Wikipedia:Main Page history/2015 February 8

The Trait du Nord is a breed of heavy draft horse developed in the area of Hainaut in western Belgium and in northeastern France. Originating in the fertile Flemish grasslands, it was bred for size and pulling power for agricultural work. Horses of the breed are considered to be gentle and easy to handle. They have many colors, although bay and roan are the most common. Originally considered a subtype of the Ardennes horse, it was recognized as an individual breed with the opening of a studbook in 1903. The Trait du Nord was used extensively in mining from the late 19th century through 1920 (and occasionally through the 1960s), and in agriculture through World War II. During the mid-20th century, the breed was in demand for the production of horse meat, but this demand began to decline by the early 1970s, and the Trait du Nord, like many European draft breeds, was in danger of extinction. In the 1990s the breed experienced a slight revival through an increased interest in recreational riding and driving, but it is still considered to be endangered by the French government, with a high risk of inbreeding: there are fewer than 100 new foal births a year. The national breed registry in France is working with local groups to reverse the decline. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe, BWV 22 – Female genital mutilation – Marcus Ward Lyon, Jr.

From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

• ... that Hans Rosenfeldt (pictured)—​creator of the Scandinavian crime series The Bridge, which has spawned two international adaptations—​briefly worked as a sea lion trainer?
• ... that the cemetery of Capon Chapel is the burial place of free and enslaved African Americans, Union and Confederate American Civil War veterans, and two state legislators?
• ... that in 2007 Richard Malka successfully defended the editor of Charlie Hebdo against charges of inciting racism?
• ... that Wilhelm von Humboldt created a revolutionary model of higher education at the University of Berlin?
• ... that Alan Resnick's house was transformed into the set of the television special he hosts?
• ... that Pedro Rivera, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf's nominee to become education secretary, was honored by the White House as a "champion of change"?
• ... that the kola nut is used in the manufacture of both cola drinks and chocolate that has a high melting point?
• ... that Conxita Julià is best known for a handkerchief she owned?

• At least 40 people are killed when TransAsia Airways Flight 235 (aircraft pictured) crashes shortly after takeoff from Taipei Songshan Airport, Taiwan.
• In American football, the New England Patriots defeat the Seattle Seahawks to win the Super Bowl.
• The Australian Open tennis tournament concludes with Serena Williams winning the women's singles and Novak Djokovic winning the men's singles.
• Sergio Mattarella is elected President of Italy.
• In association football, the AFC Asian Cup concludes with host nation Australia defeating South Korea in the final.
• Attacks by Islamist militants in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, kill 32 people.

Ongoing:

Boko Haram – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – War in Ukraine

Recent deaths:

Charlie Sifford – Richard von Weizsäcker – Carl Djerassi

February 8: Prešeren Day in Slovenia

• 1587 – Mary, Queen of Scots, was executed at Fotheringhay Castle for her involvement in the Babington Plot to murder her cousin, Elizabeth I of England.
• 1879 – At a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute, engineer and inventor Sandford Fleming first proposed the adoption of worldwide standard time zones based on a single universal world time.
• 1915 – Film director D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (film poster pictured) was released, becoming one of the most influential and controversial films in the history of American cinema.
• 1965 – After taking evasive action to avoid a mid-air collision just after takeoff from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean and exploded, killing all 84 people on board.
• 2010 – A freak storm in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan triggered a series of at least 36 avalanches that buried over 3.5 km (2.2 mi) of road, killed at least 172 people and trapped over 2,000 travellers.

More anniversaries: February 7 – February 8 – February 9

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Irfan Kolothum Thodi (b. 1990) is an Indian racewalker from Malappuram. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London in the men's 20 kilometres walk, setting a national record of 1:20:21 and finishing tenth overall.

Photograph: Muhammad Mahdi Karim