Wikipedia:Main Page history/2017 February 6

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Cliff Clinkscales (born 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Halifax Hurricanes of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada). A 6-foot-1-inch (1.85 m) point guard, he was named an NBL Canada All-Star in 2014 and was the captain of his league champion team in 2016. In fifth grade in Jamaica, Queens, in New York, Clinkscales' performance at a local basketball camp led to a feature in Slam Magazine and appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Rosie O'Donnell Show. He received recruitment letters from the Kansas Jayhawks and University of Southern California Trojans. He first played high school basketball at Shores Christian Academy in Ocala, Florida. He played with the DePaul Blue Demons at the collegiate level, and was the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I leader in assist-to-turnover ratio as a senior. He has been playing professionally since 2008 for the Erie BayHawks, Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Panama City Breeze, Halifax Rainmen and Halifax Hurricanes in the National Basketball Association Development League, the American Basketball League, and the NBL Canada. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know...

John Henry Wise

... that John Henry Wise (pictured) was the first Native Hawaiian to play college football?
... that visitors to the collection at The House of Houdini can gain admittance only by decoding a secret message on their admission ticket?
... that Christopher R. W. Nevinson was described by Charles Lewis Hind as "among the most discussed, most successful, most promising, most admired and most hated British artists"?
... that the Chinese variety store Miniso was co-founded by a Japanese designer and a Chinese entrepreneur?
... that Jain figure Bahubali is said to have meditated motionless in a standing posture for a year, during which time climbing plants grew around his legs?
... that stockpiles of United States Marine Corps weapons and equipment are stored in caves in Norway as part of a Marine Corps Prepositioning Program?
... that Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, one of the first Nepali women to climb K2, was named after the first Nepali woman to climb Everest?

In the news

Protests in Bucharest

Following protests (pictured), the Romanian government rescinds an emergency decree commuting sentences of some nonviolent criminals and decriminalizing certain corruption cases.
The United Nations releases a report stating that the Myanmar Army has committed serious human rights violations against the Rohingya people, including mass killings, systemic sexual violence, and the killing of children.
Under the Alan Turing law, more than 49,000 men in England and Wales are pardoned for breaching historical legislation that outlawed homosexual acts.
Morocco is admitted to the African Union despite an ongoing dispute over Western Sahara.

On this day...

February 6: Sami National Day (Sami people); Sapporo Snow Festival in Japan begins (2017); Ronald Reagan Day in most U.S. states

Duckworth's Action off San Domingo

1806 – Napoleonic Wars: When squadrons of British and French ships of the line engaged in the Battle of San Domingo (pictured) in the Caribbean Sea, the French ships Impérial and Diomède ran aground to avoid capture, but were caught and destroyed anyway.
1851 – The largest bushfire in a populous region in Australian history swept across Victoria, resulting in approximately five million hectares (twelve million acres) burnt.
1862 – Union forces earned one of their first important victories in the American Civil War at the Battle of Fort Henry in western Tennessee.
1952 – Elizabeth II ascended to the thrones of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and three other Commonwealth countries upon the death of her father, George VI.
2000 – Second Chechen War: Russia captured Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, forcing the separatist Chechen government into exile.

More anniversaries:

From today's featured list

Lawrence Taylor

The North Carolina Tar Heels American football team has had 215 players drafted into the National Football League (NFL) since the league began holding drafts in 1936. Each NFL franchise seeks to add new players through the annual NFL Draft. The team with the worst record the previous year picks first, the next-worst team second, and so on. The highest that a Tar Heel has ever been drafted is second overall, which has happened on three occasions: Ken Willard in 1965, Lawrence Taylor (pictured) in 1981, and Julius Peppers in 2002. The Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins have drafted the most Tar Heels with sixteen and fifteen, respectively. Every current NFL franchise has drafted a player from North Carolina. Twenty-three Tar Heels have been drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft. The single first round of the NFL Draft with the most Tar Heels selected was 1998 with three: Greg Ellis, Brian Simmons, and Vonnie Holliday. Of the Tar Heels selected in the NFL Draft, fifteen have been selected to a Pro Bowl, and seventeen have been a member of a Super Bowl winning team; four have achieved both. (Full list...)

Recently featured:

Today's featured picture

The nave of the Cathedral Church of St Thomas of Canterbury in Portsmouth, England. The original building was dedicated in 1188 to the honour of St Thomas of Canterbury, who was assassinated and martyred. This chapel was to become, in turn, a parish church in the 14th century and a cathedral in the 20th century.

Photograph: David Iliff

Recently featured:

Other areas of Wikipedia

Community portal – Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.
Help desk – Ask questions about using Wikipedia.
Local embassy – For Wikipedia-related communication in languages other than English.
Reference desk – Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
Site news – Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
Village pump – For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.