Wikipedia:Main Page history/2024 January 20
From today's featured article
Theodore II Laskaris (1221/1222–1258) was a Byzantine emperor who ruled the Empire of Nicaea from 1254 until his death. Nicaea was a successor state to the Byzantine Empire, after crusaders captured the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade. Theodore began to write treatises on theological, historical and philosophical themes in his youth. From around 1242, he was co-ruler with his father, and his relationship with some prominent aristocrats grew tense. Succeeding his father in 1254 Theodore replaced many aristocratic officials and generals with loyalists, including some of low birth. In 1256, he repelled a Bulgarian invasion of Thrace and Macedonia and forced Epirus to cede Dyrrachium on the Adriatic Sea. Epirus allied with Serbia and Sicily, and jointly invaded Nicaea in 1257; Nicaea's new generals could not resist the invasion. Theodore died in 1258, leaving an underage son, John IV. Michael Palaiologos seized the regency, and usurped the throne soon after. (Full article...)
Did you know ...
- ... that the mother of The Little Girl in Blue (pictured) did not think that the painting was a good likeness of her daughter?
- ... that square pyramids can have different shapes, and pyramidologists have put forward multiple theories on which of these shapes was used for the Egyptian pyramids?
- ... that St. Joseph, a 1909 Catholic church in the Romanesque Revival style in Berlin-Wedding, has served as an interim cathedral since 2018?
- ... that American security official Matthew Turpin believes that the United States and China are already in a new cold war?
- ... that the Ava–Hanthawaddy War of 1385–1391 began when King Swa Saw Ke of Ava tried to place his nominee on the Hanthawaddy throne?
- ... that Koh Masaki was one of the first gay pornographic film actors in Japan to openly appear in adult films without obscuring his identity?
- ... that several reviewers noted the opening line of Venbee's 2022 song "Messy in Heaven", "Jesus did cocaine on a night out"?
- ... that a coach said that Bob Gregor "hits so hard, he maims himself"?
In the news
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- Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's SLIM lunar module lands on the Moon.
- Iran launches missile strikes in Pakistan and aerial strikes in Iraq and Syria, and Pakistan responds with retaliatory airstrikes.
- Bernardo Arévalo is inaugurated (ceremony pictured) as President of Guatemala after multiple attempts to obstruct the event.
- Queen Margrethe II abdicates and is succeeded by Frederik X as King of Denmark.
- Lai Ching-te is elected President of Taiwan.
On this day
January 20: Day of Nationwide Sorrow in Azerbaijan (1990)
- 1156 – According to legend, Lalli slew Bishop Henry of Finland with an axe on the ice of Lake Köyliönjärvi in Köyliö.
- 1843 – Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná, became the de facto first prime minister of the Empire of Brazil.
- 1968 – The Houston Cougars upset the UCLA Bruins in what became known as the "Game of the Century", ending the Bruins' 47-game winning streak, and establishing college basketball as a sports commodity on American television.
- 1969 – Bengali student activist Amanullah Asaduzzaman was shot and killed by East Pakistani police, an event that led to the Bangladesh Liberation War.
- 2009 – During a national financial crisis, thousands of people protested (pictured) at the Icelandic parliament in Reykjavík.
- Li Jitao (d. 924)
- David Wilmot (b. 1814)
- Chandra Khonnokyoong (b. 1909)
- Claudio Abbado (d. 2014)
Today's featured picture
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Ely Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral can trace its origin to an abbey founded in Ely in 672 by St Æthelthryth (also called Etheldreda). The earliest parts of the present building date to 1083, and it was granted cathedral status in 1109. Until the Reformation the cathedral was dedicated to St Etheldreda and St Peter, at which point it was refounded as the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely. It is the cathedral of the Diocese of Ely and seat of the Bishop of Ely. Ely Cathedral was built in a monumental Romanesque style, with the galilee porch, lady chapel and choir later rebuilt in an exuberant Decorated Gothic. Its central octagonal tower and the West Tower give it a prominent position above the surrounding flat landscape. This photograph shows the cathedral's lady chapel. Photograph credit: David Iliff
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