The Wikipedia article of the day for September 23, 2016 is Sieges of Taunton.
The sieges of Taunton (23 September 1644 – 9 July 1645) during the First English Civil War were a series of three blockades of the town and castle of Taunton in Somerset. During all three, Robert Blake commanded the Parliamentarian defences of Taunton, which straddled the main road from Bristol to Devon and Cornwall. The first assault, by Royalist troops from local garrisons, initially drove Blake and his troops into the castle, before settling into a siege intended to starve the town into submission. The defenders were relieved by a force under James Holborne in December. The Royalists began the second, and bloodiest, siege in late March; in May, after five days of intense fighting, a Parliamentarian relief army led by Ralph Weldon forced a retreat. Lord Goring renewed the blockade in mid-May, after engaging Weldon’s departing army and forcing it back into Taunton, but the siege was ineffective. The Parliamentarian defence tied up Goring’s troops, who missed the decisive Battle of Naseby. Historians believe those troops could have tipped the battle in favour of the Royalists.
Wikipedia article of the day for September 23, 2016
Wikipedia article of the day for September 22, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for September 22, 2016 is Halo 3: ODST.
Halo 3: ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, released September 22, 2009) is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360. Players can select a survival-themed multiplayer mode called Firefight, or select campaign mode to explore the ruined city of New Mombasa during an alien invasion in search of their missing teammates. Bungie initially conceived ODST as a small side-project slated between Halo 3 and Halo: Reach. Story director Joseph Staten penned a detective story with film noir designs, settings, and characters, and composer Martin O’Donnell created a jazz-influenced sound. The game grew in scope during development, and upon release, it became the top-selling Xbox 360 game worldwide. The title received generally positive reviews from critics for its atmosphere, music, and story approach. It was the top-selling title in the United States in its first month, even though reviewers were divided on whether the relatively short campaign and extras were enough to justify the game’s $60 price tag. It sold more than 3 million copies worldwide, and Time and Wired declared the game one of the year’s best.
Wikipedia article of the day for September 21, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for September 21, 2016 is Howie Morenz.
Howie Morenz (September 21, 1902 – March 8, 1937) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Before joining the National Hockey League (NHL), Morenz excelled in the junior Ontario Hockey Association. He played 14 seasons in the NHL and set several scoring records as a centre for three teams: the Montreal Canadiens (in two stints), the Chicago Black Hawks, and the New York Rangers. The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup three times when he played for them. For seven straight seasons, Morenz led the team in goals scored and points. He was named the league’s most valuable player three times, and made the NHL All-Star Team three times. He died from complications of a broken leg, an injury he suffered in a game. After his death, the Canadiens retired his jersey number, the first time the team had done so for any player. When the Hockey Hall of Fame opened in 1945, Morenz was one of the original nine inductees. In 1950, the Canadian Press named him the best ice hockey player of the first half of the 20th century.
Wikipedia article of the day for September 20, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for September 20, 2016 is An Introduction to Animals and Political Theory.
An Introduction to Animals and Political Theory, a 2010 textbook by the British political theorist Alasdair Cochrane (pictured), was one of the first works to link the question of animal rights to the concept of justice in political philosophy. Cochrane’s book examines five schools of political theory—utilitarianism, liberalism, communitarianism, Marxism and feminism—and their positions on animal rights and the political status of (non-human) animals. He concludes that each tradition has something to offer, but ultimately prefers what he calls an interest-based approach, building primarily upon liberalism and utilitarianism. He argues that rights derived from interests can protect animals and place limits on what can be done to them. These rights cannot be violated, even in the name of the greater good. The Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics described the book as “the first introductory level text to offer an accessible overview on the status of animals in contemporary political theory”. Cochrane’s account of interest-based rights for animals was considered at greater length in his 2012 book Animal Rights Without Liberation.
Wikipedia article of the day for September 19, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for September 19, 2016 is Battle of Dürenstein.
The Battle of Dürenstein (11 November 1805) was an engagement in the Napoleonic Wars during the War of the Third Coalition, fought in the Wachau Valley of the Danube, 73 kilometers (45 mi) upstream from Vienna, Austria. A combined force of Russian and Austrian troops trapped a French division commanded by Théodore Maxime Gazan, part of the VIII Corps under Édouard Mortier. Pursuing the Austrian retreat from Bavaria, Mortier had overextended his three divisions. Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, commander of the Coalition force, enticed Mortier to send Gazan’s division into a trap, and the French troops were caught in a valley between two Russian columns. They were rescued by the timely arrival of a second division, under Pierre Dupont de l’Étang. The battle extended well into the night. Both sides had losses of around 4,000 wounded or dead, and both claimed victory. Austria lost Johann Heinrich von Schmitt, one of its most capable chiefs of staff. After the Russo-Austrian defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz three weeks later, Austria withdrew from the war.
