Wikipedia:Main Page history/2020 March 22

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Cosplay of Kratos

God of War is an action-adventure game franchise. Sony's Santa Monica Studio developed all the main entries, released on the PlayStation 2, 3, and 4 video game consoles by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The story follows Kratos (cosplayer pictured), a Spartan warrior who was tricked into killing his family by the Greek god of war Ares. God of War (2005), God of War II (2007), and God of War III (2010) constitute the original trilogy centered on vengeance; other games include Chains of Olympus (2008) and Ghost of Sparta (2010) for the PlayStation Portable, Betrayal (2007) for mobile phones, and Ascension (2013). A main title based on Norse mythology, also called God of War (2018), centers on redemption, with future games in this setting planned. The series has received numerous awards, including Game of the Year recognitions for the 2005 and 2018 installments. As of May 2019, the franchise has sold over 32 million games worldwide. (This article is part of a featured topic: God of War franchise.)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

Glass facade of a building

... that glass (example pictured) can form naturally from supercooled volcanic magma?
... that Odile Pierre, who became interested in the organ at a recital by Marcel Dupré at the age of seven, later served as the organist of La Madeleine in Paris and played around 2,000 recitals herself?
... that in Florida, winged termites are sometimes found stuck to wet foliage, buildings, or vehicles after rain?
... that nuclear scientist Clarice Phelps has been recognized as the first African-American woman to be involved with the discovery of a chemical element?
... that any tetrahedron that has integer edge lengths, face areas, and volume can be given in integer vertex coordinates?
... that "Baby Yoda" is considered the breakout character of the Star Wars television series The Mandalorian?
... that Mariya Takeuchi's 1984 song "Plastic Love" saw an international resurgence in 2017?
... that poet and scholar Robert L. Kahn, who escaped Nazi Germany with a Kindertransport, became a professor of German at Rice University in Houston, Texas?

In the news

Coronavirus pandemic

Edwin Catmull

Edwin Catmull (pictured) and Pat Hanrahan receive the Turing Award for their work on computer-generated imagery.
Paleontologists announce the discovery of Asteriornis maastrichtensis, the oldest definitive species of modern bird, which lived at the end of the Mesozoic era.
The World Health Organization recognises the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic.

On this day

March 22: World Water Day; Mothering Sunday (Western Christianity, 2020)

Emerald Buddha

238 – Gordian I and his son Gordian II were jointly proclaimed Roman emperor, the latter because of his father's advanced age.
1784 – The Emerald Buddha (pictured), considered the sacred palladium of Thailand, was installed in its current location at Wat Phra Kaew on the grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok.
1871 – Governor of North Carolina William Woods Holden became the first U.S. state governor to be removed from office through impeachment.
1942 – Second World War: British and Italian naval forces fought the Second Battle of Sirte in the Gulf of Sidra north of Libya.
1995 – Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov returned from the space station Mir aboard Soyuz TM-20 after 437 days in space, setting a record for the longest spaceflight.

Anton Raphael Mengs (b. 1728) · Ahmed Cevdet Pasha (b. 1822) · James Black (d. 2010)

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

Aida is a grand opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its premiere there in 1871, in a performance conducted by Giovanni Bottesini. Today, the work holds a central place in the operatic canon, receiving performances every year around the world; at New York City's Metropolitan Opera alone, Aida has been sung more than 1,100 times since 1886.

This picture shows Philippe Chaperon's set design for the finale (act 4, scene 2) of Aida's premiere at the Palais Garnier in Paris, which took place on 22 March 1880. The drawing depicts the interior of the Temple of Vulcan, with the vault of the temple visible at the bottom, and is now in the collection of the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Set design credit: Philippe Chaperon; restored by Adam Cuerden

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.