Wikipedia:Today's featured article/June 2023
| << | Today's featured articles for June 2023 | >> | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Su | Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | |
June 1
Tom Holland (born 1 June 1996) is an English actor, whose accolades include a British Academy Film Award and three Saturn Awards. His career began at age nine, when he auditioned for a role in Billy Elliot the Musical at London's Victoria Palace Theatre; he played the title role from 2008 to 2010. Holland made his film debut in the disaster drama The Impossible (2012) as a teenage tourist trapped in a tsunami. He achieved international recognition playing Spider-Man (Peter Parker) in six Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) superhero films, beginning with Captain America: Civil War (2016). The following year, Holland received the BAFTA Rising Star Award and became the youngest actor to play a title role in an MCU film in Spider-Man: Homecoming. The sequels Far From Home (2019) and No Way Home (2021) each grossed more than $1 billion worldwide, and the latter became the highest-grossing film of the year. Some publications have called him one of the most popular actors of his generation. (Full article...)
June 2
Prince Alfred (1780–1782) was the fourteenth child and the ninth and youngest son of King George III of Great Britain and Ireland and his queen, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Alfred was baptised by Frederick Cornwallis, Archbishop of Canterbury, in the Great Council Chamber at St James's Palace on 21 October 1780. His godparents were his elder siblings George, Prince of Wales; Prince Frederick; and Charlotte, Princess Royal. Alfred was a delicate child. He suffered from eruptions on his face and, throughout his life, a cough. In 1782, Alfred became unwell and died after his inoculation against the smallpox virus. Although the household did not go into mourning (it was not prescribed for royal children under seven), his parents took the loss harshly. Alfred's early death, along with that of his brother Prince Octavius six months later, deeply distressed the royal family. In his later bouts of madness, King George imagined conversations with both of his youngest sons. (Full article...)
June 3
BioShock 2: Minerva's Den is a single-player downloadable content (DLC) campaign for the 2010 first-person shooter game BioShock 2, developed by 2K Marin and published by 2K Games. The player assumes the role of Subject Sigma, an armored and genetically modified human, or "Big Daddy"; Sigma must travel through Minerva's Den, the technological hub of the underwater city of Rapture, to download a schematic of the city's supercomputer. Minerva's Den was created by a small team (some members pictured) within 2K Marin led by Steve Gaynor. They decided upon a small, personal story about identity and free will, which explores an unseen part of Rapture. Minerva's Den was initially released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles in August 2010, and was later released and reissued on other platforms. It was well received by critics, who praised its story, characters, and gameplay; reviewers, including those writing for Kotaku and Paste, considered it one of the best video game expansions of all time. (Full article...)
June 4
Sandy Koufax (born 1935) is a retired Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, one of MLB's all-time greats, who played for the Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. He had a losing career record before the 1961 season. After making adjustments, he became MLB's most dominant pitcher. In 1965 he set an MLB record with 382 strikeouts; it remains the top mark for National League (NL) pitchers and left-handers. Koufax won the Cy Young Award three times in four years, and was named the NL's most valuable player in 1963. He was the first MLB pitcher to throw four no-hitters, and in 1965 became the first left-hander since 1880 to pitch a perfect game. Koufax is one of the most outstanding Jewish athletes; his decision not to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur drew national attention. After he retired at the age of 30 due to arthritis in an elbow, he became the youngest player ever elected to the Hall of Fame, in 1972. He has since worked for the Dodgers in a variety of capacities. (Full article...)
June 5
Martinus (died c. 641) was caesar of the Byzantine Empire from some point between 638 and 640, to 641. He was the fifth son of Emperor Heraclius and his second wife (and niece) Empress Martina. Heraclius elevated Martinus to caesar, a junior imperial title that placed Martinus on the line of succession. Heraclius died on 11 February 641, leaving the throne jointly to Martinus's half-brother Constantine III and his elder full brother Heraclonas. Constantine III soon died of tuberculosis, though some of his partisans alleged that Martina poisoned him. One such partisan, Valentinus, led troops to Chalcedon, across the Bosporus Strait from the capital, Constantinople, to force Martina to install Constans, Constantine III's son, as co-emperor. Valentinus seized Constantinople, forced Constans II's enthronement in September or October 641, and deposed Martina, Heraclonas, and Martinus. Martinus was mutilated, which killed him. (Full article...)
