Wikipedia:Main Page history/2011 October 5

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Title page from The Author's Farce

The Author's Farce is a play by the English playwright and novelist Henry Fielding, first performed on 30 March 1730 at the Little Theatre, Haymarket. Written in response to the Theatre Royal's rejection of his earlier plays, The Author's Farce was Fielding's first theatrical success. The first and second acts deal with the attempts of the central character, Harry Luckless, to woo his landlady's daughter, and his efforts to make money by writing plays. In the second act, he finishes a puppet theatre play titled The Pleasures of the Town, about the Goddess Nonsense's choice of a husband from allegorical representatives of theatre and other literary genres. After its rejection by one theatre, Luckless's play is staged at another. The third act becomes a play within a play, in which the characters in the puppet play are portrayed by humans. The Author's Farce ends with a merging of the play's and the puppet show's realities. The play established Fielding as a popular London playwright, and the press reported that seats were in great demand. Although largely ignored by critics until the 20th century, most agree that the play is primarily a commentary on events in Fielding's life, signalling his transition from older forms of comedy to the new satire of his contemporaries. (more...)

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Wong in the 1930s

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  • In the news

  • A suicide bombing in Mogadishu, Somalia, kills more than 130 people, in the region's deadliest attack since 2007.
  • A study in the journal Nature reports record ozone depletion over the Arctic during the winter of 2010–2011.
  • Seven hundred people from the Occupy Wall Street protest are arrested and subsequently released after obstructing traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge (pictured) in New York City.
  • In rugby league, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles defeat the New Zealand Warriors to win the NRL Grand Final.
  • In Australian rules football, Geelong defeat Collingwood to win the AFL Grand Final.
  • American and Yemeni officials report that Anwar al-Awlaki, described as a senior al-Qaeda member, has been killed in an airstrike in Ma'rib, Yemen.
  • China launches Tiangong 1, the first test module of the Tiangong space station program.
  • On this day...

    October 5: Republic Day in Portugal (1910)

    The Women's March on Versailles (unknown artist)

  • 610Heraclius was crowned Byzantine Emperor, after having personally beheaded the previous emperor Phocas.
  • 1789French Revolution: Upset about the high price and scarcity of bread, thousands of Parisian women and their various allies (pictured) marched on the royal palace at Versailles.
  • 1908Prince Ferdinand became the first Tsar of Bulgaria since the Ottoman invasion in the 14th century.
  • 1962Dr. No, the first in the James Bond film series, was released.
  • 1973 – Seven nations signed the European Patent Convention, providing an autonomous legal system according to which European patents are granted.
  • More anniversaries: October 4October 5October 6

    It is now October 5, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

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    Bangkok skyline

    The Ratchaprasong and Sukhumvit skylines of Bangkok, the capital of and largest city in Thailand, with Lumphini Park in the center, as viewed from the Sathon District. Known in Thai as Krung Thep ("city of angels"), it became the capital in 1768 after the destruction of Ayutthaya by Burmese invaders.

    Photo: Benh Lieu Song

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