Wikipedia:Main Page history/2023 August 26b
From today's featured article
Frank Bladin (26 August 1898 – 2 February 1978) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Born in rural Victoria, he graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in 1920 and transferred to the RAAF in 1923. He took command of No. 1 Squadron in 1934. Ranked wing commander at the outbreak of World War II, by September 1941 Bladin was promoted to acting air commodore. He became Air Officer Commanding (AOC) North-Western Area in March 1942, and earned the US Silver Star. In 1943, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire and posted to No. 38 Group RAF in Europe. Promoted acting air vice-marshal in 1946, Bladin was among the senior officers who helped shape the post-war RAAF, serving as Chief of Staff of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan, AOC Eastern Area, and Air Member for Personnel. Appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1950, he retired from the RAAF in 1953. He was also active in veterans' affairs. (Full article...)
Did you know ...
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- ... that Imsil Cheese Theme Park (event pictured) cost over ₩39 billion to build?
- ... that when Felicia Schroeder signed to play soccer for the University of South Carolina, the school did not have a sign-language interpreter available for her?
- ... that the founding owner of a South Dakota TV station became known for industry ads calling him "a helluva salesman"?
- ... that a 14th-century work, originally attributed to another poet, was discovered in 2018 to be the creation of the Azerbaijani poet Yusuf Meddah?
- ... that despite being legally available in most cases, abortion in Taiwan is still criminalized under the penal code?
- ... that a report by the philosopher Jonathan Birch and colleagues led to cephalopods and decapods being recognised as sentient under the UK's Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act?
- ... that the 2023 US FIBA Basketball World Cup team is the first American national team of NBA players without an All-NBA player?
- ... that the walls of the Municipal Asphalt Plant's mixing plant remained standing after three weeks of attempts to demolish it?
In the news
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- A business jet (pictured) crashes in Tver Oblast, Russia, reportedly killing Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and nine others.
- Indian spacecraft Chandrayaan-3 lands near the lunar south pole, carrying the Pragyan rover.
- Thailand's parliament elects Srettha Thavisin as prime minister following general elections in May.
- Hun Manet is sworn in as Prime Minister of Cambodia, succeeding his father Hun Sen's 38-year term.
On this day
August 26: Heroes' Day in Namibia; Women's Equality Day in the United States
- 1071 – Byzantine–Seljuk wars: Seljuk Turks led by Alp Arslan captured Byzantine emperor Romanos IV at the Battle of Manzikert.
- 1789 – French Revolution: The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (pictured), defining a set of individual and collective rights of the people, was approved by the National Constituent Assembly.
- 1940 – The 1940 New England hurricane formed over the Atlantic Ocean; it would go on to cause widespread damage despite never making landfall in the United States.
- 1968 – The Beatles released "Hey Jude", which became the then-longest single to top the UK charts.
- 1980 – A bomb was planted at Harvey's Resort Hotel in Stateline, Nevada, which the FBI later described as the most complex improvised explosive device ever created.
- Arnold Fothergill (b. 1854)
- Zona Gale (b. 1874)
- Sophia Parnok (d. 1933)
- Reginald Judson (d. 1972)
Today's featured picture
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Pobiti Kamani is a rock formation located in Varna Province, Bulgaria. There are a number of theories regarding its origin, with two broad hypotheses. According to one, the formations are the result of coral activity, while another explains the phenomenon with the prismatic weathering and desertification of the rocks, the formation of sand and limestone concretions, or lower Eocene bubbling reefs. The stone pillars were first described by the Russian archaeologist and historian Victor Teplyakov in 1829, and the site was designated a natural landmark in the late 1930s. This photograph shows the pillars of Pobiti Kamani in 2016. Photograph credit: Diego Delso
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