June 6
British logistics in the Normandy campaign played a key role in the success of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of France in June 1944. The Allies had to land sufficient assaulting forces to overcome the initial opposition, and build them up faster than the Germans could respond. The British Second Army and Canadian First Army included six armoured divisions (including the Polish 1st Armoured Division), ten infantry divisions, two airborne divisions, nine independent armoured brigades and two commando brigades. Logistical units included 6 supply unit headquarters, 25 base supply depots, 83 detail issue depots, 25 field bakeries, 14 field butcheries and 18 port detachments. During the first seven weeks after the Normandy landings on D-Day, 6 June 1944, the advance was much slower than anticipated, but by 26 July, 675,000 personnel, 150,000 vehicles, 690,000 tonnes of stores and 69,000 tonnes of bulk petrol had been landed. (Full article...)
June 7
Tropical Storm Vicente was a small tropical cyclone that made landfall as a tropical depression in the Mexican state of Michoacán on October 23, 2018, causing deadly mudslides. The 21st named storm of the 2018 Pacific hurricane season, it originated from a tropical wave that traveled westward from Africa's western coast across the Atlantic and entered the Eastern Pacific on October 17. The disturbance formed into a tropical depression early on October 19 and became Tropical Storm Vicente later that day. It peaked on October 20 with winds of 50 mph (85 km/h) and a minimum pressure of 1,002 mbar (29.59 inHg). After making landfall near Playa Azul on October 23, Vicente quickly lost organization and dissipated a few hours later. The storm caused torrential rainfall in the Mexican states of Michoacán, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Guerrero, and Colima; the rainfall exceeded 12 inches (300 mm) in Oaxaca. The storm left 16 people dead. (This article is part of a featured topic: 2018 Pacific hurricane season.)
June 8
Trading Places is a 1983 American comedy film directed by John Landis. The plot focuses on commodities broker Louis Winthorpe III, played by Dan Aykroyd, and street hustler Billy Ray Valentine, played by Eddie Murphy (pictured), who are the subject of a bet to test how each man will perform when their lives are swapped. Trading Places was the fourth-highest-grossing film of 1983 in the United States and Canada and received generally positive reviews, with critics praising the cast and the film's revival of the screwball comedy genre. It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Score and won two BAFTA awards. The film has been praised as one of the greatest comedy films and Christmas films ever made, but retrospective assessments have criticized its use of racial jokes and language. In 2010, the film was referenced in congressional testimony concerning the reform of the commodities trading market designed to prevent the insider trading demonstrated in Trading Places. (Full article...)
June 9
.jpg)
The 1880 Greenback National Convention met from June 9 to 11 in Chicago to select candidates and write a platform for the Greenback Party in the presidential election. Delegates chose James B. Weaver (pictured) of Iowa for President and Barzillai J. Chambers of Texas for Vice President. The Greenback Party was a response to government policy tightening the money supply and returning to the gold standard. Many felt that issuance of "greenbacks" would improve economic conditions. Weaver, the favorite for the presidential nomination, won on the first ballot; Chambers, one of his defeated rivals, was his running mate. More tumultuous was the fight over the platform, as delegates from disparate factions of the left-wing movement clashed over women's suffrage and Chinese immigration. In the presidential election, the party received only about three percent of the vote, as Republican congressman James A. Garfield of Ohio triumphed. (This article is part of a featured topic: 1880 United States presidential election.)
June 10
._Starboard_bow_at_wharf,_06-1901_-_NARA_-_535432.jpg)
USS Massachusetts was a pre-dreadnought battleship of the Indiana class. Authorized in 1890, she launched on June 10, 1893. Massachusetts served in the Spanish–American War and took part in the blockades of Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba. After the war, she served with the North Atlantic Squadron where she suffered an explosion in a gun turret and ran aground twice. She was recommissioned in 1910 for annual cruises for midshipmen, and in 1917 she served as a training ship for gun crews for World War I. Her final decommission was in March 1919 under the name Coast Battleship Number 2 so her name could be reused for USS Massachusetts (BB-54). In 1921, she was scuttled in shallow water near Pensacola, Florida, and used as a target for experimental artillery. The wreck was declared the property of the State of Florida in 1956. In 1993 it became a Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve. In 2001, it was included in the National Register of Historic Places. (Full article...)
