Category: 2017

The Wikipedia article of the day for October 14, 2017 is Battle of Hastings.
The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, about 7 miles (11 kilometres) northwest of Hastings. The death of the childless King Edward the Confessor in January of that year led to a bloody struggle for the throne. After Harold defeated his own brother Tostig and the Norwegian King Harald Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in September, William landed his invasion forces in the south of England at Pevensey. Harold marched swiftly to meet him, gathering forces as he went. The English army, with perhaps 10,000 infantry, met an invading force of perhaps 3,500 infantry and 3,500 cavalry and archers. After failing to break the English battle lines, the Normans pretended to flee in panic, then turned on their pursuers. Harold’s death, probably near the end of the battle, led to the retreat and defeat of most of his army and to the Norman conquest of England. William was crowned as king on Christmas Day 1066.

Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2017/10/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-october-14.html

The Wikipedia article of the day for October 13, 2017 is Ben Paschal.
Ben Paschal (October 13, 1895 – November 10, 1974) was an American Major League Baseball player for eight seasons between 1915 and 1929. He spent most of his career as the fourth outfielder and right-handed pinch hitter of the Murderers’ Row championship teams of the New York Yankees in the late 1920s. He is best known for hitting .360 in the 1925 season while standing in for Babe Ruth, who missed the first 40 games with a stomach ailment. Paschal was described as a five-tool player, excelling at running, throwing, fielding, hitting percentage and power hitting. His playing time with the Yankees was limited because they already had future Baseball Hall of Famers Ruth and Earle Combs, along with Bob Meusel, in the outfield. Paschal was considered one of the best bench players in baseball during his time with the Yankees, and sportswriters agreed that he would have started for most other teams in the American League. He was one of the best pinch hitters in the game at a time when the term was still relatively new to baseball.

Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2017/10/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-october-13.html

The Wikipedia article of the day for October 12, 2017 is Saturn.
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Named after the Roman god of agriculture, it is a gas giant with an average radius about nine times that of Earth. Although it has only one-eighth the average density of Earth, it is over 95 times more massive. The planet probably has a core of iron–nickel and rock, surrounded by a deep layer of metallic hydrogen, an intermediate layer of liquid hydrogen and liquid helium, and a gaseous outer layer. Ammonia crystals give the upper atmosphere a pale yellow hue. Electrical current within the metallic hydrogen layer is thought to give rise to the planetary magnetic field. Wind speeds can reach 1,800 km/h (500 m/s), higher than on Jupiter, but not as high as on Neptune. A prominent ring system with nine continuous main rings and three smaller arcs is composed mostly of ice particles, with some rocky debris and dust. Saturn has hundreds of moonlets and at least 62 moons, including Titan, the second-largest moon in the Solar System and the only one with a substantial atmosphere.

Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2017/10/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-october-12.html

The Wikipedia article of the day for October 11, 2017 is Fork-marked lemur.
Fork-marked lemurs (the genus Phaner) are primates native to Madagascar. Weighing around 350 grams (0.77 lb) or more, they are some of the largest members of the family of dwarf and mouse lemurs in the suborder Strepsirrhini. They have a dorsal forked stripe, dark rings around their eyes, and large membranous ears. Like other members of their family, they are nocturnal, and sleep in tree holes and nests during the day. Males are very vocal, making repeated calls at the beginning and end of the night. Monogamous pairing is typical; females are dominant, and are thought to have only one offspring every two years or more. Fork-marked lemurs run quadrupedally across branches in a wide variety of habitats, ranging from dry deciduous forests to rainforests. Their diet consists primarily of tree gum and other exudates, though they may obtain some of their protein by hunting small arthropods later at night. Three of the four species are endangered and the other is listed as vulnerable. Their populations are in decline due to habitat destruction.

Source http://handbookblogger.blogspot.com/2017/10/wikipedia-article-of-day-for-october-11.html