Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 February 14

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Today's featured article
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is an American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on Star Trek, a television series created by Gene Roddenberry (pictured with the show's cast at left). The series was cancelled in 1969. The success of Close Encounters of the Third Kind convinced Paramount that science fiction films other than Star Wars could do well at the box office, so the studio canceled production of the planned television series Star Trek: Phase II and turned Phase II's pilot episode into a film script. In the film, a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches Earth, destroying everything in its path, and Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) assumes command of his old starship—the USS Enterprise—to save the planet and determine V'Ger's origins. Delays on set and in developing the film's optical effects caused the production cost to soar. Released in North America on December 7, 1979, Star Trek: The Motion Picture received mixed reviews from critics, many of whom criticized the film for its lack of action and over-reliance on special effects. The film earned $139 million worldwide, falling short of studio expectations but convincing Paramount to back a less expensive sequel. (more...) Recently featured: Whitechapel murders – Symphony of Sorrowful Songs – Albertosaurus Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest articles: ... that because Leonid Brezhnev (pictured) had more than 200 decorations, it was decided to break the Soviet custom of featuring only one decoration on cushions during his funeral? ... that singer Cee Lo Green appeared on Saturday Night Live to perform "Bright Lights, Bigger City", the third single from his album The Lady Killer, backed by an all-female band? ... that The Princeton Companion to Mathematics is the 2011 winner of the Mathematical Association of America's Euler Book Prize? ... that the British Army used sugar houses in New York City to hold prisoners during the American Revolutionary War? ... that the non-profit group A Human Right is raising money to purchase a satellite to provide free basic internet access to developing countries? ... that when confused with Mathew Montagu, the taller Montague Mathew claimed "there was as great a difference between them as between a horse chesnut [sic] and a chesnut horse"? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
The King's Speech wins seven awards, including Best Film, at the 64th British Academy Film Awards. Anti-government protests are held in Algeria (pictured) and Yemen amid similar protests across the Arab world. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigns and transfers authority to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, following eighteen days of protests. Scientists announce the discovery of a 3.2 million year-old bone of the species Australopithecus afarensis, which indicates that the hominid walked upright. A new round of clashes erupts between Cambodian and Thai soldiers over the area surrounding Preah Vihear Temple. NASA's STEREO satellites obtain the first simultaneous images of the entire surface of the Sun. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
February 14: Valentine's Day 1912 – Arizona became the 48th and last of the contiguous United States to be admitted into the Union. 1919 – The first serious armed conflict of the Polish–Soviet War took place near present-day Biaroza, Belarus. 1949 – The Knesset, the legislature of Israel, convened for the first time, succeeding the Assembly of Representatives that had functioned as the Jewish community's parliament during the British Mandate Era. 1989 – A fatwa was issued for the execution of Salman Rushdie (pictured) for authoring The Satanic Verses, a novel Islamic fundamentalists considered blasphemous. 2007 – The first of several bombings in Zahedan, Iran, claimed the lives of 18 members of the Revolutionary Guards. 2008 – Steven Kazmierczak opened fire into a crowded lecture hall on the campus of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, US, killing 6 and injuring 21. More anniversaries: February 13 – February 14 – February 15 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now February 14 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

An 1883 lithographed advertisement for Valentine's Day greeting cards published by Louis Prang, showing a woman holding a group of tethered cherubs, who float like a bunch of balloons above her. Prang became well-known during the American Civil War, printing war maps for newspapers. In 1873, he began selling Christmas cards in England and brought them to the United States the following year, earning him the moniker "father of the American Christmas card".

Restoration: Lise Broer

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