June 11
The short-beaked echidna is one of four living species of echidna. It is covered in fur and spines, has a distinctive snout to help detect its surroundings, and uses a specialized tongue to catch insects. Its extremely strong front limbs and claws allow it to burrow quickly. It repels predators by curling into a ball and deters them with its spines. During the Australian winter, it goes into deep torpor and hibernation. As the temperature increases, it emerges to mate. Female echidnas lay one egg a year and the mating period is the only time the solitary animals meet. A newborn echidna grows rapidly on mother's milk and is expelled into the mother's burrow when it grows too large for the pouch. It leaves the burrow when it is around six months old. The species is found throughout Australia and in coastal and highland regions of eastern New Guinea. It is not threatened with extinction, but human activities have reduced its distribution in Australia. (Full article...)
June 12
.jpg)
BTS is a South Korean boy band. A K-pop group, BTS debuted on June 12, 2013; by 2017, it had entered the global music market, leading the Korean Wave into the US, and becoming the first Korean ensemble to receive a Gold certification from the RIAA for the single "Mic Drop". BTS became the first act from South Korea to top the Billboard 200 with Love Yourself: Tear (2018). With a large, well-organized worldwide fan base, BTS is the best-selling artist in South Korean history, with sales of more than 40 million albums. Members have thrice addressed the United Nations General Assembly, and in 2022 visited the White House. Dubbed the "Princes of Pop", BTS has also appeared on Time's lists of the 25 most influential people on the internet (2017–2019) and the 100 most influential people in the world (2019). In 2018, they became the youngest recipients of the South Korean Order of Cultural Merit. Now on pause to allow members to complete their required military service, the group plans a reunion for 2025. (Full article...)
June 13
.svg)
Diodorus scytobrachion was a silesaurid dinosauromorph that lived during the Late Triassic of what is now Morocco. The dinosauromorph is the only known member of genus Diodorus. Fossils dating to about 230 million years ago were discovered in the Timezgadiouine Formation of the Argana Basin, and were used to name the new genus and species. The genus name honors the mythological king Diodorus and the historian Diodorus Siculus; the specific name is ancient Greek for 'leathery arm' and also honors the mythographer Dionysius Scytobrachion. The holotype specimen is a partial dentary bone (front of the lower jaw), and assigned specimens include isolated teeth, two humeri, a metatarsal, and a femur (diagram shown). Diodorus is estimated to have been around 2.3 m (7.5 ft) long, with features thought to be shared by most silesaurs, including leaf-shaped teeth, long limbs, and a quadrupedal posture. It is believed to have been principally though not entirely herbivorous. (Full article...)
June 14
Science Fiction Adventures was a US science fiction magazine, published from 1956 to 1958 by Royal Publications as a companion to Infinity Science Fiction and edited by Larry Shaw for all 12 issues. It printed action-adventure stories, focusing on fiction longer than Infinity's. Historian Mike Ashley considers it better than similarly edited magazines Imagination and Imaginative Tales. Robert Silverberg contributed prolifically, sometimes pseudonymously. He collaborated with Randall Garrett in the first issue. Occasionally contributing writers included Harlan Ellison, Cyril M. Kornbluth, Algis Budrys, and Harry Harrison. Ed Emshwiller contributed cover art for nine issues (example pictured), with John Schoenherr doing one other. Canceled due to disappointing sales, the magazine's last issue was for June 1958; Infinity only lasted a few months longer. A British reprint edition commenced in early 1958, edited by John Carnell and continued for 32 issues by using reprints and original material. (Full article...)
June 15
.jpg)
Margaret Abbott (June 15, 1878 – June 10, 1955) was an American amateur golfer and the first woman to win an Olympic event credited to the U.S.: the women's golf at the 1900 Olympics. Born in Calcutta in 1878, Abbott moved with her family to Chicago in 1884. She joined the Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Illinois, where she was coached by Charles B. Macdonald and H. J. Whigham. In 1899, she traveled with her mother to Paris to study art. The following year, along with her mother, she signed up for a women's golf tournament without realizing it was part of the second modern Olympics. Abbott won with a score of 47 strokes and was awarded a porcelain bowl; her mother tied for seventh. In December 1902, she married the writer Finley Peter Dunne. They moved to New York and had four children. Abbott died never realizing she won an Olympic event. She was not well known until University of Florida professor Paula Welch researched her life. The New York Times published her belated obituary in 2018. (Full article...)