Wikipedia article of the day for September 17, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for September 17, 2016 is Horatio Bottomley.
Horatio Bottomley (1860–1933) was an English financier, newspaper proprietor, Member of Parliament (MP), and swindler. Brought up in an orphanage, he began as an errand boy; his hard work enabled him, at 24, to found a publishing company through which he launched, among other titles, the Financial Times. As a financier his methods often brought him into conflict with the law, but by 1900 he had amassed a fortune as a promoter of shares in dubious gold-mining companies. Bottomley entered parliament as a Liberal Party MP in 1906, and founded John Bull magazine as a platform for his populist views. In 1912 he was declared bankrupt and forced to resign from parliament, but following the outbreak of war in 1914 he became a leading propagandist for the patriotic cause. In 1918, having been discharged from bankruptcy, he re-entered parliament and launched a fraudulent “Victory Bonds” scheme which led to his conviction and imprisonment in 1922. Released in 1927, he eked out a living with lectures and appearances in music halls, before his death in poverty.
Wikipedia article of the day for September 16, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for September 16, 2016 is Hurricane Nora (1997).
Hurricane Nora was the fourteenth named tropical cyclone and seventh hurricane of the 1997 Pacific hurricane season, and only the third tropical storm on record to reach Arizona. Forming off the Pacific coast of Mexico, the September storm was aided by waters warmed by El Niño, and eventually peaked at Category 4 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. It made its first landfall as a hurricane in central Baja California; later the same day, it became one of the few hurricanes to make a landfall in northern Baja. The storm was blamed for two direct casualties in Mexico, as well as substantial beach erosion on the Mexican coast and flash flooding in Baja. Although Nora weakened quickly after landfall, its remnants lashed the Southwestern United States with tropical-storm-force winds, torrential rain, and flooding. Arizona received record precipitation. The remnants persisted far inland, dissipating near the Arizona–Nevada border, although near-hurricane-force winds were observed as far north as Cedar City, Utah.
Wikipedia article of the day for September 15, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for September 15, 2016 is No. 38 Squadron RAAF.
No. 38 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) transport unit. Formed in 1943, the squadron ferried supplies and personnel during World War II between Australia and combat zones in New Guinea and Borneo, using Douglas Dakota aircraft. It was deployed to Singapore from 1950 to 1952, supplying Commonwealth forces engaged in the Malayan Emergency. It started flying de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribous (pictured) in 1964. Throughout Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War, the squadron prepared aircrew for operational service with No. 35 Squadron, and maintained a detachment in Papua and New Guinea to provide pilots with experience flying in tropical conditions. During the 1980s it provided search and rescue capabilities within Australia, working with Australian Army units. From 1999 until 2001, a detachment was deployed to East Timor as part of the Australian-led peacekeeping force in the newly independent nation. The squadron continued to fly the ageing Caribous until 2009, when it was re-equipped with eight Beechcraft King Air 350 aircraft. Currently stationed at RAAF Base Townsville, Queensland, it is responsible for light transport tasks and for training RAAF pilots to operate King Airs.
Wikipedia article of the day for September 14, 2016
The Wikipedia article of the day for September 14, 2016 is Thunder (mascot).
Thunder is the horse mascot for the Denver Broncos, an American football team. Three gray purebred Arabians whose coats turned white with age have held this role since 1993, named JB Kobask, Winter Solstyce, and Me N Myshadow. Ann Judge has been their rider and trainer for almost two decades, and Sharon Magness-Blake has been their owner. The first Thunder performed in Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII, and Thunder III appeared in XLVIII and Super Bowl 50. The mascot routinely attends parades and other public functions, and makes hospital and school visits. He has flown on airplanes, ridden in elevators, and appeared indoors at press conferences and banquets. His duties include leading the team onto the field at the start of every home game and galloping down the length of the field whenever they score a touchdown or field goal. Thunder also greets fans and lets children pet him before games. He remains calm around exploding pyrotechnics and thousands of cheering fans, situations that frighten most horses. Thunder shares mascot duties with Miles, a human who wears a horse head mask atop a Broncos uniform.
