Wikipedia:Main Page history/2016 September 1

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From today's featured article

The passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius), now extinct, was endemic to North America. Sometimes confused with the mourning dove, the male pigeons were 39 to 41 cm (15.4 to 16.1 in) in length and mainly gray on the upperparts, with iridescent bronze feathers on the neck and black spots on the wings; the females were duller and browner. They inhabited mainly deciduous forests in eastern North America, primarily around the Great Lakes. Migrating in enormous flocks, they were once the most abundant bird species in North America, with a population of perhaps 3 to 5 billion. They could reach flying speeds of 100 km/h (62 mph). The birds fed on nuts, seeds, fruits and invertebrates. They practiced communal roosting and communal breeding. In the 19th century, when widespread deforestation was destroying their habitat, they were commercialized as cheap food and hunted voraciously. Martha, thought to be the last passenger pigeon, died on September 1, 1914, at the Cincinnati Zoo. Eradication of the species has been described as one of the most senseless extinctions induced by humans. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Hertzoggies

... that while supporters of South African politician J. B. M. Hertzog invented the Hertzoggie confection (pictured), supporters of Hertzog's rival created the Jan Smuts cookie?
... that Charles Townsend Ludington, his brother and two other executives formed Ludington Airline, the first every-hour-on-the-hour air service?
... that the 2015–16 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the University of Michigan in their 100th season?
... that William Matthews was the seventh president of Georgetown College and the first person born in British America to be ordained a Catholic priest?
... that ponies used for pony rides need to be quiet, well-trained, and desensitized to children, noise, and crowds?
... that under the leadership of Martha Hilda González Calderón, the city of Toluca received an award for leading Mexico in budget transparency?
... that the Luppitt Inn is a public house in the front room of a farm house?
... that Cloud Man told missionary Samuel Pond that he and his entire hunting party had survived being buried in snowdrifts for almost three days?

In the news

Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge under construction

Fossils from the Isua Greenstone Belt, Greenland, are found to be world's oldest, having formed about 3.7 billion years ago.
Dilma Rousseff is removed from office as the President of Brazil by the Senate.
The Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge (pictured under construction), the world's tallest suspension bridge, opens to traffic across the Bosphorus.
The United States expands the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, making it the world's largest marine protected area.
The Colombian government and FARC agree to a definitive ceasefire in their long-term conflict.

On this day...

September 1: Constitution Day in Slovakia

King Louis XIV

1529 – Sancti Spiritu, the first European settlement in Argentina, was destroyed by local natives.
1715 – Louis XIV of France (pictured), the "Sun King", died after a reign of 72 years, longer than any other French or other major European monarch at the time.
1831 – Pope Gregory XVI established the Order of St. Gregory the Great to recognize high support for the Holy See or for the Pope.
1920 – The Fountain of Time opened in Chicago as a tribute to the 100 years of peace between the United States and Great Britain following the Treaty of Ghent.
1983 – A Soviet jet interceptor shot down the civilian airliner Korean Air Lines Flight 007 near Sakhalin Island in the North Pacific, killing all 246 passengers and 23 crew on board.

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Today's featured picture

A time lapse video showing the Falkirk Wheel rotating; in this video, approximately 10 minutes has been compressed to ten seconds. Connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal near Falkirk, Scotland, the rotating boat lift raises and lowers boats by 24 m (79 ft). It was opened in 2002 as part of the Millennium Link project.

Video: David Iliff

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