Wikipedia:Main Page history/2024 July 30
From today's featured article
From 1345 to 1347, the Hundred Years' War between the English and the French flared up. Determined to renew the conflict, King Edward III of England despatched a small force to south-west France where they won victories at Bergerac and Auberoche. In 1346 an English army of 10,000 men landed in northern Normandy, devastated the region, and stormed and sacked Caen (pictured). They then cut a swath to within 20 miles (32 km) of Paris, turned north, and inflicted a heavy defeat on the French army at the Battle of Crécy. They exploited this by laying siege to Calais. The period from the English victory outside Bergerac to the start of the siege of Calais is known as Edward III's annus mirabilis (year of marvels). After an eleven-month siege, which stretched both countries' financial and military resources to the limit, the town fell, and for more than two hundred years it served as an English entrepôt into northern France. (This article is part of a featured topic: Hundred Years' War, 1345–1347.)
Did you know ...
- ... that a Michigan TV station rescued and restored a weather ball (pictured) that had been sitting for years in a scrapyard?
- ... that in Liberia, self-induced abortions are performed with herbal remedies known as "rocket-propelled grenade" and "Christmas leaf"?
- ... that Olympic judoka Valentin Houinato is also a full-time journalist?
- ... that Ghana and Ivory Coast have been accused of setting up a cocoa cartel?
- ... that the triathletes competing in the 2024 Summer Olympics include a man who won his first international competition aged 30 and the brother of a former Olympian?
- ... that the Wikipedia hoax Carlos Bandeirense Mirandópolis was cited in a judicial decision by the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice?
- ... that Alyssa Mendoza and Andy Barat are the first Olympic representatives of their sport for their state and country, respectively?
- ... that one in ten thousand individuals are born without the ability to smell?
- ... that Sizzle Ohtaka, known as the "Queen of Commercial Songs", was producing them at a rate of ten per month?
In the news
- In Gaelic football, the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship concludes with Armagh defeating Galway in the final.
- Landslides kill at least 257 people in Geze Gofa, Ethiopia.
- In cycling, Tadej Pogačar (pictured) wins the Tour de France.
- Incumbent U.S. president Joe Biden withdraws from the 2024 presidential election.
On this day
![Portrait of Miguel Hidalgo by Antonio Fabrés](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Miguel_Hidalgo_con_estandarte.jpg/113px-Miguel_Hidalgo_con_estandarte.jpg)
- 1724 – Bach's chorale cantata Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält, a paraphrase of Psalm 124 based on a 1524 hymn by Justus Jonas, was first performed in Leipzig.
- 1811 – Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (depicted), a leader of the Mexican War of Independence, was executed by Spanish forces in Chihuahua City, Mexico.
- 1871 – The boiler of the Staten Island Ferry Westfield II exploded at South Ferry in New York City, killing at least 45 people.
- 1990 – British Conservative member of Parliament Ian Gow was killed outside his home in a car bombing by the Provisional Irish Republican Army.
- 2014 – More than 150 people died after heavy rains triggered a landslide in the village of Malin in Maharashtra, India.
- Tatwine (d. 734)
- Casey Stengel (b. 1890)
- Gerald Moore (b. 1899)
- C. T. Vivian (b. 1924)
Today's featured picture
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The Hass avocado is a variety of avocado with dark green, bumpy skin. It was first grown and sold by the American horticulturist Rudolph Hass, who also gave it his name. The Hass is one of the most commercially popular avocado cultivars and accounts for more than 80 percent of the crop in the United States. This is due to its taste, size, shelf-life, high growing yield and in some areas, year-round harvesting. The fruit has a mass of 200 to 300 grams (8 to 10 ounces) and, when ripe, its skin becomes a dark purplish-black that yields to gentle pressure. The centre part of the inner fruit then becomes white-green. This picture shows a whole and a halved Hass avocado, cultivated in Colombia. The photograph was focus-stacked from 12 separate images. Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus
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