Wikipedia:Main Page history/2021 February 14b

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From today's featured article

The M113 armoured personnel carrier has been operated by the Australian Army in large numbers since 1964. Either 817 or 840 M113s were acquired between 1964 and 1979, comprising nine different variants. In Australian service, the M113 has equipped armoured transport and reconnaissance units as well as mechanised infantry formations. It has been used as a support vehicle by many other units. The type played an important role in Australia's commitment to the Vietnam War between 1965 and 1972 (pictured). Small numbers of M113s were deployed to Somalia during 1993 and Rwanda between 1994 and 1995. Larger numbers of M113s operated in East Timor from 1999 to 2002 and 2006 to 2008. A long-running modernisation resulted in 431 being upgraded between 2007 and 2012. Despite the upgrade program, the Australian Army's M113s are now obsolete and they have not been included in recent deployments due to their vulnerability. Replacement infantry fighting vehicles are scheduled to enter service from 2025. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Strängnäs stone

... that the Strängnäs stone (pictured), long considered a forgery, is probably authentic?
... that the silent film The Honeymoon Express was reported to have been withdrawn from release despite being screened later in 1926?
... that Elizabeth Pulane Moremi became regent of baTawana after the death of her husband Moremi III?
... that the picture book Maiden & Princess, in which a maiden and princess fall in love, shares a fictional universe with Prince & Knight, in which a prince and male knight do the same?
... that the church led by Ernest T. Campbell sponsored Marina Oswald, the widow of Lee Harvey Oswald, to study at the University of Michigan?
... that the vocalist in "Erlkönig", published as Schubert's Op. 1, portrays four characters that differ in vocal register, rhythm, and harmony?
... that François Henri Mouton fought for the Sikhs during the First Anglo-Sikh War whilst on leave from the French Army?
... that a scene from the music video for "End Game" features Taylor Swift playing the video game Snake, a reference to her reputation as a "snake"?

In the news

Impeachment trial

Former President Donald Trump is acquitted by the United States Senate in his second impeachment trial (pictured).
Mario Draghi becomes Prime Minister of Italy, leading a national unity government after the resignation of Giuseppe Conte.
The spacecraft Hope, from the United Arab Emirates, and Tianwen-1, from China, separately reach Mars orbit.
General elections are held in Liechtenstein, with each of the two main parties winning 10 seats out of the 25 total.

On this day

February 14: Valentine's Day

The Death of Captain James Cook by Johan Zoffany

1655 – Arauco War: A series of coordinated Mapuche attacks took place against Spanish settlements and forts in colonial Chile, beginning a ten-year period of warfare.
1779 – Native Hawaiians killed English explorer Captain James Cook (depicted) after he attempted to kidnap Kalaniʻōpuʻu, the ruling chief of the island of Hawaii.
1919 – The Battle of Bereza Kartuska, the first serious armed conflict of the Polish–Soviet War took place near present-day Biaroza, Belarus.
1961 – Lawrencium, the metallic radioactive synthetic element with atomic number 103, was first synthesized at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley.
2011 – Arab Spring: The Bahraini uprising began with youth-organized protests on the Day of Rage.

Singu Min (d. 1782)
George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. (b. 1859)
Hazel McCallion (b. 1921)

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Today's featured picture

Jupiter and Io is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Antonio da Correggio. The scene is inspired by Ovid's classic Metamorphoses and depicts the mythological tale of the god Jupiter seducing the nymph Io. Jupiter's consort was Juno, but he was often tempted by other women and took on various disguises to cover his activities, variously taking the form of a swan or a bull, and here enveloping himself in a dark cloud. He is depicted embracing Io, his face barely visible above hers, and she is pulling Jupiter's vague, smoky hand towards herself with barely contained sensuality. The painting hangs in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria.

Painting credit: Antonio da Correggio

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