Wikipedia:Main Page history/2017 July 27

The Roosevelt dime is the current ten-cent piece of the United States, displaying President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the obverse. Authorized soon after his death in 1945, it has been produced by the Mint continuously since 1946 in large numbers. Roosevelt had been stricken with polio, and was one of the moving forces of the March of Dimes. The ten-cent coin could legally be changed by the Mint without the need for congressional action, and officials moved quickly to replace the Mercury dime. Chief Engraver John R. Sinnock prepared models, but faced repeated criticism from the Commission of Fine Arts. He modified his design in response, and the coin went into circulation in January 1946. The Mint transitioned from striking the coin in silver to base metal in 1965, and the design remains essentially unaltered from when Sinnock created it. Without rare dates or silver content, the dime is less widely sought by coin collectors than other modern American coins. (Full article...)

Nili Patera dune field

• ... that the Nili Patera dune field (detail pictured) was the first location on Mars where evidence was obtained of dune movement of a minimum of 1 metre (3 ft 3 in)?
• ... that William L. Mercereau, Superintendent of Steamships for the Pere Marquette Railway, was responsible for building up what was at the time the world's largest carferry fleet?
• ... that the black coral barnacle sometimes grows on Plumapathes pennacea?
• ... that contralto Ruth Siewert appeared as Erda not only in Bayreuth, but also at La Scala, La Fenice, and La Monnaie?
• ... that the film Poetry in Motion was described in a review as "orgasmic" for students of contemporary poetry?
• ... that after working for the International Coffee Organization in London and as a consultant for the World Bank, Owusu Afriyie Akoto became Ghana's Minister of Food and Agriculture?
• ... that the 2013 book Disinformation was included in the CIA's "Intelligence Officer's Bookshelf"?
• ... that Grace Hutchins promoted a radical Christian pacifist movement in the United States?

Jordan Spieth

• In golf, Jordan Spieth (pictured) wins the Open Championship.
• The Women's Cricket World Cup concludes with England defeating India in the final.
• In cycling, Chris Froome wins the Tour de France.
• Ram Nath Kovind is elected President of India.
• Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani, the first woman to receive the Fields Medal, dies at the age of 40.
• Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese pro-democracy activist, political prisoner and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, dies at the age of 61.

July 27: José Celso Barbosa Day in Puerto Rico

Erwin Rommel and aides

• 1054 – Siward, Earl of Northumbria, led an invasion of Scotland and defeated Macbeth, King of Scotland, in a battle north of the Firth of Forth.
• 1778 – Anglo-French War: French and British fleets fought to a standoff west of Ushant, which led to political disputes in both countries.
• 1942 – Second World War: Allied forces halted the Axis invasion of Egypt (Erwin Rommel pictured with aides).
• 1990 – Members of Jamaat al Muslimeen attempted to overthrow the government of Trinidad and Tobago by taking hostages at the Red House including Prime Minister A. N. R. Robinson, before surrendering six days later.
• 2007 – While covering a police pursuit in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., two news helicopters collided in mid-air, killing both crews.

Jeanne Baré (b. 1740) · Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery (b. 1851) · Elizabeth Rona (d. 1981)