Wikipedia:Main Page history/2018 September 27

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From today's featured article

The Orient Express

From Russia, with Love is the fifth novel by the English author Ian Fleming to feature his fictional British Secret Service agent James Bond. Fleming wrote the story in early 1956 at his Goldeneye estate in Jamaica; at the time he thought it might be his final Bond book. The story centres on a plot by SMERSH, the Soviet counter-intelligence agency, to assassinate Bond in such a way as to discredit both him and his organisation. As bait, the Russians use a beautiful cipher clerk and the Spektor, a Soviet decoding machine. Much of the action takes place in Istanbul and on the Orient Express (pictured). The book was inspired by Fleming's visit to Turkey on behalf of The Sunday Times to report on an Interpol conference; he returned to Britain by the Orient Express. From Russia, with Love deals with the East–West tensions of the Cold War, and the decline of British power and influence after the Second World War. In 1963 it was adapted into the second film in the Bond series, starring Sean Connery. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Abbess house of Kloster Gnadenthal

... that Kloster Gnadenthal (building pictured) was a Cistercian nunnery from 1235, a Protestant women's Stift from 1564, and became an ecumenical community in 1969?
... that Oakland mayoral candidate Cat Brooks performs in a one-woman show inspired by the death of Natasha McKenna in police custody?
... that Rudolf Sellner engaged Richard Wagner's grandson to stage a Verdi opera as part of the opening of the Deutsche Oper Berlin?
... that about 11,000 eggs of the Florida blenny were once found in an old can?
... that David Green campaigned for new design standards following the collapse of a ferry walkway that killed six people?
... that Creedence Clearwater Revival's 1969 song "It Came Out of the Sky" was one of the first to criticize Ronald Reagan?
... that Derek Holmes said the purpose of Hockey Canada was to beat the Russians?

In the news

Ibrahim Mohamed Solih

Ibrahim Mohamed Solih (pictured) is elected President of the Maldives.
An attack at a military parade in Ahvaz, Iran, leaves at least 30 people dead, including the attackers.
A Tanzanian ferry capsizes on Lake Victoria, killing at least 227 people.
A landslide, triggered by several days of heavy rainfall, kills at least 53 people in Naga, Philippines.
Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge runs the Berlin Marathon in world record time.

On this day

September 27: Meskel in Eritrea and Ethiopia

Aung San Suu Kyi

1825 – Locomotion No. 1 hauled the train on the opening day of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, the first public railway in the world to use steam locomotives.
1854 – The paddle steamer SS Arctic sank after a collision with SS Vesta 50 miles (80 km) off the coast of Newfoundland, killing approximately 320 people.
1930 – With his victory in the United States Amateur Championship, Bobby Jones became the only person to complete a Grand Slam in golf.
1964 – The British Aircraft Corporation TSR-2, an advanced Cold War tactical strike and reconnaissance aircraft that was later cancelled, made its maiden flight.
1988 – Led by pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi (pictured), the political party National League for Democracy was founded in Burma.

Felice della Rovere (d. 1536) · Ivan Goncharov (d. 1891) · Gwyneth Paltrow (b. 1972)

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Today's featured picture

Divorce is the process of terminating a marriage. Divorce laws vary considerably around the world, but in most countries divorce requires the sanction of a court or other authority in a legal process, which involves issues such as distribution of property and child custody. Common reasons for divorce include adultery, domestic violence, midlife crises, addiction, and workaholism.

This is a cartoon by Samuel D. Ehrhart, titled An International High Noon Divorce. It parodies the circus-like proceedings during the divorce of American socialite Anna Gould from her husband Boni de Castellane, a French nobleman.

Cartoon: Samuel D. Ehrhart. Restoration: Adam Cuerden

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