Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 August 11

Hurricane John formed during the 1994 Pacific season and became both the longest-lasting and the farthest-traveling tropical cyclone ever observed. John formed during the strong El Niño episode of 1991 to 1994 and peaked as a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale, the highest categorization. It was recognized as Tropical Depression Ten-E on August 11, 300 nautical miles (560 km) south-southeast of Acapulco, Mexico, and named Tropical Storm John later the same day. In total, it followed a 7,165 mi (11,530 km) path from the eastern Pacific to the western Pacific and back to the central Pacific, lasting 31 days. Because it existed in both the eastern and western Pacific, John was one of a small number of tropical cyclones to be designated as both a hurricane and a typhoon. It was only the fifth tropical cyclone to enter the central Pacific from the western Pacific. John barely affected land, bringing only minimal effects to the Hawaiian Islands (some minor flooding but no reported injuries or significant damage) and a U.S. military base on Johnston Atoll, where damage to structures was estimated at about $15 million. The storm's remnants later affected Alaska. (Full article...)

Part of the Category 5 Pacific hurricanes series, one of Wikipedia's featured topics.

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From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

• ... that Hawksmoor serves steaks (pictured) from Ginger Pig longhorns?
• ... that the first personality test, the Woodworth Personal Data Sheet, was developed with the intention of screening World War I recruits for shell-shock risk?
• ... that Montowampate was attacked by Tarrantines while visiting Masconomet?
• ... that the first FA Charity Shield match, held in 1908, saw Manchester United draw 1–1 with Queens Park Rangers?
• ... that John Gregorson Campbell was at the same time a church minister and a folklorist?
• ... that the one tropical cyclone to make landfall during the 1930 Atlantic hurricane season killed between 2000 and 8000 people?
• ... that in 1907, the moose Älgen Stolta defeated horses in a harness race?

• Sepahan Airlines Flight 5915 crashes near Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran, killing at least 38 people.
• Khmer Rouge leaders Nuon Chea (pictured) and Khieu Samphan are found guilty of crimes against humanity by a UN-backed tribunal.
• The ESA spacecraft Rosetta reaches the comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko.
• Official commemorations are held in Europe to mark the outbreak of the First World War 100 years ago.
• A 6.1-magnitude earthquake in Yunnan, China, kills at least 589 people and injures more than 2,400 others.
• At least 15 soldiers die in clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
• Gas explosions in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, kill at least 30 people and injure more than 300 others.

Ongoing: Ebola outbreak – Gaza conflict – Libyan conflict – Ukrainian unrest

August 11: Tu B'Av (Judaism, 2014); Independence Day in Chad (1960)

• 2492 BC – According to legend, Armenian culture hero Hayk slew the giant king Bel with a shot from a longbow near Lake Van (in modern Turkey).
• 1492 – The first papal conclave held in the Sistine Chapel elected Roderic Borja as Pope Alexander VI to succeed Pope Innocent VIII.
• 1786 – Captain Francis Light founded the British colony of Penang, beginning more than a century of British involvement in Malaya.
• 1942 – Actress Hedy Lamarr (pictured) and composer George Antheil received a patent for their "Secret Communications System", an early technique of frequency-hopping spread spectrum that later became the basis for many forms of today's wireless communication systems.
• 2012 – At least 306 people were killed and 3,000 others injured in a pair of earthquakes near Tabriz, Iran.

More anniversaries: August 10 – August 11 – August 12

Sixteen five-wicket hauls were taken by Shoaib Akhtar (pictured) during his career in international cricket. Shoaib is a retired Pakistani fast bowler who made his Test debut in 1997 against the West Indies at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. His first Test five-wicket haul came the following year against South Africa in a match which Pakistan won at Kingsmead Cricket Ground, Durban. Starting his One Day International (ODI) career in October 1998 against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club, Shoaib's first ODI five-wicket haul came against New Zealand in February 2001 at the Eden Park, Auckland. In Test cricket, Shoaib's career-best figures for an innings were 6 wickets for 11 runs against New Zealand at the Gaddafi Stadium. His best bowling performance in ODIs was 6 wickets for 16 runs against the same team at the National Stadium, Karachi. As of June 2014, he is sixth in the list of five-wicket haul takers for Pakistan, all formats of the game combined. (Full list...)