June 16
Cyathus is a genus of bird's nest fungi in the family Nidulariaceae, so named since they resemble tiny bird's nests filled with eggs. The "eggs", or peridioles, are attached to the inner surface of the fruiting body by a cord of mycelium. Both surfaces of the cup may be ridged longitudinally, a taxonomic characteristic that has traditionally served to distinguish between species. Cyathus species are widely distributed across the globe, and some are found in most countries, although a few are localized. C. stercoreus is considered endangered in a number of European countries. Generally considered inedible, Cyathus species are saprobic, obtaining nutrients from decomposing organic matter. They usually grow on decaying woody material, on cow and horse dung, or directly on humus-rich soil. The life cycle of this genus allows them to reproduce both sexually via meiosis, and asexually via spores. Phylogenetic analysis has provided insights into the relationships between the various species. (Full article...)
June 17
Li Rui (1917–2019) was a politician, historian, and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) dissident. Joining the CCP in the 1930s, he became vice-minister of the Ministry of Water Resources by 1958. His vocal opposition to the proposed Three Gorges Dam brought him to the attention of Mao Zedong, Chairman of the CCP. Li impressed Mao, who made him his personal secretary for industrial affairs. However, Li defied Mao at the 1959 Lushan Conference, and was expelled from the party and sent to a prison camp, spending eight years in solitary confinement. After Mao's death in 1976, Li regained an influential position in the CCP, but was eventually forced to resign because he was unwilling to favor the children of powerful party members. In retirement, Li wrote extensively. He called for freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and democracy within a socialist framework, but was censored. Li remained a Communist Party member, respected but isolated, until his death at age 101 in 2019. (Full article...)
June 18
.jpg)
Albert Levitt (1887–1968) was an American attorney and official who ran for office many times, receiving only a small percentage of the vote. He attended Harvard Law School, and helped draft the Equal Rights Amendment. After serving as a law professor, he settled in Connecticut with his first wife, the suffragist Elsie Hill, and involved himself in politics. The faction he led affected the outcome in multiple races. In 1933, he was given a position in the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. While a judge in the Virgin Islands in 1935, he ordered that women there must be allowed to register and vote. After leaving government work in 1937, Levitt challenged the appointment of Hugo Black to the Supreme Court; in its decision, Ex parte Levitt, the court refused to consider his claims. He moved to California, and began to run as a fringe candidate in Republican primaries, including in the 1950 Senate election, finishing sixth out of six, behind the winner, Richard Nixon. (Full article...)
June 19
Gather Together in My Name is the second of seven memoirs by Maya Angelou (pictured). Published in 1974, the book begins just after the events of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, and follows Angelou from the ages of 17 to 19. Written three years after Caged Bird, the book "depicts a single mother's slide down the social ladder into poverty and crime." She expands upon many themes that she started discussing in her first autobiography, including motherhood and family, racism, identity, education and literacy. Gather Together received mostly positive reviews; it was not as critically acclaimed as Caged Bird, but was recognized as being better written. The book's structure, consisting of a series of episodes tied together by theme and content, parallels the chaos of adolescence, which some critics felt makes it an unsatisfactory sequel. The title, taken from the Bible, conveys how one black woman lived in white-dominated American society after World War II. (This article is part of a featured topic: Maya Angelou autobiographies.)
June 20
The North East Line is a high-capacity Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line in Singapore. Operated by SBS Transit, the 20-kilometre (12 mi) line runs from HarbourFront station in southern Singapore to Punggol station in the northeast via Chinatown, Little India, Serangoon and Hougang. Completed at a cost of S$5 billion, the line began operating 14 of its 16 stations on 20 June 2003. Buangkok station opened on 15 January 2006, and Woodleigh station began operations on 20 June 2011. A one-station extension to Punggol Coast station is expected to be completed in 2024. Alstom rolling stock – C751A (examples pictured) and C751C – runs on the line, which is fully automated using the moving block Alstom Urbalis 300 communications-based train control signalling system. The stations are wheelchair-accessible, and most are Civil Defence shelters designed to withstand airstrikes and chemical attacks. There are 18 artworks displayed across its 16 stations as part of the MRT network's Art-in-Transit programme. (Full article...)
