Wikipedia:Main Page history/2019 May 9

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From today's featured article

The Maine Centennial half dollar is a commemorative coin struck in 1920 by the United States Bureau of the Mint. It was sculpted by Anthony de Francisci, following sketches by an unknown artist from the U.S. state of Maine. Officials in Maine wanted a commemorative half dollar to circulate as an advertisement for the centennial of the state's admission to the Union, and of the planned celebrations. Congress passed authorizing legislation without opposition. The Commission of Fine Arts urged changes in the design, but Maine officials insisted. The state decided to sell the coins at $1, double face value. Fifty thousand pieces, half the authorized mintage, were struck for release to the public, though they were issued too late to be sold at the centennial celebrations in Portland. The coins sold out, but this took at least until 1929. They list for hundreds to thousands of dollars, depending on condition. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Croydon Aerodrome in the 1930s

... that only one of the gang that carried out the gold bullion robbery in 1935 at Croydon Aerodrome (pictured) was convicted, and the gold was never found?
... that imaging scientist Katie Bouman first learned of the Event Horizon Telescope in 2007, while still in high school, and joined the project six years later?
... that the 12th-century archbishop of Ohrid John IV was born as a Byzantine prince of the Komnenos dynasty?
... that Vera Deakin's missing persons bureau issued 400,000 responses to enquiries from the families of Australian soldiers during World War I?
... that The Elvis Dead, a retelling of Evil Dead II in the style of Elvis Presley, features songs such as "Standing in a State of Shock", "I've Been Possessed", and "Wrapped Up in Vines"?
... that Fiji won a record-breaking fifth consecutive title at the 2019 Hong Kong Sevens?
... that Satya Rhodes-Conway is the first openly gay politician to serve as Mayor of Madison, Wisconsin?
... that during the siege of Leningrad, citizens were warned that "this side of the street is the most dangerous"?
... that the town of Morpeth held its own professional Olympic games from 1873 to 1958?

In the news

Judd Trump

At least 29 people are killed in clashes at the Gaza–Israel border.
Judd Trump (pictured) wins the World Snooker Championship, defeating John Higgins in the final.
Aeroflot Flight 1492 crash lands and bursts into flames at Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow, killing 41 of the 78 people on board.
In horse racing, Country House wins the Kentucky Derby after Maximum Security, which crossed the line first, is disqualified for interference.

On this day

May 9: Europe Day / Schuman Day in the European Union; Liberation Day in the Channel Islands (1945); Independence Day in Israel (2019)

Jim Henson

1864 – Second Schleswig War: The Battle of Heligoland took place between Danish and Austro-Prussian fleets, the last naval battle fought by squadrons of wooden ships.
1877 – An 8.5 M_s earthquake struck the northern portion of Chile, resulting in the death of 2,385 people, mostly victims of the ensuing tsunami as far away as Hawaii and Fiji.
1955 – Kermit the Frog, the first and most famous Muppet by Jim Henson (pictured), made his debut on the television show Sam and Friends.
1979 – Prominent Iranian Jew Habib Elghanian was executed after having been convicted by a revolutionary tribunal of various charges, triggering a mass exodus of Jews from Iran.
2001 – After a football match between Ghana's two most successful teams, police fired tear gas into the crowd to quell some unrest, causing a stampede that killed 126 people.

William Bradford (d. 1657) · John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair (d. 1747) · Yukiya Amano (b. 1947)

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Today's featured picture

John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore (1730–1809), generally known as Lord Dunmore, was a Scottish peer and colonial governor in the American colonies and The Bahamas. He was the last British colonial governor of Virginia, from 1771 to 1775.

This picture is an oil-on-canvas portrait of Dunmore by the English painter Sir Joshua Reynolds, dated 1765. He is depicted in the Highland dress of the 3rd Regiment of Foot Guards. The painting is now in the collection of the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh.

Painting credit: Joshua Reynolds

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