Wikipedia:Main Page history/2017 December 2

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From today's featured article

Chicago Pile-1 was the world's first artificial nuclear reactor. Its construction was part of the Manhattan Project, the Allied effort to create atomic bombs during World War II. It was built by the project's Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago, under the west viewing stands of the original Stagg Field. The first human-made self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was initiated there on 2 December 1942, supervised by Enrico Fermi, who described the apparatus as "a crude pile of black bricks and wooden timbers". It contained 45,000 graphite blocks weighing 400 short tons (360 t) used as neutron moderators, and was fueled by 6 short tons (5.4 t) of uranium metal and 50 short tons (45 t) of uranium oxide. In the pile, some of the free neutrons produced by the natural decay of uranium were absorbed by other uranium atoms, causing nuclear fission of those atoms, and the release of additional free neutrons. Unlike most subsequent nuclear reactors, it had no radiation shielding or cooling system as it only operated at very low power – about one-half watt. The site is now a National Historic Landmark. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Olga FitzGeorge and her son

... that Olga FitzGeorge (pictured), a granddaughter of Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, established a manicure and beauty salon on New Bond Street in London?
... that in 2017, a team of refugees won the Sporting Inspiration Award at the Laureus World Sports Awards?
... that from 1888 to 1895, Elizabeth Chambers Morgan was the leading woman in the Chicago labor movement?
... that contemporary circus troupe Cirque de la Symphonie deliberately maintains a minimalist aesthetic to give equal prominence to the symphony orchestras that accompany their performances?
... that Tarak Sinha coached 12 cricketers who went on to play at international level?
... that three of the most lethal battles involving the United States military saw more than 20,000 soldiers killed?
... that Kenyan activist Josephine Kulea is said to have saved more than 1,000 girls from abuse and forced marriage?
... that it appears that larvae of Osedax frankpressi that settle on a whale carcase develop into female worms, while those that settle on the female worms become males?

In the news

Slobodan Praljak

Former Bosnian Croat army general Slobodan Praljak (pictured) dies from drinking poison after his conviction for war crimes is upheld by the ICTY.
In sumo, yokozuna Harumafuji Kōhei retires amidst investigations into an assault on fellow wrestler Takanoiwa Yoshimori.
Indonesian officials order the evacuation of 100,000 people in Bali due to the eruption of Mount Agung.
In Canadian football, the Toronto Argonauts defeat the Calgary Stampeders to win the Grey Cup.
At least 305 people are killed in a terrorist attack on a mosque in Bir al-Abed, Egypt.

On this day...

December 2

Napoleon I of France

1804 – The coronation of Napoleon (pictured) as Emperor of the French was held at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.
1823 – U.S. President James Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine, a proclamation of opposition to European colonialism in the New World.
1950 – Korean War: With the conclusion of the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army expelled UN forces out of North Korea.
1988 – Benazir Bhutto took office as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of a Muslim-majority state.
2015 – In San Bernardino, California, a married couple carried out a mass shooting at a Christmas party before fleeing and dying in a shootout with police.

William Burges (b. 1827) • Allen Wright (d. 1885) • Britney Spears (b. 1981)

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Today's featured picture

Hollister Municipal Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located north of the central business district of Hollister, California. Covering an area of 343 acres (139 ha), in 2007 it saw an average of 200 aircraft operations a day.

Photograph: Don Ramey Logan

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