Wikipedia:Main Page history/2016 December 7

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From today's featured article

The Pennsylvania class consisted of two super-dreadnought battleships, Pennsylvania and Arizona, named after American states. They were the newest American capital ships when the United States entered the First World War, but saw limited use at the time. During the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, both ships were present. Arizona suffered a massive magazine explosion and sank with the loss of 1,177 officers and crewmen; the remains now lie beneath a memorial site that attracts more than two million visitors annually. Pennsylvania, in dry dock at the time, received only minor damage; it spent most of the war as a shore bombardment ship before participating in the October 1944 Battle of Surigao Strait, the last battle ever between battleships. Pennsylvania was severely damaged by a torpedo on 12 August 1945, the day before the cessation of hostilities. With minimal repairs, it was used in Operation Crossroads, part of the Bikini atomic experiments, before being expended as a target ship in 1948. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Cielo Latini

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... that XGRS was a Nazi-operated radio station in Shanghai during World War II?
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In the news

John Key

At least 54 people are killed as an earthquake of magnitude 6.5 strikes Aceh, Indonesia.
Prime Minister of New Zealand John Key (pictured) announces his resignation.
Alexander Van der Bellen wins the Austrian presidential election in a re-run of the second round.
A fire at a warehouse party in Oakland, California, kills at least 36 people.
Adama Barrow wins the Gambian presidential election, triggering the country's first change in leader since 1994.
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry announces official names for recently discovered superheavy elements nihonium (113), moscovium (115), tennessine (117), and oganesson (118).

On this day...

December 7: Armed Forces Flag Day in India; Pearl Harbor Day in the United States

Jesse James

1815 – Michel Ney, Marshal of France, was executed by a firing squad near Paris' Jardin du Luxembourg for supporting Napoleon.
1869 – American outlaw Jesse James (pictured) committed his first confirmed bank robbery in Gallatin, Missouri.
1936 – Australian cricketer Jack Fingleton became the first player to score centuries in four consecutive Test innings.
1946 – The deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history happened at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia.
1988 – A 6.9 M_w earthquake struck the Spitak region of Armenia, killing at least 25,000 people.

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Today's featured picture

The Municipal Theatre of São Paulo is a theatre and landmark in São Paulo, Brazil. It is significant both for its architectural value as well as its historical importance; the theatre was the venue for the Modern Art Week in 1922, which revolutionised the arts in Brazil. The building now houses the São Paulo Municipal Symphonic Orchestra, the Coral Lírico (Lyric Choir), and the City Ballet of São Paulo.

Photograph: The Photographer

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