WIKIPEDIA:MAIN PAGE HISTORY 2011 DECEMBER 28

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Today's featured article
The Peace dollar is a United States dollar coin minted from 1921 to 1928, and again in 1934 and 1935. Designed by Anthony de Francisci, the coin resulted from a competition seeking designs emblematic of peace, and its reverse depicts an eagle at rest clutching an olive branch, with the legend "PEACE". It was the last United States silver dollar to be struck for circulation. With the passage of the Pittman Act in 1918, the United States Mint was required to strike millions of silver dollars, and began doing so in 1921 using the Morgan dollar design. Numismatists began urging the Mint to issue a coin evoking peace; although they failed to get Congress to pass a bill requiring the redesign, they were able to persuade government officials to take action. The Peace dollar was approved in December 1921, completing the redesign of United States coinage which had begun in 1907. The public believed the announced design, which included a broken sword, was illustrative of defeat, and the Mint hastily acted to remove the sword from the design. The Peace dollar was first struck on December 28, 1921; just over a million were coined bearing a 1921 date. When the Pittman Act requirements were met in 1928, the Mint ceased to strike the dollars. ( more...) Recently featured: Knowle West, Bristol – 1689 Boston revolt – Red-capped Robin Archive – By email – More featured articles...
Did you know...
From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that French baritone Jean-Vital Ismaël (caricature pictured), who sang in the premieres of Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles and Gounod's Mireille, had left home at age 16 to become a street singer? ... that Polish magazine Miasto Kobiet organizes Szafobranie, a recurring event in which people give and get clothes without exchanging money? ... that weeping lovegrass is used for funeral rituals in Lesotho, and sometimes hybridizes with Lehmann's lovegrass? ... that two New Zealand Members of Parliament, David Buick and Alfred Hindmarsh, died in the 1918 influenza epidemic? ... that the unorganized territory of Mont-Albert in Quebec, Canada, is a home to the only remaining herd of migratory woodland caribou south of the Saint Lawrence River? ... that Katrina Kaif considers the item number Sheila ki jawani to be one of her raunchiest ever? Archive – Start a new article – Nominate an article

In the news
Multiple bombings occur in Nigeria, killing at least 39 people. Two coordinated bombings kill at least 44 people in Damascus, Syria. A series of coordinated bombings in Baghdad kills at least 65 people. Soyuz TMA-03M, launched from Baikonur, carries a crew of three men (pictured) to the International Space Station. Russia's largest stock exchanges, MICEX and RTS, merge to form MICEX-RTS. North Korea announces the death of Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il. Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...
On this day...
December 28: Hanukkah ends at sunset (Judaism, 2011); Day of the Holy Innocents (Western Christianity) 893 – An earthquake destroyed the city of Dvin, Armenia, causing about 30,000 casualties. 1907 – The last confirmed sighting of the extinct Huia took place in the Tararua Ranges, North Island, New Zealand. 1912 – The San Francisco Municipal Railway, operator of the city's famed cable car system (streetcar pictured), opened its first line. 1918 – Irishwoman Constance Markievicz became the first female Member of Parliament elected to the British House of Commons, although she never served. 1989 – In one of Australia's most serious natural disasters, a 5.6 M_L earthquake struck Newcastle, New South Wales, killing 13 people and injuring more than 160 others, and causing an estimated AU$4 billion in damages. 2008 – War in Somalia: Troops of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government along with their Ethiopian allies captured Mogadishu unopposed. More anniversaries: December 27 – December 28 – December 29 Archive – By email – List of historical anniversaries It is now December 28, 2011 ( UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture

The marbled rock crab (Pachygrapsus marmoratus) is native to the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and parts of the Atlantic Ocean. It is dark violet brown, with yellow marbling, and with a body up to 36 millimetres (1.4 in) long. It is an omnivore, feeding on algae and various animals including mussels and limpets.

Photo: George Chernilevsky

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