Wikipedia:Main Page history/2021 July 29

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From today's featured article

Probable portrait of Palaiologos

Andreas Palaiologos (1453–1502) was the elder son of Thomas Palaiologos, Despot of the Morea, and a nephew of Constantine XI Palaiologos, the final Byzantine emperor. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the Ottoman invasion of the Morea in 1460, Andreas's father fled to Corfu with his family. Upon his father's death in 1465, Andreas moved to Rome and was recognized as the titular Despot of the Morea and as the chief claimant to the ancient imperial throne. Although his father had never claimed the title, Andreas proclaimed himself "Emperor of Constantinople" from 1483 onwards, a claim that was supported by some of the Byzantine refugees who lived in Italy. Andreas traveled around Europe in search of a ruler who could aid him in retaking Constantinople, but rallied little support. In 1481 an expedition he started organizing to restore the Byzantine Empire was canceled. He died in poverty in Rome in 1502 and was buried in St. Peter's Basilica. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Cimoliopterus models in Crystal Palace Park

... that Cimoliopterus was among the first pterosaurs to be depicted as models (pictured) in Crystal Palace Park in the 1850s?
... that two hours before Canadian boxer Mandy Bujold competed in a 2016 Summer Olympics fight, she had been in hospital with gastroenteritis?
... that after the Helmsley Palace Hotel adjacent to the historic Villard Houses was approved, an opponent compared the plans to a human abortion?
... that Jo Beall, a British scholar of development economics, was once imprisoned for anti-apartheid activism?
... that Antonín Panenka's namesake penalty kick secured victory for Czechoslovakia in the UEFA Euro 1976 Final?
... that Robert Randal delivered a petition to British officials that requested civil rights for aliens living in Upper Canada?
... that the village of Ayazini in Turkey, a historic place settled by Phrygians, Ancient Romans, Byzantines and Seljuks, features many dwellings, churches and tomb chambers in rock-cut architecture?
... that the execution of two wives of Sihayo kaXongo for adultery was one of the causes of the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War?

In the news

Philip Pierre

Flooding in western Maharashtra, India, results in over 250 deaths.
The Saint Lucia Labour Party, led by Philip Pierre (pictured), wins the general election.
The 2020 Summer Olympics open in Tokyo, Japan.
The Australian city of Brisbane is announced as the host city of the 2032 Summer Olympics.
In sumo, Terunofuji Haruo becomes the 73rd yokozuna.
Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City in England is stripped of its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to modern development in the area.

On this day

July 29: Eid al-Ghadir (Shia Islam, 2021)

Cape Cod Canal

1693 – Nine Years' War: French troops defeated the forces of the Allied forces led by William III of England at the Battle of Landen in present-day Neerwinden, Belgium.
1914 – The Cape Cod Canal (pictured), connecting Cape Cod Bay and Buzzards Bay in the U.S. state of Massachusetts, opened on a limited basis.
1954 – The first part of J. R. R. Tolkien's high-fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings was published by Allen & Unwin.
1981 – An estimated worldwide television audience of 750 million people watched the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral in London.

Ladislaus I of Hungary (d. 1095)
Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil (b. 1846)
Edward Gierek (d. 2001)

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Today's featured picture

The Palestine sunbird (Cinnyris osea) is a small passerine bird of the sunbird family, Nectariniidae, found in parts of the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa. Its long, downward-curving beak and the brush-tipped tongue are adapted for sipping nectar from flowers. The Palestinian Authority adopted the species as a national bird in 2015. This male Palestine sunbird in breeding plumage was photographed in the Dana Biosphere Reserve in Jordan.

Photograph credit: Charles James Sharp

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