The Wikipedia article of the day for July 11, 2016 is Satoru Iwata.
Satoru Iwata (December 6, 1959 – July 11, 2015) was a Japanese game programmer and businessman who became the fourth president and chief executive officer of Nintendo in 2002. Born in Sapporo, Japan, Iwata expressed interest in video games from an early age and later majored in computer science at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. He joined the game developer HAL Laboratory in 1980 and became its president in 1993. Joining Nintendo as the head of its corporate-planning division in 2000, he brought growth to the company. As a self-declared gamer, he focused on expanding the appeal of video games across all demographics and increasing the market space. He also built a strong relationship with Nintendo fans through social media and his regular appearances in Iwata Asks and Nintendo Direct, becoming the public face of the company. Under his direction, Nintendo developed the profitable Nintendo DS and Wii video game consoles, but the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U dropped net sales by two-thirds from 2009 to 2012, leaving the company with its first operating losses in 30 years. Iwata voluntarily halved his salary as an apology in 2011 and 2014.
Archives for July 2016
Wikipedia article of the day for July 11, 2016
Wikipedia article of the day for July 10, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for July 10, 2016 is No. 90 Wing RAAF.
No. 90 (Composite) Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) wing that operated during the early years of the Malayan Emergency. Its purpose was to serve as an overarching organisation for the RAAF units deployed in the conflict, No. 1 (Bomber) Squadron, flying Avro Lincolns, and No. 38 (Transport) Squadron, flying Douglas C-47 Dakotas. The wing was established on 10 July 1950 and headquartered at Changi, on the east coast of Singapore. No. 1 Squadron operated from Tengah, in Singapore’s west. No. 38 Squadron was based at Changi and, from April 1951 to February 1952, at Kuala Lumpur in central Malaya. The Lincolns generally conducted area bombing missions, as well as precision strikes, to harass communist insurgents. The Dakotas were tasked with airlifting cargo, VIPs, troops and casualties, as well as courier flights and supply drops. Following No. 38 Squadron’s departure in December 1952, No. 90 Wing was disbanded, leaving No. 1 Squadron to carry on as the sole RAAF unit in the campaign until its withdrawal to Australia in July 1958.
Wikipedia article of the day for July 9, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for July 9, 2016 is Deinocheirus.
The genus Deinocheirus (Greek for “horrible hand”) was a dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous around 70 million years ago. In 1965 its shoulder girdles and a pair of large arms (pictured) were first discovered in the Nemegt Formation of Mongolia, and in 2014 two complete specimens were described. Deinocheirus was the largest ornithomimosaur (ostrich dinosaur), at 11 m (36 ft) long, and weighed 6.36 t (14,000 lb), although it had many hollow bones. The arms were among the largest of any bipedal dinosaurs at 2.4 m (7.9 ft) long, with large, blunt claws on its three-fingered hands. The legs were relatively short, and bore blunt claws. Its vertebrae had tall spines that formed a sail along its back. The skull was 1.024 m (3.36 ft) long, with a wide bill and a deep lower jaw. Deinocheirus is thought to have been omnivorous; its skull shape indicates a diet of plants, and fish scales were found with one specimen. It probably used gastroliths to grind food. The large claws may have been used for digging and gathering plants. Bite marks on Deinocheirus bones have been attributed to the tyrannosaurid Tarbosaurus.
Wikipedia article of the day for July 8, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for July 8, 2016 is New York Herald.
The Jeannette Expedition of 1879–81 was an attempt led by George W. De Long to reach the North Pole using a route through the Bering Strait to the fabled temperate Open Polar Sea. The expedition was financed by James Gordon Bennett, Jr., the proprietor of the New York Herald, and based on the ocean current theories of the German cartographer August Petermann. The attempt failed; the expedition’s ship, USS Jeannette (pictured), drifted in the polar ice for nearly two years before being crushed and sunk, north of the Siberian coast. De Long then led his men on a journey by boat and sled to the Lena Delta. Before ultimate rescue, more than half of the ship’s complement died, including De Long. During Jeannette’s long drift the expedition discovered what were later called the De Long Islands, and collected significant meteorological and oceanographic data. Although the ship’s fate demolished the long-standing Open Polar Sea theory, the appearance in 1884 of debris from the wreck on the south-west coast of Greenland indicated that an Arctic current carried the ice from east to west. This discovery inspired Fridtjof Nansen to mount his Fram expedition nine years later.
Wikipedia article of the day for July 7, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for July 7, 2016 is Aaliyah (album).
