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From today's featured article

Death of Cleopatra (c. 1640)
by Alessandro Turchi

The death of Cleopatra, the last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt, occurred in 30 BC in Alexandria, when she was 39 years old. According to Greek and Roman historians, she poisoned herself using either an ointment or a sharp implement such as a hairpin. Modern scholars debate the validity of these accounts, and of ancient reports involving snakebites as the cause of death. Cleopatra's death effectively ended the final war of the Roman Republic between triumvirs Octavian (Augustus) and Mark Antony, in which she aligned herself with Antony, father to three of her children. Her suicide circumvented the humiliation of being paraded as a prisoner in a Roman triumph celebrating the military victories of Octavian, who in 27 BC became Rome's first emperor. Cleopatra's death marked the end of the Hellenistic period and Ptolemaic rule of Egypt, as well as the beginning of Roman Egypt. The death has been depicted in various works of art throughout history. (This article is part of a featured topic: Cleopatra.)

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Did you know ...

Vivien Leigh and Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

... that British thespian Vivien Leigh (pictured) won both her Academy Awards for Best Actress for portraying women of the American South?
... that cybercriminals using Ryuk malware took in more than $61 million in ransom payments between 2018 and 2019, according to the FBI?
... that NCJW activist Florence Lewis was invited by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 to a White House discussion on how women's organizations could help solve civil rights issues?
... that in Russian folklore, the Alatyr is considered the "father to all stones"?
... that Boom Hall was named after a defensive structure on the River Foyle that was breached during the 1689 Siege of Derry?
... that the soprano Nina Dorliak recorded works by Bach with her husband, the pianist Sviatoslav Richter, sung in Russian?
... that the Los Angeles Times criticized Disney for contracting their interactive storybooks to independent studios, deeming their series "a mere imitation" of Broderbund's Living Books format?
... that John Devonshire was supposed to stop USS President putting to sea but didn't?

In the news

COVID-19 pandemic: Disease; Virus; By location; Impact; Vaccines; Portal

Nana Akufo-Addo

Nana Akufo-Addo (pictured) is re-elected for a second term as President of Ghana.
In motorsport, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia win the World Rally Championship, while Hyundai win the manufacturers' title.
Hayabusa2 successfully returns samples collected from asteroid 162173 Ryugu to Earth.
Zdravko Krivokapić takes office as Prime Minister of Montenegro, becoming the first independent to hold the post.

On this day

December 10: Human Rights Day

Raúl Alfonsin

1508 – The Papal States, France, Aragon and the Holy Roman Empire formed the League of Cambrai, an alliance against the Republic of Venice.
1861 – Militia forces led by Nguyễn Trung Trực, an anti-colonial leader in southern Vietnam, sank the French lorcha L'Esperance.
1936 – Edward VIII, desiring to marry the American socialite Wallis Simpson against widespread British opposition, signed the instrument of abdication to renounce the throne in favour of his brother George VI.
1983 – Raúl Alfonsín (pictured) became the first democratically elected president of Argentina to take office after more than seven years of military dictatorship.

Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis (b. 1891)
Sultan Kösen (b. 1982)
Vladimir Teplyakov (d. 2009)

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Today's featured picture

Lies Noor (c. 1938 – 1961) was an Indonesian actress. She first appeared on film in Pulang (Homecoming) in 1952, while she was still at school. She rose in popularity with a string of successful films, and was able to command high fees for her roles. In the mid-1950s, having married and had a child, she took a break from her career to care full-time for her son. After returning to acting in 1960, however, she developed encephalitis the next year and died in hospital two days later. This photograph of Noor was taken around 1956.

Photograph credit: Djakartawood Studio; restored by Chris Woodrich

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