Wikipedia:Main Page history/2013 June 18

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From today's featured article

A midshipman is an officer cadet or a commissioned officer of the junior-most rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. In the 17th century, a midshipman was a rating for an experienced seaman, and the word derives from the area aboard a ship, amidships, where he worked or was berthed. Beginning in the 18th century, a commissioned officer candidate was rated as a midshipman, and the seaman rating began to slowly die out. By the Napoleonic era (1793–1815), a midshipman (pictured) was an apprentice officer who had previously served at least three years as a volunteer, officer's servant or able seaman, and was roughly equivalent to a present day petty officer in rank and responsibilities. After serving at least three years as a midshipman, he was eligible to take the examination for lieutenant. Midshipmen in the US Navy were trained and served similarly to those in the Royal Navy, although a midshipman was a warrant officer rank until 1912. During the 19th century, changes in naval officer training in the Royal Navy and the US Navy replaced apprenticeship aboard ships with schooling in a naval college, and "midshipman" began to mean an officer cadet. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

From Wikipedia's newest content:

... that Christopher O'Neill (pictured) declined a royal title upon marrying Princess Madeleine of Sweden?

... that the North Sea and Skagen account for 80% of the catches of the fishing industry in Denmark?

... that British Air Chief Marshall Hugh Dowding initially instructed his Spitfire and Hurricane groups to use a gun harmonisation scheme that aimed eight guns at a 12-foot-wide (3.7 m) rectangle?

... that Oxyrrhis marina is a model organism in the study of protist biology?

... that in 1930, Hungarian Olympic tennis player Aurél von Kelemen was arrested for embezzlement but acquitted by a military tribunal?

... that West Virginia's Daniel Vineyards' best-selling style of wine is made from blackberries, not the normal grapes?

... that the design of the Wangjing SOHO towers in Beijing has been pirated?

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In the news

Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas (pictured) resigns amidst accusations of corruption.

In golf, Justin Rose wins the US Open.

Hassan Rouhani is elected President of Iran.

The United States Supreme Court unanimously rules that naturally occurring DNA sequences cannot be patented.

Scientists discover Dua's layer, a previously unknown part of the human cornea.

Japanese supercentenarian Jiroemon Kimura dies at the age of 116 years, 54 days, the longest verified lifespan of any man in history.

Greece announces the closure of its public broadcasting corporation, ERT.

Recent deaths: Henry Cecil

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On this day...

June 18: Autistic Pride Day

618 – Li Yuan became Emperor Gaozu of Tang, initiating three centuries of the Tang Dynasty in China.

1053 – Humphrey of Hauteville led the armies of the Normans in the Battle of Civitate against the combined forces of Pope Leo IX and the Holy Roman Empire.

1858 – Charles Darwin received a manuscript by fellow naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace on natural selection, which prompted Darwin to publish his theory of evolution.

1983 – Aboard Space Shuttle Challenger, astronaut Sally Ride (pictured) became the first American woman in space.

1994 – The Troubles: Members of the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force attacked a crowded bar in Loughinisland, Northern Ireland, with assault rifles, killing six.

2012 – Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was appointed crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

More anniversaries: June 17 – June 18 – June 19

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Today's featured picture

The Black-browed Albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys) is a large seabird and most common member of its family. The birds, named for the black plumage above their eyes, feed on fish, squid, crustaceans, carrion, and fishery discards. This specimen was photographed east of the Tasman Peninsula, Tasmania, Australia.

Picture: JJ Harrison

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