Wikipedia:Main Page history/2018 April 1

From today's featured article

RAF Uxbridge (1 April 1918 – 31 March 2010) was a Royal Air Force station in the London Borough of Hillingdon. In the Second World War, it was the headquarters of No. 11 Group RAF, responsible for the aerial defence of London and south-east England during the Battle of Britain. Hillingdon House served as the group's headquarters. What is now called the Battle of Britain Bunker was built nearby to house the 11 Group Operations Room, which was also responsible for air support during the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940 and the D-Day landings in 1944. It was here that Winston Churchill first said, "Never in the history of mankind has so much been owed by so many to so few", repeating the sentiment to Parliament in a speech four days later. When the Uxbridge station closed in 2010, many of its units moved to nearby RAF Northolt. Much of the land around the River Pinn has been designated as green belt. All listed buildings on the property were retained after redevelopment, including the bunker, which is now a museum. (Full article...)

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The Crowning with Thorns is a painting completed by the Italian painter Caravaggio in the first decade of the 17th century. Thought to have been commissioned by Caravaggio's patron Vincenzo Giustiniani, the work depicts Jesus, just before his crucifixion, being forced to wear a crown of thorns in mockery of his title "King of Jews". The painting is now located in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

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