Wikipedia:Main Page history/2018 July 4

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From today's featured article

Chichester Cathedral

Hilary (c. 1110 – 1169) was a medieval English Bishop of Chichester. He served as Dean of the church of Christchurch in Hampshire and as a clerk for Henry of Blois, who was the Bishop of Winchester and brother of King Stephen, and probably received both offices through the influence of Henry. As a papal clerk in Rome, he got to know the future Pope Adrian IV and the writer John of Salisbury. After Hilary's unsuccessful nomination to become Archbishop of York, Pope Eugene III promoted him to the bishopric of Chichester in 1147. Hilary spent many years in a struggle with Battle Abbey, attempting to assert his right to oversee it as bishop. He supported King Henry II's position in a conflict with Thomas Becket, who was then the king's chancellor and later the Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry appointed Hilary a sheriff, and employed him as a judge in the royal courts; he was also a papal judge-delegate, hearing cases referred back to England. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Megaloolithus siruguei nesting site

... that more than 1,000 dinosaur fossils, eggs, and tracks have been found in the Tremp Formation (pictured) of the Spanish Pre-Pyrenees, prompting its designation as a Global Geopark?
... that Alan Menken collaborated on one of his first musicals, Dear Worthy Editor, with his mother?
... that the ninth-century astronomer Al-Mahani claimed his estimates of the start times of three consecutive lunar eclipses were accurate to within half an hour?
... that although he fought a war in Ningxia against the Chinese government and was defeated, Sun Dianying was appointed to a high-ranking military position just a month later?
... that New Jersey musician 070 Shake was featured in a Vogue essay on rising queer stars in rap music?
... that a 2003 English court case ruled that someone who lies about having sharp items in their pocket while being searched can be charged with assault if the searcher is injured as a result?
... that Mary Walker overcame a tragedy and a serious injury to win the 2012 World Barrel Racing Championship?
... that a British ornithologist named Winchell's kingfisher, found in the Philippines, after an American geologist?

In the news

Andrés Manuel López Obrador

Twelve boys and a man trapped in Thailand’s Tham Luang Nang Non cave are found alive after ten days missing, with rescue operations ongoing.
Andrés Manuel López Obrador (pictured) is elected President of Mexico.
The Japanese sample-return spacecraft Hayabusa2 arrives at the asteroid 162173 Ryugu.
Saudi Arabia lifts its ban on women driving.
Canada legalizes the recreational use of cannabis with effect from October 2018, making it the second country to do so.

On this day

July 4: Republic Day in the Philippines (1946); Independence Day in the United States (1776)

Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull

1054 – Chinese astronomers recorded the sudden appearance of a "guest star", later identified as the supernova that created the Crab Nebula.
1776 – In Philadelphia, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence (signing pictured), announcing that the thirteen American colonies were no longer a part of the British Empire.
1918 – World War I: An Allied force led by the Australian general John Monash was victorious in the Battle of Hamel, demonstrating the effectiveness of combined arms techniques in trench warfare.
1943 – The aircraft carrying Władysław Sikorski, Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile, crashed, killing him and fifteen others, leading to several conspiracy theories.
1954 – In what is known as "The Miracle of Bern", West Germany defeated Hungary 3–2 to win the FIFA World Cup.

Philippe de Monte (d. 1603) · Christian Fürchtegott Gellert (b. 1715) · Geraldo Rivera (b. 1943)

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Today's featured picture

A female four-spotted chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata), also known as the four-spotted skimmer. A dragonfly of the family Libellulidae, it is found widely throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. It was voted the official state insect of Alaska in 1995.

Photograph: Charles J. Sharp

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