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From today's featured article

Donkey Kong is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendo. It follows the adventures of Donkey Kong, a large, powerful gorilla, and other members of the Kong family of simians. Donkey Kong games include the original arcade game trilogy by Nintendo R&D1, the Donkey Kong Country series by Rare and Retro Studios, and the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series by Nintendo Software Technology. The main Donkey Kong games are platform games in which the player must reach the end of a level. Donkey Kong appears as the antagonist or protagonist; his role alternates between games. The original Donkey Kong, released in 1981, was Nintendo's first major international success. The franchise has pioneered or popularized concepts such as in-game storytelling and pre-rendered graphics, inspired other games (including clones), and influenced popular culture. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Gate house at the Elsie Perrin Williams Estate

... that the gatehouse (pictured) at the Elsie Perrin Williams Estate was designed by the owner's teenage daughter?
... that Lana Del Rey released "First Light", the theme song for a James Bond video game, 11 years after her submission for the theme of the Bond movie Spectre was rejected?
... that two pitchers were married on the pitcher's mound at Carroll B. Land Stadium?
... that the shipentine Acme lost a trans-Pacific race against a damaged ship during her maiden voyage?
... that Indonesian painter Emiria Sunassa, variously described as an elephant hunter, a poison-maker, and a "tiger woman", claimed sovereignty over West Papua?
... that Sydney Craven was crowned a Commonwealth junior taekwondo champion before she became an actress?
... that library patrons in the 1880s needed to obtain a letter of recommendation to access the Astor Library Building's shelves?
... that John Nasseff started at West Publishing as a boxcar unloader, and later earned $175 million for his stock when the company was sold 50 years later?
... that according to oral tradition, a wooden doll was the ruler of the kingdom of Tonga for three years?

In the news

Alan Greenspan

Two earthquakes strike Venezuela, leaving more than 180 people dead.
Former chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan (pictured) dies at the age of 100.
Keir Starmer announces his intention to resign as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
An attack by Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin at Diori Hamani International Airport in Niger kills 35 people, including 22 gunmen.

On this day

June 26

June Days uprising

1243 – Mongol conquest of Anatolia: Mongols achieved a decisive victory over the Seljuq Turks, leading to the decline and disintegration of the Seljuk state.
1848 – French authorities suppressed the June Days uprising (pictured), in which workers rioted in response to plans to close the National Workshops.
1918 – World War I: The 26-day Battle of Belleau Wood near the Marne River in France ended with American forces finally clearing that forest of German troops.
1997 – J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first book in the Harry Potter fantasy novel series, is released.
2010 – A G20 summit, the largest and most expensive security operation in Canadian history, began in downtown Toronto.

Henrietta of England (b. 1644)
Daoud Corm (b. 1852)
Richie Powell (d. 1956)
Pommie Mbangwa (b. 1976)

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From today's featured list

Erskine Hawkins

In 1943, eighteen songs topped the Harlem Hit Parade, a Billboard chart ranking the "most popular records in Harlem". Placings were based on a survey of record stores primarily in Harlem, a district of New York City that is noted for its African-American population and has been called the "black capital of America". Most of 1943's number ones were in the genres of jazz and swing, which were among the most popular styles of music in the early 1940s. The year's longest-running chart-topper was "Don't Cry Baby" by Erskine Hawkins (pictured) and his Orchestra, spending a total of 14 non-consecutive weeks atop the chart between August and December. Two acts each achieved the feat of topping the chart with three different songs. Lucky Millinder and his Orchestra topped the listing with "When the Lights Go On Again", "Apollo Jump" and "Sweet Slumber", which was the final number one of 1943. Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra reached the top spot with "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", "A Slip of the Lip (Can Sink a Ship)" and "Sentimental Lady". (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

The red-necked grebe (Podiceps grisegena) is a species of water bird in the grebe family, Podicipedidae, found across the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. It breeds on shallow freshwater lakes, marshes and ponds, and winters mainly along sheltered coasts and other large bodies of water. In breeding plumage, adults have a black cap, pale grey face and throat, and a rusty-red neck, while winter birds are duller grey. The species is a strong swimmer and diver, feeding on fish, aquatic insects and other invertebrates. Red-necked grebes build floating nests among emergent vegetation, and newly hatched chicks often ride on their parents' backs. It is classified as a least-concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This red-necked grebe of the subspecies P. g. grisegena in breeding plumage was photographed in Amager Common, a park and nature reserve in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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