Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 September 5

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Today's featured article
Sebastian Shaw (1905–1994) was an English actor, director, novelist, playwright and poet. During his 65-year career, Shaw appeared in dozens of stage performances and more than 40 film and television productions. Shaw was born and raised in Holt, Norfolk, and made his acting debut at age eight at a London theatre. He studied acting at Gresham's School and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Although he worked primarily on the London stage, he made his Broadway debut in 1929, when he played one of the two murderers in Rope's End. He appeared in his first film, Caste, in 1930 and quickly began to create a name for himself in films. Shaw was particularly known for his performances in William Shakespeare productions, which were considered daring and ahead of their time. In 1966, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he remained for a decade and delivered some of his most acclaimed performances. He also wrote several poems and a novel, The Christening, in 1975. He is also known for his brief but important performance in Return of the Jedi, the original third installment in the Star Wars franchise, in which he portrayed an unmasked Darth Vader and as Anakin Skywalker's ghost in the original version of the film. (more...) Recently featured: 1740 Batavia massacre – Authentic Science Fiction – Augustine of Canterbury Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the odor of the mushroom Cortinarius camphoratus (pictured) has been likened to old goats, burnt horn, and sweaty feet? ... that 2012 British Paralympic footballer Ibrahima Diallo was diagnosed with cerebral palsy after a physiotherapist saw him running? ... that the single specimen of Houston's Whitebeam grows on a cliff in North Somerset and cannot be accessed without ropes? ... that Liz Johnson won a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics just eleven days after the death of her mother? ... that the tsunami triggered by the 1979 Tumaco earthquake coincided with low tide, greatly reducing the area inundated and the likelihood of a far higher death toll? ... that Anuya Bhagvath makes her Bengali cinema debut in Gora, a film based on a novel by Rabindranath Tagore? ... that the Val-Saint-Lambert Abbey is an important example of Cistercian architecture in Belgium? ... that Mike Chase hoped to be NASCAR Rookie of the Year in the Winston Cup Series in 1995, but was released from his team after failing to qualify for the year's first race? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
A Bahraini court upholds sentences up to life in prison for 13 opposition leaders. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church, dies at the age of 92. In Mali, Islamist militants seize control of Douentza, ousting the local secular militia. The pardoning of convicted murderer Ramil Safarov, upon his repatriation from Hungary to Azerbaijan, leads Armenia to sever ties with Hungary. A national emergency is declared in Sierra Leone after a cholera outbreak causes the deaths of more than 300 people. At least 36 people are presumed dead after Hurricane Isaac (satellite image pictured) strikes the Gulf Coast of the United States, Lesser Antilles, Greater Antilles and the Bahamas. Syrian civil war – Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
September 5: Teachers' Day in India 1697 – War of the Grand Alliance: A French warship captured York Factory, a trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company in present-day Manitoba, Canada. 1793 – French Revolution: The National Convention began the Reign of Terror, a ten-month period of systematic repression and mass executions by guillotine of perceived enemies within the country. 1877 – Oglala Lakota war leader Crazy Horse was fatally wounded after surrendering while allegedly resisting imprisonment at Camp Robinson in present-day Nebraska, United States. 1927 – Walt Disney's and Ub Iwerks' first popular character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit made its debut in the animated cartoon Trolley Troubles. 1980 – The St. Gotthard Tunnel (interior pictured), at the time the world's longest highway tunnel, opened in Switzerland at 16.4 km (10.2 mi) stretching from Goschenen to Airolo. More anniversaries: September 4 – September 5 – September 6 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now September 5, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The wolf blows down the straw house in a 1904 adaptation of Three Little Pigs, a fairy tale featuring anthropomorphic animals. Printed versions date back to the 1840s, but the story itself is thought to be much older. The story in its arguably best-known form appeared in English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs, first published in 1890. The phrases used in the story, and the various morals which can be drawn from it, have become embedded in western culture. The story uses the literary rule of three, expressed in this case as a "contrasting three", as the third pig's brick house turns out to be the only one which is adequate to withstand the wolf.

Artist: Leonard Leslie Brooke; Restoration: Jujutacular

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