Wikipedia article of the day for April 26, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for April 26, 2021 is Bodashtart.
Bodashtart was a Phoenician ruler who reigned as King of Sidon (c. 525 – c. 515 BC). He was a prolific builder, and his name is attested on some 30 inscriptions near Sidon, Lebanon, the major source of information on him. The earliest to be discovered was excavated in Sidon in 1858 and was donated to the Louvre. Podium inscriptions (example pictured) at the Temple of Eshmun were discovered between 1900 and 1922; some credit him with construction in the temple, while others connect him and his son Yatonmilk with work there, emphasizing Yatonmilk's legitimacy as heir. The most recently-discovered inscription as of 2020 was found in the 1970s on the bank of the Bostrenos River, crediting the king with the building of water canals to supply the temple. Three of his Eshmun temple inscriptions have been left in place; the others are housed in museums in Paris, Istanbul, and Beirut. He is believed to have reigned for at least seven years, as evidenced by the Bostrenos River bank inscription.

Wikipedia article of the day for April 25, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for April 25, 2021 is Of Human Feelings.
Of Human Feelings is an album by American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Ornette Coleman. It was recorded on April 25, 1979, at CBS Studios in New York City with his band Prime Time (pictured), which featured guitarists Charlie Ellerbee and Bern Nix, bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, and drummers Calvin Weston and Coleman's son Denardo. It followed the saxophonist's failed attempt to record a direct-to-disc session earlier in the same year and was the first jazz album to be recorded digitally in the United States. The album's jazz-funk music continued Coleman's harmolodic approach to improvisation with Prime Time. He also drew on rhythm and blues influences from earlier in his career, and applied free jazz principles from his music during the 1960s to elements of funk. Following a change in management, Coleman signed with Island Records, and the album was released in 1982 by its subsidiary label Antilles Records. Critics generally praised the album's expressive music and harmolodic approach, but it made little commercial impact.

Wikipedia article of the day for April 24, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for April 24, 2021 is Old Spanish Trail half dollar.
The Old Spanish Trail half dollar was a commemorative coin struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1935. It was designed by L. W. Hoffecker, a coin dealer who had been the moving force behind the effort for a Gadsden Purchase half dollar, vetoed by President Herbert Hoover in 1930, and he sought another commemorative coin that he could control if authorizing legislation was passed. He chose the travels of Spanish officer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in the early 16th century. Though Hoffecker's hometown of El Paso, Texas, is featured on the coin, Cabeza de Vaca came nowhere near its site. Hoffecker purchased the coins from the Mint at face value and sold them to collectors, ostensibly on behalf of the local museum, but in fact for his personal profit, something he later denied before Congress. His design for the coin, featuring the head of a cow (the English meaning of cabeza de vaca), has brought mixed reviews from numismatic commentators.

Wikipedia article of the day for April 23, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for April 23, 2021 is Pigeon guillemot.
The pigeon guillemot (Cepphus columba) is a seabird in the auk family, Alcidae. It is dark brown with a black iridescent sheen and a distinctive wing patch broken by a brown-black wedge in breeding plumage. Its non-breeding plumage has mottled grey and black upperparts and white underparts. The long bill is black, as are the claws. The legs, feet, and inside of the mouth are red. It closely resembles the black guillemot, which is slightly smaller and lacks the dark wing wedge; combined, the two form a superspecies. Pigeon guillemots are found on North Pacific coastal waters, from Siberia through Alaska to California. They dive and pursue prey underwater, mostly small fish and marine invertebrates near the sea floor. They are monogamous breeders, nesting in small colonies close to the shore. Both parents incubate the eggs and feed the chicks. The species has a large, stable population and wide range.

Wikipedia article of the day for April 22, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for April 22, 2021 is Earth.
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. It is the densest planet in the Solar System and the largest and most massive of the four rocky planets. About 29% of Earth's surface is land, with the remaining 71% covered with water and much of Earth's polar regions covered in ice. Earth's interior is active with a solid iron inner core, a liquid outer core that generates Earth's magnetic field, and a convective mantle that drives plate tectonics. Earth formed over 4.5 billion years ago. Within the first billion years of Earth's history, life appeared in the oceans and began to affect Earth's atmosphere and surface. Since then, the combination of Earth's distance from the Sun, physical properties and geological history have allowed life to evolve and thrive. Almost 8 billion humans live on Earth and depend on its biosphere and natural resources for their survival, but increasingly impact Earth's surface, atmosphere and other life. (This article is part of a featured topic: Solar System.)

Wikipedia article of the day for April 21, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for April 21, 2021 is Battle of the Saw.
The Battle of the Saw was the culminating battle of a campaign fought between a Carthaginian army led by Hamilcar Barca and a rebel force led by Spendius in 238 BC in what is now northern Tunisia. Carthage was fighting a coalition of mutinous soldiers and rebellious African cities in the Mercenary War which had started in 240 BC. Unable to confront the Carthaginian war elephants and cavalry on open ground, the rebels stayed on higher and rougher terrain and harassed the Carthaginian army. After several months of campaigning, Hamilcar trapped the rebels. Pinned against the mountains, with their supply lines blockaded and with their food exhausted, the rebels ate their horses, their prisoners and then their slaves, hoping that their comrades in Tunis would sortie to rescue them. Eventually, the Carthaginians, led by their elephants, attacked the starving rebels and they were massacred to a man. The captured rebel leaders were crucified (depiction shown) in sight of their comrades in Tunis.

Wikipedia article of the day for April 20, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for April 20, 2021 is Portraits of Odaenathus.
Portraits of Odaenathus, the king of Palmyra from 260 to 267 CE, include sculptures, seal impressions, and mosaic pieces. As a client king for Rome, Odaenathus came to dominate the Roman East after defeating Shapur I of Persia in 260 and assuming the title King of Kings. Several limestone head portraits from Palmyra were identified by twentieth-century scholars as depicting Odaenathus, based on criteria such as the size and the presence of a wreath, but more recent research indicates that these pieces were probably funerary objects depicting private citizens. Two marble heads, both reflecting a high level of individuality, depicting Eastern royal attributes such as the tiara and diadem, are more likely to be portraits of the king. Also, two Palmyrene tesserae (example pictured) bear a probable depiction of the king, bearded and wearing a diadem and an earring. In addition, Odaenathus is likely the subject of two mosaic panels glorifying his victories.