Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 January 23

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Today's featured article
The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy is a nonprofit organization focused on preserving and promoting rare breeds of livestock. Founded in 1977 through the efforts of livestock breed enthusiasts concerned about the disappearance of many of the US's heritage livestock breeds, the ALBC was the pioneer livestock preservation organization in the United States, and remains a leading organization in that field. It has initiated programs that have saved multiple breeds from extinction, and works closely with similar organizations in other countries, including Rare Breeds Canada. The ALBC maintains a conservation priority list that divides endangered breeds of horses, asses, sheep, goats, cattle, rabbits, pigs and poultry into five categories based on population numbers and historical interest. The organization has published several books, and works with breed registries and other groups on several aspects of breed preservation, including genetic testing, historical documentation, animal rescue and marketing. Preservation of genetic material is of special interest to the ALBC, and for a period of time it maintained a gene bank that was later transferred to the United States Department of Agriculture. It has also developed and published several heritage definitions, including parameters for heritage breeds of cattle and poultry. (more...) Recently featured: James Nesbitt – Variegated Fairywren – Henry Cornelius Burnett Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that Guido Dessauer (pictured), a German executive and art collector, registered more than 30 patents in paper technology and started the career of Horst Janssen as a lithographer? ... that after the shipwreck of the Italian SS Sirio, in which more than 100 passengers died, the captain was the first to abandon ship, and died "of a broken heart" within a year? ... that National Hero of Indonesia Halim Perdanakusuma flew 44 bombing raids against Nazi Germany? ... that although winter honeysuckle is used as a decorative plant in cultivation, it can become an invasive weed in the wild? ... that the National Aboriginal Veterans Monument in Ottawa, Canada, depicts four animal spirit guides surrounding the human figures? ... that Australian basketball player Nicole Hunt of the Canberra Capitals is nicknamed 'Flea'? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
American singer Etta James (pictured) dies at the age of 73. Eastman Kodak, founded in 1889, files for bankruptcy protection. The U.S. Department of Justice shuts down file hosting site Megaupload as part of an investigation into alleged copyright infringement. Various websites participate in protests against U.S. bills SOPA and PIPA. In the Republic of China (Taiwan), Ma Ying-jeou is re-elected as president and the Kuomintang retains its majority in the Legislative Yuan. The cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground and nearly capsizes off the coast of Tuscany, with at least thirteen fatalities. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
January 23: Lunar New Year (Chinese calendar, 2012) 3102 BCE – According to Hindu scriptures, Kali Yuga, the last of the four stages that the world goes through as part of the cycle of yugas, began. 1570 – James Hamilton shot and killed James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, in the first recorded assassination using a firearm. 1719 – Emperor Charles VI established Liechtenstein, the only principality in the Holy Roman Empire still remaining today. 1849 – Elizabeth Blackwell (pictured) received her M.D. from Geneva Medical College in New York, making her the first female physician in the United States and the first openly identified woman to graduate from medical school. 1960 – The bathyscaphe Trieste reached the record depth of 10,916 m (35,814 ft) in the Challenger Deep of the Mariana Trench. More anniversaries: January 22 – January 23 – January 24 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now January 23, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured list

Ninety-five athletes won at least one medal at the 1936 Winter Olympics, held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The Games featured 17 events, including alpine skiing for the first time, which was the first women's event that was not part of the figure skating programme. Of the 28 participating National Olympic Committees, 11 had athletes represented on the medal winners' list. Medal winners included Sonja Henie (pictured), who won the last of her three gold medals in Olympic figure skating, and Ivar Ballangrud, whose four medals in speed skating took his career tally to seven. Just 9 of the 95 medal winners won more than one medal; 5 of the 9 won at least one gold medal in addition to their other medals. The British men's ice hockey team were also among the medallists; their gold medal remains to date the sole British Olympic title in ice hockey. (more...)

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Today's featured picture

The fresco painted on the ceiling of the nave in Saint Paulin Church, a Baroque church in the city of Trier, Germany, named after Saint Paulinus. The current church building is the third to exist on this site and dates to 1734, but the church's history goes back to the 4th century. It was originally dedicated to the Theban Legion, a large group of men who were martyred for their Christian beliefs, twelve of whom are allegedly interred here. The fresco depicts scenes from the life of St Paulinus as well as the martyrdom of the legion.

Artist: Christoph Thomas Scheffler;
Photo: Berthold Werner

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