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Today's featured article C. D. Howe (1886–1960) was a powerful Canadian Cabinet minister of the Liberal Party. He is credited with transforming the Canadian economy from agriculture-based to industrial. Born in Massachusetts, Howe moved to Nova Scotia as a young adult to take up a professorship at Dalhousie University. After working for the Canadian government as an engineer, he began his own firm, and became a wealthy man. In 1935, he was recruited as a Liberal candidate for the Canadian House of Commons by then Opposition leader Mackenzie King. The Liberals won the election in a landslide, and Howe won his seat. Mackenzie King appointed him to the Cabinet. There, he took major parts in many new enterprises, including the founding of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Trans-Canada Air Lines. When World War II began in 1939, Howe played a crucial role in Canada's war effort, and recruited many corporate executives to serve in wartime enterprises. Howe's impatience with the necessity for parliamentary debate of his proposals won him few friends, and he was often accused of dictatorial conduct by the Opposition. In the 1957 election, Howe's actions and policies were made an issue by Opposition leader John Diefenbaker. He lost his seat in the election, and Diefenbaker became Prime Minister, ending almost 22 years of Liberal rule. (more...) Recently featured: Indigenous people of the Everglades region – Blakeney Chapel – The Well of Loneliness Did you know... From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that kalamalo (pictured) provides the main nesting habitat for the Laysan Finch? ... that Count Vrana refused to surrender during the Siege of Krujë despite a bribe offered to him by Ottoman sultan Murad II? ... the purple pouch fungus is white before its emergence from the ground exposes it to light? ... that Erna Lendvai-Dircksen produced heroic photographs of autobahn construction workers under the Nazis on a commission from Fritz Todt? ... that the Army of the Congress Poland was disbanded after the November Uprising, which marked the end of an independent Polish Army for close to a century? ... that Sebastian Gregory will play a math genius during his second guest stint in the Australian soap opera Neighbours? ... that umpire Bill Hohn once fist-bumped a player following the conclusion of a game?

In the news Facebook, Inc. raises US$16 billion with its initial public offering, the third largest in U.S. history. Using terahertz radiation, researchers from the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Suzukakedai campus pictured) set a new record for wireless data transmission speed. A new legislative election is scheduled in Greece, after the party leaders failed to form a coalition government following the May election. Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes, who influenced the Latin American Boom, dies at the age of 83. Eighteen hundred Palestinian prisoners end a hunger strike after Israel agrees to improve their conditions. On this day... May 20: National Day in Cameroon (1972); Independence Day in East Timor (2002); Day of Remembrance in Cambodia; National Awakening Day in Indonesia (1908); Yom Yerushalayim in Israel (2012) 1217 – In the last land battle of the First Barons' War, William the Marshal drove Prince Louis of France out of England. 1609 – Thomas Thorpe published the first copies of Shakespeare's sonnets, possibly without William Shakespeare's consent. 1873 – Clothing manufacturer Levi Strauss (pictured) and tailor Jacob Davis were granted a patent for using copper rivets to strengthen the pockets of denim overalls, allowing their company to start manufacturing their first line of blue jeans. 1983 – A team of researchers led by French virologist Luc Montagnier published their discovery of HIV, although they did not know yet if it caused AIDS. 2002 – East Timor gained independence from Indonesia, becoming the first new sovereign state of the 21st century. More anniversaries: May 19 – May 20 – May 21 It is now May 20, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture The coconut octopus (Amphioctopus marginatus) is a medium-sized cephalopod found in tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean. It commonly preys upon shrimp, crabs, and clams, and displays unusual behaviour, including bipedal walking and gathering and using coconut shells and seashells for shelter. Photo: Nick Hobgood Recently featured: USS Oregon (BB-3) – Rhenium – Sukhoi Su-30

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