Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 August 26

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Today's featured article
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861) was the husband of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. He was born in the Saxon duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld to a family connected to many of Europe's ruling monarchs. At the age of 20 he married his first cousin, Queen Victoria, with whom he had nine children. At first, Albert felt constrained by his position as consort, which did not confer any power or duties upon him. Over time he adopted many public causes, such as educational reform and the abolition of slavery, and took on the responsibilities of running the Queen's household, estates and office. He was heavily involved with the organisation of the Great Exhibition of 1851. Albert aided in the development of Britain's constitutional monarchy by persuading his wife to show less partisanship in her dealings with Parliament—although he actively disagreed with the interventionist foreign policy pursued during Lord Palmerston's tenure as Foreign Secretary. He died at the early age of 42, plunging the Queen into a deep mourning which lasted for the rest of her life. Upon Queen Victoria's death in 1901, their son, Edward VII, succeeded as the first monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, named after the ducal house to which Albert belonged. (more...) Recently featured: Thomas Beecham – Farthest South – Devil May Cry Archive – By email – More featured articles...
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From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that hundreds of people daily practice Yogic flying in the Golden Domes (pictured) in Fairfield, Iowa? ... that the Hetman Party of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth called upon Russia to help defend their Golden Liberties? ... that Rex Putnam had a longer tenure as Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruction than did any other superintendent in history? ... that even when LED street lighting produces less light than conventional forms of lighting, it can still cause more ecological light pollution? ... that Leo Suryadinata has written more than 50 books, with a focus on Chinese Indonesians? ... that Thomas Rigby of Liverpool, England, added medieval-style grotesques to Rigby's Buildings? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Steve Jobs Steve Jobs (pictured) steps down as chief executive officer of Apple and is succeeded by Tim Cook. The unmanned Progress M-12M spacecraft fails to achieve orbit on a mission to resupply the International Space Station, after a malfunction of its Soyuz-U carrier rocket. The charges of sexual assault against former International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn are dismissed. In the Battle of Tripoli, Libyan rebels capture Muammar Gaddafi's compound, Bab al-Azizia. A 5.8-magnitude intraplate earthquake, the strongest in the eastern United States since 1944, occurs in Virginia. Jack Layton, Canadian Leader of the Opposition, dies of cancer at the age of 61. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
August 26 1071 – Byzantine–Seljuk wars: Seljuk Turks led by Alp Arslan captured Byzantine Emperor Romanos IV at the Battle of Manzikert. 1768 – HMS Endeavour departed Plymouth, England, marking the start of the first voyage of explorer James Cook. 1966 – The South African Defence Force launched an attack against SWAPO guerrilla fighters at Omugulugwombashe, starting the Namibian War of Independence. 1970 – Betty Friedan (pictured) and the National Organization for Women organized the Women's Strike for Equality in New York City, in which 20,000 women protested the continuing lack of gender equality. 1977 – The National Assembly of Quebec declared French to be the only official language of Quebec. More anniversaries: August 25 – August 26 – August 27 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now August 26, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

A view of the Golden Gate Bridge from Baker Beach, a public beach located at the northwestern end of San Francisco. It is roughly a half mile (0.8 km) long, beginning just south of the bridge, extending southward toward the Sea Cliff peninsula, the Palace of the Legion of Honor and the Sutro Baths.

Photo: Christian Mehlführer

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