Wikipedia:Main Page history/2015 August 27

Jim Thome (born 1970) played Major League Baseball for 22 years, starting with the Cleveland Indians in 1991 and joining the Philadelphia Phillies in 2002. Traded to the Chicago White Sox before the 2006 season, he won the American League Comeback Player of the Year Award that year. After back pain limited him to being a designated hitter, he had stints with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, Indians and Phillies before ending his career with the Baltimore Orioles. A prolific power hitter, Thome hit 612 home runs during his career—the seventh-most of all time. He was a member of five All-Star teams and won a Silver Slugger Award in 1996. One of his trademarks was his unique batting stance, pointing the bat at right field before the pitcher threw, something he first saw in the film The Natural. He was known for his consistent positive attitude and gregarious personality. An active philanthropist during his playing career, he was honored with two Marvin Miller Man of the Year Awards and a Lou Gehrig Memorial Award. (Full article...)

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August 27: Independence Day in Moldova (1991)

• 1810 – Napoleonic Wars: The French Navy defeated the Royal Navy, preventing them from taking the harbour of Grand Port on Île de la Passe.
• 1832 – Black Hawk, leader of the Sauk tribe of Native Americans, surrendered to US authorities, ending the Black Hawk War.
• 1928 – Over sixty nations signed the Kellogg–Briand Pact, renouncing war as an instrument of national policy.
• 1957 – The Constitution of Malaya came into force, three days before the Federation of Malaya achieved formal independence from the United Kingdom.
• 2000 – Moscow's Ostankino Tower caught fire (pictured), killing four people and disrupting television and radio signals around the city.

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The blue-winged pitta (Pitta moluccensis) is a passerine bird in the family Pittidae native to Australia and Southeast Asia. This small bird, measuring 180 to 205 mm (7.1–8.1 in) in length, is found in a variety of habitats to an altitude of 800 m (2500 ft).

Photograph: JJ Harrison

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