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From today's featured article

Skyline of Kigali

Kigali is the capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. The city has been Rwanda's economic, cultural, and transport hub since it became the capital following independence from Belgium in 1962. It is one of five provinces into which Rwanda was repartitioned in 2006. Kigali is divided into three districts—Gasabo, Kicukiro, and Nyarugenge—which historically had control of significant areas of local governance. Reforms in January 2020 transferred much of the districts' power to the city-wide council. The city also hosts the main residence and offices of the president of Rwanda and most government ministries. It was founded in 1907 as the headquarters of the German colonial resident. It grew slowly during the following decades, but since the Rwandan Civil War and the genocide it has experienced rapid population growth, with much of the city rebuilt. The largest contributor to Kigali's GDP is the service sector. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

The Duke of Windsor in 1970

... that when he was younger, the Duke of Windsor (pictured) wanted to be an "up-to-date" king?
... that Aga Mikolaj, a soprano who studied with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, appeared as Mozart's Donna Elvira from San Francisco to Tokyo, and sang the Four Last Songs with "a degree of abandon and rapture"?
... that Nadodrze in Poland was used by Steven Spielberg as a filming location for a spy drama set in Berlin?
... that Rogers Lehew was influential in starting the Calgary Stampeders tradition of featuring a horse at the sidelines during games at McMahon Stadium?
... that in the 1950s, the Soviet Union introduced an open university system to enable working-class students to become useful functionaries of the Communist party?
... that historian of the Middle East George Eden Kirk's first book was praised for excelling in objectivity while his last was criticised for bias and bitterness?
... that the Stinnes–Legien Agreement was named after a trade union leader and an industrialist?
... that the miracles that established Saint Glodesind's claim to sainthood did not begin until 25 years or more after her death, and many of them occurred over 200 years later?

In the news

Guillermo Lasso

Guillermo Lasso (pictured) is elected President of Ecuador.
At the British Academy Film Awards, Nomadland wins four awards, including Best Film.
In golf, Hideki Matsuyama wins the Masters Tournament.
In horse racing, Minella Times wins the Grand National, with Rachael Blackmore becoming the first female jockey to win in the race's 182-year history.
The volcano La Soufrière erupts in Saint Vincent, forcing the evacuation of around 20,000 people.

On this day

April 18

Robert Mugabe

1775 – American Revolutionary War: Colonists Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott began a midnight ride from Boston to Lexington to warn residents about the impending arrival of British troops.
1915 – World War I: Hit by ground fire, French aviation pioneer Roland Garros landed his aircraft behind enemy lines and was taken prisoner.
1938 – Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster of DC Comics, made his debut in Action Comics #1, the first true superhero comic book.
1980 – Robert Mugabe (pictured) became the first prime minister of Zimbabwe after the Lancaster House Agreement brought an end to the unrecognized state of Zimbabwe Rhodesia.
1996 – Operation Grapes of Wrath: Israeli forces shelled Qana, Lebanon, killing at least 100 civilians and injuring more than 110 others at a United Nations compound.

Ippolita Maria Sforza (b. 1445 or 1446)
Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran (b. 1838)
Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (d. 1942)

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Today's featured picture

Booker T. Washington (1856–1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to multiple presidents of the United States. Born into slavery, he became the leading voice of former slaves and their descendants, and was one of the founders of the National Negro Business League. His long-term goal was to end the disenfranchisement of the vast majority of African Americans, who at that time still lived in the South. After his death, his legacy was seen as controversial by the civil-rights community, which criticised him for accommodating excessively to white supremacy.

Photograph credit: Frances Benjamin Johnston; restored by Adam Cuerden

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