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From today's featured article The Zong massacre was the killing of approximately 142 enslaved Africans by the crew of the slave ship Zong in the days following 29 November 1781. The Zong was owned by a Liverpool slave-trading syndicate that had taken out insurance on the lives of the slaves. When the ship ran low on water following navigational mistakes, the crew drowned some of the slaves in the sea. The owners of the Zong made a claim to their insurers for the loss of the slaves. When the insurers refused to pay, the resulting court cases held that in some circumstances the deliberate killing of slaves was legal, and that insurers could be required to pay for the slaves' deaths. The hearings brought the massacre to the attention of the anti-slavery campaigner Granville Sharp, who tried unsuccessfully to have the ship's crew prosecuted for murder. Reports of the massacre stimulated the nascent abolitionist movement and became a powerful symbol of the horrors of the Middle Passage of slaves to the New World. The massacre has also inspired several works of art and literature, including The Slave Ship by J. M. W. Turner (pictured). (Full article...) Recently featured: Richard Wagner – Tripura – Prince George of Denmark Did you know... From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that although Joe Moore was Missouri's all-time leading rusher, he was only able to record 281 rushing yards with the Chicago Bears? ... that the York, a tributary of the Pinguk River, rises on the eastern flanks of Brooks Mountain, the highest mountain in the York Mountains range? ... that in 1832, Duchess Marie of Württemberg became the stepmother of her first-cousin, Prince Albert? ... that members of the Berisha claim they are the oldest tribe of northern Albania? ... that Bruce MacKinnon, cartoonist for the Chronicle Herald, received an honorary doctorate from NSCAD University, twenty-five years after he left it without a degree?

In the news At the World Table Tennis Championships, Zhang Jike wins the men's singles and Li Xiaoxia (pictured) wins the women's singles. An EF5 tornado strikes outside Oklahoma City in the United States, killing at least 24 people. In ice hockey, the IIHF World Championship concludes with Sweden defeating Switzerland in the final. "Only Teardrops" by Danish singer Emmelie de Forest wins the Eurovision Song Contest. Recent deaths: Ray Manzarek – Jorge Rafael Videla On this day... May 23 1533 – The Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer (pictured) annulled Henry VIII's marriage to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, beginning a chain of events that would culminate in the English Reformation. 1844 – Siyyid `Alí-Muhammad Shírází proclaimed that he was "the Báb", after a Shi`a religious concept, marking the beginning of the Bábí movement, the forerunner of the Bahá'í Faith. 1873 – The North West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, was established to bring law and order to and assert Canadian sovereignty over the Northwest Territories. 2008 – To resolve a 29-year-old territorial dispute, the International Court of Justice awarded Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca to Singapore. More anniversaries: May 22 – May 23 – May 24 It is now May 23, 2013 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture Girls' Generation is a South Korean girl group formed by S.M. Entertainment in 2007. They found popularity beginning with their 2009 single "Gee", and in 2011 Forbes described them as Korea's most powerful entertainers. Left to right: Kim Tae-yeon, Kim Hyo-yeon, Seohyun, Choi Soo-young, Im Yoona, Jessica Jung, Tiffany, Sunny, Kwon Yuri. Photo: LG Corp Recently featured: USS Arizona (BB-39) – Messier 82 – Machinery Hall

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