Air Force and the British Army?
... that American tenor Jeff Martin has appeared as the Astrologer in Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel at Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre?
... that by the 12th century, the relics of St Adelphus attracted so many pilgrims to the Neuwiller-lès-Saverne Abbey that the Benedictines built a secondary church nearby?
... that the video game developer Rockstar San Diego once worked on XGirl, an "interactive girlfriend" experience for the Xbox console?

Today's Featured Article

The Keldholme Priory election dispute occurred in Yorkshire, England, in 1308. The Archbishop of York, William Greenfield, appointed one of the nuns to lead the house after a series of resignations by its prioresses. His candidate, Emma de Ebor', was deemed unacceptable by many nuns, and she resigned three months later. The Archbishop next appointed Joan de Pykering from nearby Rosedale Priory, but the nuns resisted her as well. The Archbishop attempted to quash the nuns' rebelliousness, exiling some to surrounding priories and threatening others with excommunication. The convent was not deterred, and eventually Greenfield allowed the nuns to elect one of their number again. They first re-elected Emma de Stapleton, who had been prioress in 1301, but she also became unpopular, and resigned. They eventually re-elected Emma de Ebor'. The election dispute evaporated, and little more was heard of the priory until its dissolution in 1536. (Full article...)

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Today's Featured Picture

Alabama, in the southeastern United States, was admitted as the 22nd state of the union on December 14, 1819. This picture is a historical depiction of the coat of arms of Alabama, as illustrated by American engraver Henry Mitchell in State Arms of the Union, published in 1876 by Louis Prang. It depicts a bald eagle with wings raised, perching on a national shield with stars and stripes. The eagle's foot grasps three arrows and its beak holds a streamer with the motto "Here we rest", a reference to the state being known as "the land of rest". This design is also featured in the seal of Alabama, which was adopted on December 29, 1868.

Illustration credit: Henry Mitchell; restored by Andrew Shiva