June 21
.png)
The Battle of Lake Trasimene was fought when a Carthaginian force under Hannibal (bust pictured) ambushed a Roman army on the Italian Peninsula commanded by Gaius Flaminius on 21 June 217 BC, during the Second Punic War. The Romans had an army on each side of the Apennine Mountains, but were surprised when a 50,000-strong Carthaginian army crossed by a difficult but unguarded route. Flaminius, in charge of the nearest Roman army, set off in pursuit. Hannibal sprung his ambush south of Cortona, on Lake Trasimene's north shore. With the Carthaginians attacking unexpectedly from the flank and the rear, possibly in poor visibility, the Romans had no chance to form even a rudimentary fighting line; they were defeated after three hours of hard fighting. The trap failed to close on 6,000 Romans, but they surrendered later in the day and so all 25,000 Romans engaged were killed or captured. This destruction of an entire army due to an ambush by another is widely considered to be a unique occurrence. (Full article...)
June 22
Cerro Tuzgle is a dormant stratovolcano in northwestern Argentina. It is a prominent volcano of the back arc of the Andes and lies about 280 kilometres (170 mi) east of the main volcanic arc. The summit of Tuzgle is 5,486 metres (17,999 ft) above sea level, and it grew during different stages over a caldera and lava domes. Some major lava flows emanate from the summit crater. Also associated with Tuzgle are a scarp and a depression, both possibly formed by flank collapses, as well as an ignimbrite sheet. The first volcanic activity at Tuzgle occurred 650,000 years ago. Subsequently, lava domes and several lava flows were erupted; scientists have proposed two different schemes of naming the units. The latest lava flows are dated at 300,000 years ago and volcanic activity may have continued into the Holocene. Several thermal springs are associated with the volcano, and some have been investigated for possible geothermal energy production. Sulfur was formerly mined on the mountain. (Full article...)
June 23
Banksia grossa is a shrub in the plant family Proteaceae endemic to Southwest Australia. It is one of fourteen species of banksia in the series Abietinae, which bear round or oval inflorescences. Collected in 1965, it was described in 1981 by Alex George. Its thick leaves and large seeds distinguish it from other Abietinae species. It is found among heath between Eneabba and Badgingarra, in shallow sand over laterite or in deep sand. It grows as a many-stemmed shrub to 1 m (3 ft) high with narrow leaves and oval brownish flower spikes up to 10 cm (4 in) high, composed of hundreds of individual flowers. Flowering occurs throughout the cooler months. Old flower spikes develop woody follicles which bear the seeds. The plant takes five to seven years to reach maturity and begin flowering. After bushfire, B. grossa regenerates from its woody lignotuber; bushfires also stimulate the release of seeds, which germinate after disturbance. Visitors to inflorescences include insects and the nocturnal white-tailed dunnart. (Full article...)
June 24
The Goodwin Fire was a wildfire that burned 28,516 acres (115.40 km2) in the U.S. state of Arizona from June 24 to July 10, 2017. The fire destroyed 17 homes and damaged another 19 structures, but no one was killed. The fire was first detected on June 24 by a two-man fire patrol that spotted smoke in the Bradshaw Mountains near Prescott, Arizona. Fed by high winds and undisturbed growths of chaparral, and with fire crews impaired by difficult terrain, the fire grew from 150 acres (61 ha) on June 24 to 25,000 acres (10,000 ha) on June 29. Several communities in Yavapai County were evacuated, and Arizona State Route 69 was closed. Firefighting aircraft were grounded twice by civilian drones operating illegally in the burn area, but firefighters made rapid progress containing the fire's spread after June 28, and it was fully contained on July 10. Investigators did not determine any particular cause for the fire. (Full article...)
June 25
Panagiotis Kavvadias (1850–1928) was a Greek archaeologist. He was responsible for excavations of the city of Epidaurus, of the Acropolis of Athens (map pictured), and on his native island of Kephallonia. As Ephor General, the head of the Greek Archaeological Service, from 1885 until 1909, Kavvadias oversaw the service's expansion and the introduction of Law 2646 of 1899 which increased the state's powers to prevent illegal excavations and antiquities smuggling. Credited with completing the modern transformation of the Acropolis into a historic landmark, he uncovered many of its monuments. He oversaw the opening of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens and organised its first collections. He was also a professor at the University of Athens. Regarded as energetic, centralising and autocratic, he was criticised by native Greek archaeologists, and removed from office in 1909. He returned to public and academic life in 1912, and remained active in Greek archaeology until his death. (Full article...)
