Wikipedia:Main Page history/2019 February 5

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From today's featured article

William Bostock (5 February 1892 – 28 April 1968) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). During World War II he led RAAF Command, the Air Force's main operational formation, earning the Distinguished Service Order and the American Medal of Freedom. A veteran of World War I, Bostock first saw combat at Gallipoli, then as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps on the Western Front, where he earned the Belgian Croix de guerre. In the 1930s he served as Director of Training, commanding officer of No. 3 Squadron, and Director of Operations, becoming Deputy Chief of the Air Staff in 1939. Appointed Air Officer Commanding RAAF Command in 1942, he feuded with Chief of the Air Staff George Jones over control of the Air Force in the South West Pacific Area. Following his retirement from the RAAF in 1946, he became a journalist and later a Federal Member of Parliament. (Full article...)

Part of the Command in the South West Pacific Area series, one of Wikipedia's featured topics.

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Did you know...

Chun Afong

... that Chinese millionaire merchant Chun Afong (pictured) made his fortune in the "Sandalwood Mountains" and had sixteen children with a descendant of Hawaiian royalty?
... that the Northeast Syrtis region on Mars once had flowing water, and has sulfate and carbonate minerals?
... that top National Hockey League prospects Quinn and Jack Hughes learned how to skate from their mother, Ellen Weinberg-Hughes, a world championship silver medalist?
... that indigenous peoples in the Northern Territory of Australia would toss fruit of the river fig into rivers to attract turtles?
... that Charles J. Donlan was responsible for selecting the Mercury Seven astronauts and led the team selecting the Mercury spacecraft they flew?
... that in the presence of red rock crabs, the shell of the frilled dogwinkle tends to grow thicker, whereas when predatory starfish are around, it tends to grow longer?
... that two years before it closed due to lack of funds, the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights put out the "Sheroes Womyn Warriors Wall Calendar" to raise money?
... that the Romanian pianist Radu Lupu's public debut at the age of 12 featured his own compositions?

In the news

Julian Edelman

In American football, the New England Patriots defeat the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl (MVP Julian Edelman pictured).
Both the United States and Russia suspend the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.
In association football, the AFC Asian Cup concludes with Qatar defeating Japan in the final.
A cold wave impacts North America, killing at least 22 people.

On this day

February 5

The "Welcome Stranger" gold nugget

AD 62 – Pompeii was severely damaged by a strong earthquake, which may have been a precursor to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius that destroyed the town 17 years later.
1869 – Prospectors in Moliagul, Victoria, Australia, discovered the largest alluvial gold nugget ever found, known as the "Welcome Stranger" (pictured).
1917 – The U.S. Congress overrode President Woodrow Wilson's veto to pass the Immigration Act of 1917, establishing new restrictions on immigrants, including the wholesale ban of people from much of Asia.
1941 – Second World War: British and Free French forces began the Battle of Keren to capture the strategic town of Keren in Italian Eritrea.
2009 – The United States Navy guided missile cruiser Port Royal ran aground on a coral reef off the island of Oahu.

C. E. Brock (b. 1870) · Josiah Thomas (d. 1933) · Neymar (b. 1992)

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Today's featured picture

Francis Bourgeois (1753–1811) was a British landscape and history painter, and court painter to King George III. In the late 18th century he became an art dealer and collector in association with Frenchman Noel Desenfans. The pair were commissioned by Stanisław August Poniatowski, then King of Poland, to compile a collection of paintings, which they spent five years doing; Stanisław's exile in 1795 meant the contract could not be completed and they were left with a large art collection. Bourgeois outlived Desenfans and bequeathed them to Dulwich College with an additional £2000 to build a permanent building, which became the Dulwich Picture Gallery, England's first purpose-built public art gallery.

This portrait of Bourgeois was painted by William Beechey (1753–1839) and hangs in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Painting: William Beechey

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