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From today's featured article

William Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator, voice actor, and musician who co-created Tom and Jerry and provided the vocal effects for the series's title characters. Hanna joined the Harman and Ising animation studio in 1930 and gained prominence while working on cartoons such as The Captain and the Kids. In 1937, while working at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Hanna met Joseph Barbera. In 1957, they co-founded Hanna-Barbera, which became a successful television animation studio, creating or producing programs such as The Flintstones, The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, The Smurfs, and Yogi Bear. In 1967, Hanna-Barbera was sold to Taft Broadcasting for $12 million. Hanna and Barbera were nominated for two Academy Awards and won eight Emmys. Their cartoons have become cultural icons, and their cartoon characters have appeared in other media such as films, books, and toys. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

Member of the 2004 jury examining baguettes

... that the best baguette in Paris has been determined by a jury (member pictured) annually since 1994?
... that Gusnar Ismail lost a gubernatorial election to Rusli Habibie in 2011, but won a subsequent election in 2024 with Habibie's wife as his running mate?
... that when Dutch ships reached China for the first time, seventeen out of twenty crew members were executed by the Portuguese?
... that Ed Policy and his father Carmen Policy have both served as presidents of National Football League teams?
... that Volcano Pizzeria, according to the family of one of its founders, was originally a diner selling Italian food before it became the "granddaddy" of Windsor-style pizza?
... that Alberto Jarrín once defeated a train in a running race?
... that the general manager of a Cleveland TV station believed its owner to be "just tired of losing money"?
... that German equestrian Hermann Weiland competed for Croatia at the 1992 Summer Olympics, but marched with Guam during the opening ceremony?
... that a statue of Vladimir Lenin in Ukraine was transformed into a statue of Darth Vader?

In the news

Abdul Hakim Haqqani

The International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Taliban leaders Hibatullah Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani (pictured) over their alleged persecution of women in Afghanistan.
Flooding in Central Texas, United States, leaves at least 130 people dead.
Astronomers announce the discovery of 3I/ATLAS, an interstellar object passing through the Solar System.
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile releases the first light images from its new 8.4-metre (28 ft) telescope.

On this day

July 14: Bastille Day in France (1789); Festino di Santa Rosalia begins in Palermo, Italy

The seal of Louis VIII of France

1223 – Louis VIII (seal pictured) became King of France and began a three-year reign.
1798 – The Sedition Act became law, making it a federal crime to write, publish, or utter false or malicious statements about the U.S. government.
1865 – A seven-man team made the first ascent of the Matterhorn, marking the end of the golden age of alpinism.
1960 – Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 1-11 ditched off Polillo Island in the Philippines, killing one person and injuring 44.
2014 – Lightning strikes started four fires in the Methow River in the American state of Washington, collectively known as the Carlton Complex Fire.

Andreas Joseph Hofmann (b. 1752)
Georgiana Hill (b. 1825)
Harry Atwood (d. 1967)
Ivana Trump (d. 2022)

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From today's featured list

Christopher Nolan, pictured in 2018

Inception, a 2010 science fiction action film written and directed by Christopher Nolan (pictured), received numerous accolades in several categories. The film garnered particular recognition for its cinematography, score, visual and sound effects, and editing as well as Nolan's screenplay and direction. At the 83rd Academy Awards, the film received eight nominations, winning Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects; it tied with The King's Speech for most wins at the ceremony. The film was nominated in nine categories at the 64th British Academy Film Awards, where it won Best Production Design, Best Sound and Best Special Visual Effects. It received a further nine nominations at the 37th Saturn Awards, winning five awards, and ten nominations at the 16th Critics' Choice Awards, winning six awards. Inception was also named one of the Top 10 Films of 2010 by both the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

The Blind Girl (1856) is a painting by John Everett Millais which depicts two itinerant beggars, presumed to be sisters, one of whom is a blind musician, her concertina on her lap. They are resting by the roadside after a rainstorm, before travelling to the town of Winchelsea, visible in the background. The painting has been interpreted as an allegory of the senses, contrasting the experiences of the blind and sighted sisters. The former feels the warmth of the sun on her face, and fondles a blade of grass, while the latter shields her eyes from the sun or rain and looks at a double rainbow that has just appeared. The painting is in the collection of the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

Painting credit: John Everett Millais

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