June 26
Iwan Roberts (born 26 June 1968) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a striker, including for the Welsh national team. His footballing career started at Watford in 1986. He also represented Huddersfield Town, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Gillingham and Cambridge United. He made 647 league appearances, almost half as a player for Norwich City, whom he represented for seven years. He scored 61 goals in total over the 1998–99, 1999–2000 and 2000–01 seasons, and was elected to the Norwich City F.C. Hall of Fame. Since retiring as a player, Roberts, who speaks fluent Welsh, has worked as a commentator for Sky Sports, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Cymru Wales. His 2004 book, All I Want for Christmas ..., a reference to his gap-toothed appearance, prompted praise, but also controversy over an admission that he once intentionally stepped on a player's back. In recent years, Roberts has supported research into dementia, and has attributed his own memory difficulties to heading a football. (Full article...)
June 27
The American Bible Challenge is a Bible-themed American television game show created by Game Show Network (GSN). It aired for three seasons from 2012 to 2014. Jeff Foxworthy hosts; Kirk Franklin (pictured) joined from the second season on. Each nine-episode tournament season asks Bible-related questions in various formats. One round, Stick a Fork in It, has teams use a spoon to catapult a fork into glasses labeled with different answers. Another, Kirk's Righteous Remix, has a choir singing songs relating to the Bible. The three season champions each won $140,000 for a chosen charity: Team Judson's Legacy chose a leukodystrophy charity in honor of a son of two of the team members, Team Wagner Warriors chose a missionary organization founded by the father of the team members, and Team Bible Belts chose a nonprofit which combines Bible study and taekwondo. The show debuted as GSN's highest-rated original program. In 2014, it was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show. (Full article...)
June 28
The 1985 Tour de France took place between 28 June and 21 July of that year. The course (map pictured) ran over 4,109 km (2,553 mi) and consisted of a prologue and 22 stages. The race was won by Bernard Hinault (of team La Vie Claire), who equalled the record by Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx of five overall victories. Hinault's teammate Greg LeMond was second, and Stephen Roche (La Redoute) was third. Hinault took the race leader's yellow jersey on the first day, in the opening prologue time trial, but lost the lead to Eric Vanderaerden (Panasonic–Raleigh) after stage 1 because of time bonuses. He regained it in stage 8, and held it the rest of the way despite bronchitis, which severely hampered his performances. For LeMond's assistance, Hinault pledged to support him for overall victory in the following year's race, which LeMond won. The large number of time trials in the 1985 edition of the race were key to its outcome, leading to a decrease in time-trial kilometres for subsequent Tours. (Full article...)
June 29
The Seychelles parakeet, or Seychelles Island parrot, is an extinct species of parrot that was endemic to the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, on the islands of Mahé, Silhouette, and possibly Praslin. Scientifically named Palaeornis wardi by Edward Newton in 1867, it was later moved to the genus Psittacula, though genetic studies have led some researchers to suggest it should return to Palaeornis. The parakeet was about 41 cm (16 in) in length, with a long, pointed tail. The male was mainly green, with blue on parts of the head, a black cheek-stripe, a yellowish underside, and a purple-red wing patch. The female lacked the cheek-stripe and the juvenile resembled the female. The parakeet associated in groups within forests and flew between communal roost sites and feeding areas. It adapted to cultivated areas and its diet included fruit. Though abundant in 1811, it had become rare by 1867 due to human persecution for its perceived damage to crops. The last confirmed individual was shot in 1893. (Full article...)
June 30
Benjamin Morrell (1795 – c. 1839) was an American sealing captain and explorer who made a series of voyages, mainly to the Atlantic, the Southern Ocean and the Pacific Islands, between 1823 and 1831. Many of the claims in his ghost-written memoir, A Narrative of Four Voyages, especially those relating to his Antarctic experiences, have been disputed by geographers and historians. In 1823 he took the sealer Wasp for an extended voyage into subantarctic waters, and it was from this time that much of the controversy surrounding his reputation developed. Many of his claims—the first landing on Bouvet Island, a Weddell Sea penetration to 70° S, an extremely rapid passage of 3,500 miles (5,600 km) at improbably high latitudes and the discovery of a coastline he named New South Greenland—have been doubted or proved false. He ended his career as a fugitive, having wrecked his ship and misappropriated parts of the salvaged cargo. (Full article...)