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Today's featured article Henry Cornelius Burnett (1825–1866) was a U.S. representative from the state of Kentucky and a Confederate States senator. He represented Kentucky's 1st congressional district during the lead-up to the Civil War. This district contained the entire Jackson Purchase region of the state, which was more sympathetic to the Confederate cause than any other area of Kentucky. Burnett promised the voters of his district that he would have President Abraham Lincoln arraigned for treason. Besides championing the Southern cause in Congress, Burnett also worked within Kentucky to bolster the state's support of the Confederacy. He presided over a sovereignty convention in Russellville in 1861 that formed a Confederate government for the state. The delegates to this convention chose Burnett to travel to Richmond, Virginia to secure Kentucky's admission to the Confederacy. Burnett also raised a Confederate regiment at Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and briefly served in the Confederate States Army. Burnett's actions were deemed treasonable by his colleagues in Congress, and he was expelled from the House in 1861. After the war, he was indicted for treason, but was never tried. He returned to the practice of law, but died of cholera in 1866 at the age of 40. (more...) Recently featured: Nick Drake – Mauna Kea – Press Gang Did you know... From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that Stanisław Samostrzelnik, the first Polish Renaissance painter known by name, portrayed Bishop Piotr Tomicki (pictured)? ... that the Chola expedition to North India between 1019 and 1024 was precipitated by a succession dispute in the Eastern Chalukya kingdom? ... that Johan van der Meer conducted the first historically informed performance in the Netherlands of Bach's St Matthew Passion in 1973, with Marius van Altena as the Evangelist and Max van Egmond as the Vox Christi? ... that Salvador Dalí lived at the Royal Suite in Hôtel Meurice in Paris for periods over a duration of 30 years? ... that according to the Russian edition of Esquire magazine, Russian physicist and TU Delft professor Yaroslav Blanter deleted thousands of pages from Wikipedia? ... that Corsia is a genus of small plants which lack chlorophyll and parasitize fungi for nutrition?

In the news The English Wikipedia, along with many other websites, takes part in a 24-hour shutdown in protest against SOPA and PIPA. In the Republic of China (Taiwan), Ma Ying-jeou (pictured) is re-elected as president and the Kuomintang retains its majority in the Legislative Yuan. The cruise ship Costa Concordia runs aground and capsizes off the coast of Tuscany, with at least eleven fatalities. Anote Tong is re-elected President of Kiribati. Rauf Denktaş, the founder and the first president of Northern Cyprus, dies at the age of 87. In Burma, government officials and the Karen National Union agree on a ceasefire to end an internal conflict that began in 1948. On this day... January 20: Martyrs' Day in Azerbaijan (1990); Army Day in Mali 1843 – Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná (pictured), became the de facto first prime minister of the Empire of Brazil. 1942 – The Holocaust: SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich and other senior Nazi officials met at the Wannsee Conference in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee to discuss implementation of the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question". 1969 – Bengali student activist Amanullah Asaduzzaman was shot and killed by East Pakistani police, one of the casus belli that led to the Bangladesh Liberation War. 1990 – The Soviet Red Army violently cracked down on Azeri pro-independence demonstrations in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR. 2007 – A three-man team, using only skis and kites, completed a 1,093-mile (1,759 km) trek to reach the southern pole of inaccessibility for the first time since 1958, and for the first time ever without mechanical assistance. More anniversaries: January 19 – January 20 – January 21 It is now January 20, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture El Castillo, found in the Chichen Itza archaeological site, is a Mesoamerican step-pyramid that is one of the most recognized and widely visited pre-Columbian structures in Mexico. Built by the Maya, it served as a temple to Kukulkan, the Yucatec Maya Feathered Serpent deity. Photo: Daniel Schwen Recently featured: Emperor shrimp – Vitruvian Man – Psalm 23

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