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From today's featured article Roderic Dallas (1891–1918) was an Australian fighter ace of World War I. His official score of aerial victories (39) is generally regarded as the second-highest by an Australian, after Robert Little with 47, but researchers have credited Dallas with totals from 32 to over 50. He also achieved success as a squadron leader, and was an influential tactician and test pilot. Like Little, Dallas flew with British units, rather than the Australian Flying Corps. He travelled to England at his own expense following the outbreak of war and became a pilot in the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) in August 1915. Initially flying Caudrons and Nieuport 11s on the Western Front, he was chosen to test one of the earliest Sopwith Triplanes. This became his favourite type, and he achieved many victories with it through 1916–17, earning the Distinguished Service Order, and the Distinguished Service Cross and Bar. Appointed commanding officer of No. 1 Squadron RNAS in June 1917, on the establishment of the Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918 he took command of No. 40 Squadron. Flying Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5s, he achieved further victories before being killed in action on patrol in northern France. (Full article...) Recently featured: Doc Adams – Resurrectionists in the United Kingdom – Peter Warlock Did you know... From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content: ... that the flag of Eritrea (pictured) bears a resemblance to the Eritrean People's Liberation Front's flag? ... that in a reign of ten years, Stephen III of Hungary had his throne usurped twice and fought a series of wars with the Byzantine Empire, before dying at the age of 25? ... that Fort Nikolaevskaia was the first European settlement on the Alaskan mainland? ... that the Arabian partridge sometimes hybridises with Philby's partridge or the rock partridge? ... that Robert "Throb" Young met Primal Scream vocalist Bobby Gillespie at school, and was the band's guitarist for two decades? ... that according to the impedance analogy, a spring is analogous to an electrical capacitor? ... that Green Bay Packers rookie defensive lineman Khyri Thornton was so big that he had to cut a slit in his shirt to get it over his head?

In the news Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo crashes in the Mojave Desert during a test flight, killing one person. Following violent protests, Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaoré resigns. In baseball, the San Francisco Giants defeat the Kansas City Royals to win the World Series (MVP Madison Bumgarner pictured). An Antares rocket explodes during the launch of the unmanned Cygnus CRS-3 spacecraft to the International Space Station. The Botswana Democratic Party maintains its majority in Parliament after the general election. Ongoing: Ebola outbreak – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Recent deaths: Michael Sata – Mbulaeni Mulaudzi On this day... November 2: All Souls' Day (Western Christianity); Day of the Dead in Mexico 1889 – The Dakota Territory, an organized incorporated territory of the United States, was split and became the states of North and South Dakota. 1932 – The Australian military began a "war against emus", a flightless native bird blamed for widespread damage to crops in Western Australia. 1964 – King Saud of Saudi Arabia (pictured) was deposed by his half-brother Faisal over concerns of the former's profligacy and his inability to deal with the socialism of Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser. 1990 – Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting merged to form BSkyB, the largest pay-TV broadcaster in the United Kingdom and Ireland. 2004 – Dutch film director Theo van Gogh, whose film Submission was critical of the treatment of women in Islam, was assassinated by Mohammed Bouyeri. More anniversaries: November 1 – November 2 – November 3 It is now November 2, 2014 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture Griselda is an opera seria in three acts by the Italian composer Alessandro Scarlatti. First performed in 1721, it is based on the story of Patient Griselda from Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron. The libretto is by Apostolo Zeno, with revisions by an anonymous author. This manuscript copy by Scarlatti, held at the British Library, is of act one, scene one. Manuscript: Alessandro Scarlatti Recently featured: Wandering albatross – Halloween (poem) – Grammodes geometrica

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