Wikipedia:Main Page history/2024 March 6b
From today's featured article
In March 1944, military units were placed on alert in Western Australia after Allied forces detected the movement of a powerful group of Japanese warships in the Netherlands East Indies. The main Japanese fleet had been redeployed to Singapore the previous month, and it was feared that this force could attack Western Australia. Reinforcements, including six Royal Australian Air Force flying squadrons, were dispatched to safeguard Fremantle, Perth, and other cities. Other Allied air units were held at Darwin in the Northern Territory. An air raid warning was sounded in Fremantle and Perth on 10 March, but was a false alarm. Intensive patrols by the Allied militaries did not detect any Japanese warships off Western Australia, and most units stood down on 12 March. The deployment ended on 20 March after it was concluded that an attack was unlikely. The Japanese did not attempt an attack on Western Australia, and the ships that the Allies detected were escorts for a small raiding force. (Full article...)
Did you know ...
- ... that Chinese-born Joseph Pierce (pictured) enlisted as a Union Army soldier, fought at the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War, and was made a corporal?
- ... that Sting wrote "We Work the Black Seam" because he felt that "the case for coal was never put to the nation" during the 1984–85 British miners' strike, which began 40 years ago today?
- ... that James May led the team that transplanted a patient's right hand onto his left arm?
- ... that Saint Melangell's shrine was reconstructed from pieces of the 12th-century original found in the walls of the church and lychgate?
- ... that Rana Reider has trained athletes who won Olympic gold medals in five different events?
- ... that in the song "Carnival", Kanye West references several public figures including Elon Musk and Taylor Swift?
- ... that the horse Sardar was gifted to Jacqueline Kennedy during her 1962 goodwill tour of Pakistan?
- ... that a school in New York City occupies a Renaissance-style palazzo and a "French Renaissance hotel"?
In the news
- The Haitian government declares a state of emergency after gangs storm two prisons and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry (pictured).
- Following the general election, Shehbaz Sharif is appointed Prime Minister of Pakistan.
- Former Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney dies at the age of 84.
- Following the general election, Feleti Teo is appointed Prime Minister of Tuvalu.
On this day
- 845 – The Abbasid Caliphate executed 42 Byzantine officials who had been captured in the sack of Amorium of 838 for refusing to convert to Islam.
- 1447 – Tommaso Parentucelli was elected as Pope Nicholas V in Rome.
- 1904 – Scottish National Antarctic Expedition: Led by William Speirs Bruce (pictured), the Antarctic region of Coats Land was discovered by the Scotia.
- 1988 – The Troubles: In Operation Flavius, the Special Air Service killed three volunteers of the Provisional Irish Republican Army conspiring to bomb a parade of British military bands in Gibraltar.
- 2000 – The Marine Parade Community Building, the mural cladding of which is the largest installation art in Singapore, was opened.
- Clark Shaughnessy (b. 1892)
- Joseph Berchtold (b. 1897)
- Shaukat Aziz (b. 1949)
- Cyprien Ntaryamira (b. 1955)
Today's featured picture
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Penyal d'Ifac Natural Park is a 45-hectare natural park situated in Calpe, in the Valencian Community of Spain. It was given natural-park status in 1987. The park is centred on the Penyal d'Ifac, a 332-metre (1,089 ft) limestone outcrop emerging from the sea that is linked to the shore by an isthmus of rock debris. The park is home to numerous rare plants, including a number of endemic species, and more than 300 species of animals, and a nesting site for colonies of sea birds and other birds. Photograph credit: Diego Delso
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