Aaliyah, released on July 7, 2001, by Blackground Records and Virgin Records America, is the third and final studio album by American R&B recording artist Aaliyah (pictured). Recorded periodically from 1998 to 2000, it is an R&B and neo soul record, drawing on funk, hip hop, alternative rock, and electronica sounds, among others. Most of the song lyrics were written by Static Major, and deal with the complexities of romantic love and the stages of a relationship; Aaliyah viewed the album as a reflection of herself as both a young adult and a matured vocalist. Aaliyah received positive critical reviews, and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, though sales began to drop off shortly after its release. Following Aaliyah’s death in a plane crash on August 25, 2001, seven weeks after the album’s release, sales skyrocketed, and the album reentered the Billboard 200 at number one. Aaliyah was released during a period of peak activity in contemporary R&B; since its initial reception, it has been cited by critics as one of the best R&B records of its time.
Wikipedia article of the day for July 6, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for July 6, 2016 is History of the New York Yankees.
The history of the New York Yankees Major League Baseball team spans more than a century. Frank J. Farrell and William Stephen Devery bought the rights to an American League (AL) club in New York City after the 1902 season. The team, which became the Yankees in 1913, won their first AL title in 1921, followed by their first World Series championship in 1923. Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig were part of the team’s Murderers’ Row lineup; under Miller Huggins, they led the Yankees to a Series championship and a 110-win season, a league record in 1927. The Yankees won the World Series every year from 1936 to 1939 with a team that featured Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio. New York set a major league record by winning five consecutive championships from 1949 to 1953, and appeared in the World Series nine times during the next 11 years. Despite management disputes, the team reached the World Series four times between 1976 and 1981, claiming the championship in 1977 and 1978. Their 1998–2000 teams were the last to win three straight World Series titles. In 2009, they won the title for a record 27th time.
Wikipedia article of the day for July 5, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for July 5, 2016 is Nights into Dreams….
Nights into Dreams… is an action video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Sega Saturn in 1996. The story follows two teenagers, Claris and Elliot, who enter a dream world called Nightopia where all dreams take place. With the help of Nights, they begin a journey to stop the evil ruler Wizeman from destroying Nightopia and consequently the real world. Nights flies through Claris and Elliot’s dreams, gathering energy to defeat Wizeman and save Nightopia. Development began soon after the release of Sonic & Knuckles in 1994, and was led by Sonic Team veterans Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Takashi Iizuka. Naka began the project with flight as a main theme, and Ohshima designed the character Nights to resemble an angel that could fly like a bird. An analogue controller, known as the Saturn 3D controller, was designed alongside the game. Nights into Dreams… received positive reviews upon release; critics praised the graphics, gameplay, soundtrack, and atmosphere. It has been included on multiple lists as the best Sega Saturn game of all time, as well as one of the best video games ever made.
Wikipedia article of the day for July 4, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for July 4, 2016 is United States Sesquicentennial coinage.
The United States Sesquicentennial coins, a commemorative half dollar and quarter eagle (gold $2.50 piece) for the 150th anniversary of American independence, were struck in 1926 at the Philadelphia Mint. The half dollar depicts George Washington and then-president Calvin Coolidge, making Coolidge the only president to appear on a U.S. coin while living. The National Sesquicentennial Exhibition Commission was chartered by Congress in 1925, and was allowed to purchase and resell for profit 1,000,000 specially designed half dollars and 200,000 quarter eagles. The Commission had trouble agreeing on designs with Mint Chief Engraver John R. Sinnock, and asked artist John Frederick Lewis to submit sketches. These were adapted by Sinnock for the half dollar, without giving credit to Lewis, whose involvement would not be generally known for forty years. The maximum number of each coin was struck, with many melted when they failed to sell at a premium. The Liberty Bell reverse for the half dollar was reused by Sinnock, again without giving Lewis credit, on his Franklin half dollar, first minted in 1948.
Wikipedia article of the day for July 3, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for July 3, 2016 is John Balmer.
John Balmer (3 July 1910 – 11 May 1944) was a bomber pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He joined the RAAF in 1932, and gained attention as a cross-country motorist before the war. In 1940 he became the inaugural commanding officer of No. 13 Squadron, operating Lockheed Hudsons in Northern Australia. He was raised to temporary wing commander in 1941, and within a year had taken charge of the RAAF’s first Bristol Beaufort unit, No. 100 Squadron. Appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1942, he led the Beauforts on bombing and torpedo missions against Japanese targets during the New Guinea campaign. Posted to England in 1943, Balmer took command of No. 467 Squadron RAAF, flying Avro Lancasters in the air war over Europe. He led his unit through the Battle of Berlin from November 1943 to March 1944. In April he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the following month promoted to temporary group captain. Days later, on the night of 11 May, Balmer’s last scheduled operation as the squadron’s commanding officer, he and his crew were killed when their plane was shot down. He was buried outside Brussels.
