Wikipedia:Main Page history/2012 October 19

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Today's featured article
United States v. Wong Kim Ark is an 1898 United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that virtually everyone born in the United States is a U.S. citizen. This decision established an important precedent in its interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Wong Kim Ark, who was born in San Francisco to Chinese parents around 1871, had been denied re-entry to the U.S. after a trip abroad, under a law restricting Chinese immigration. He challenged the government's refusal to recognize his citizenship, and the Supreme Court ruled that the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment encompassed essentially everyone born in the U.S.—even children of foreigners. Attempts have been made in Congress to restrict birthright citizenship, either via statutory redefinition of the term jurisdiction or by overriding both the Wong Kim Ark ruling and the Citizenship Clause itself through an amendment to the Constitution, but no such proposal has been enacted. (more...) Recently featured: Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough – Mercury dime – Northern Pintail Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the 8 House (pictured) designed by Bjarke Ingels won the best green roof in Scandinavia award? ... that, as Arkansas' first lady, Betty Bumpers started a program that took the state from one of the lowest to one of the highest in the U.S. in its rate of childhood immunization? ... that Residenz Ansbach and the churches of St. Gumbertus and St. Johannis are venues for the biennial Bachwoche Ansbach? ... that the Russian corvette *Navarin* was so badly damaged by a series of storms enroute to the Far East in 1853 that she was deemed too expensive to repair and was sold for scrap? ... that Lord Richard Cavendish's loan saved the Canterbury Association from financial collapse? ... that you need a microscope to reliably distinguish a pine spike from its relatives? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
The discovery of an Earth-sized planet (artist's impression pictured) in Alpha Centauri, the star system closest to Earth, is announced. Hilary Mantel wins the Man Booker Prize for the second time in four years for her novel Bring Up the Bodies. Pakistani child activist Malala Yousafzai, shot by a Taliban gunman last week, is sent to the United Kingdom for treatment. Norodom Sihanouk, former King of Cambodia, dies at the age of 89. Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner sets records for the highest manned balloon flight, highest skydive and fastest freefall speed. Syrian civil war – Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
October 19: Mother Teresa Day in Albania 202 BC – Proconsul Scipio of the Roman Republic defeated Hannibal and the Carthaginians in the Battle of Zama, concluding the Second Punic War. 1864 – American Civil War: Despite incurring nearly twice as many casualties as the Confederates, the Union Army emerged victorious in the Battle of Cedar Creek. 1900 – German physicist Max Planck produced his law of black body emission, a pioneer result of modern physics and quantum theory. 1943 – Streptomycin (pictured), the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis, was first isolated by researchers at Rutgers University. 1987 – Iran–Iraq War: United States Navy forces destroyed two Iranian oil platforms in the Persian Gulf in response to an Iranian missile attack on a Kuwaiti oil tanker. More anniversaries: October 18 – October 19 – October 20 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now October 19, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

Electrolytically refined pure superficially oxidized lead nodules and a high purity 1 cm³ lead cube for comparison. Lead is a soft, malleable heavy metal. Its symbol is Pb, which comes from the Latin word plumbum. It is bluish-white when freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull gray when exposed to air.

Photo: Alchemist-hp

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