Wikipedia article of the day for May 18, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 18, 2021 is Burnley F.C..
Burnley Football Club is an English association football club based in Burnley, Lancashire. Founded in 1882, it was one of the first to become professional – in 1883. The club entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1885–86 and was one of the 12 founder members of the Football League in 1888–89. The team currently compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Burnley have been champions of England twice, have won the FA Cup once, and the FA Charity Shield twice. They also reached the quarter-finals of the 1960–61 European Cup. Burnley are one of only five teams to have won all four professional divisions of English football. Burnley have played home games at Turf Moor (pictured) since 1883. The club colours of claret and blue were adopted before the 1910–11 season in tribute to the previous season's champions, Aston Villa. The club is nicknamed "the Clarets", because of the dominant colour of its home shirts.

Wikipedia article of the day for May 17, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 17, 2021 is Thomas Erpingham.
Thomas Erpingham (c. 1355 – 27 June 1428) was an English soldier and administrator who served three generations of the House of Lancaster including two English kings. Through his access to royal patronage he acquired great wealth and influence. During the reign of Richard II he served under the King's uncle John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, in Spain and Scotland, and with his son Henry Bolingbroke on crusades in Lithuania, Prussia and the Holy Land. On becoming king, Bolingbroke rewarded Erpingham with senior appointments. Erpingham later helped suppress the Epiphany Rising and was appointed guardian of Henry's second son Thomas. He was a member of the Privy Council, acting at one point as marshal of England. In 1415 Erpingham served as a knight banneret in Henry's campaign in France and commanded the archers at the Battle of Agincourt. He was a benefactor to the city of Norwich, where he had built the main cathedral gate which bears his name.

Wikipedia article of the day for May 16, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 16, 2021 is Apollo 7.
Apollo 7 (October 11–22, 1968) was the first crewed flight in NASA's Apollo program. It was commanded by Wally Schirra, with command module pilot Donn F. Eisele and lunar module pilot R. Walter Cunningham, and saw the resumption of human spaceflight by the agency after the fire that killed the three Apollo 1 astronauts in January 1967. Determined to prevent a repetition of the fire, the crew spent long periods of time monitoring the construction of their Apollo command and service module (CSM). After liftoff on October 11, 1968, extensive testing of the CSM took place, along with testing of techniques to be used on lunar missions, and also the first live television broadcast from an American spacecraft. Despite tension between the crew and ground controllers, the mission was a complete technical success, giving NASA the confidence to send Apollo 8 into orbit around the Moon two months later, but in part because of those tensions, no member of the crew flew in space again.

Wikipedia article of the day for May 15, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 15, 2021 is Columbia, South Carolina, Sesquicentennial half dollar.
The Columbia, South Carolina, Sesquicentennial half dollar is a fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1936 as a commemorative coin. Designed by Abraham Wolfe Davidson, it marks the 150th anniversary of the designation of Columbia as South Carolina's state capital. The obverse design (pictured) depicts Lady Justice holding a sword and scales, standing between South Carolina's Old State House, built in 1790, and the New State House, completed in 1903. The reverse shows the palmetto tree, South Carolina's state symbol, with 13 stars representing the original Thirteen Colonies, though they may also be intended to represent the Confederate States. The coins were struck in September 1936, but they were slow to be distributed. Once they were, they were sold to the public in small quantities, frustrating coin dealers who hoped to accumulate more to resell to their customers. They generally sell in the range of hundreds of dollars today, depending on condition.

Wikipedia article of the day for May 14, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 14, 2021 is Union of Bulgaria and Romania.
Several attempts and proposals were made to unify Bulgaria and Romania in the 19th and early 20th centuries, under a federation, a personal union or a confederation. Earlier, Bulgarians and Romanians had lived together under the First Bulgarian, Second Bulgarian and Ottoman empires for centuries. After the establishment in 1878 of an autonomous Bulgarian principality, there were several unsuccessful Romanian nominees for its throne. In 1886, Bulgarian leader Stefan Stambolov tried again to establish a personal union with Romania, and negotiations were conducted. All such proposals ultimately failed because of cultural and political differences and opposition from Austria-Hungary and especially Russia, which even threatened to invade both countries. Approaches to effect a union were attempted again during the communist era, but the Soviet Union strongly rejected them. The accession of both countries into the European Union has led to speculation about a new future revitalization of the idea.

Wikipedia article of the day for May 13, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 13, 2021 is Die Hard.
Die Hard is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It stars Bruce Willis (pictured), Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov, and Bonnie Bedelia. Based on the 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp, Die Hard follows New York City police detective John McClane (Willis) who is caught up in a terrorist takeover of a Los Angeles skyscraper. Filming took place in 1987 and 1988, on a $25–35 million budget. Reviews were mixed, but Die Hard became the year's highest-grossing action film. It received four Academy Award nominations, elevated Willis to leading-man status and made Rickman a celebrity. It is now considered one of the greatest action films. It revitalized the genre, largely due to its depiction of McClane as a vulnerable and fallible protagonist. "Die Hard" became a shorthand for plots in which a hero battles in a restricted environment. It was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2017.

Wikipedia article of the day for May 12, 2021

The Wikipedia article of the day for May 12, 2021 is Boeing 747.
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range, wide-body airliner and cargo aircraft manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States. On September 30, 1968, the first 747 was rolled out of the custom-built Everett Plant, the largest building in the world by volume. The first flight took place on February 9, 1969, and the 747 was certified that December. Entering service with Pan Am on January 22, 1970, it was the first airplane dubbed a "Jumbo Jet". The 747 is a quadjet, with ten-abreast economy seating typically accommodating 366 passengers. It has a pronounced 37.5° wing sweep, allowing a Mach 0.85 (490 kn; 560 mph; 900 km/h) cruise speed. Boeing introduced the -200 in 1971, with more powerful engines for a heavier maximum takeoff weight and a longer range. The heavier 747-400 was introduced in 1989 and is the most common variant. By June 2020, 1,556 aircraft had been built. As of 2020, 61 Boeing 747s have been lost in accidents, in which 3,722 people have died.