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From today's featured article Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834), often called simply Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer who fought for the United States in the American Revolutionary War. In 1775, he became convinced that the American cause was noble. In the United States, he was made a major general. He was wounded during the Battle of Brandywine and served with distinction in the Battle of Rhode Island. In 1781, troops in Virginia under his command blocked British forces, leading to the decisive Siege of Yorktown. Lafayette returned to France and was elected a member of the Estates-General of 1789. After the storming of the Bastille, he was made head of the National Guard, and tried to steer a middle course through the French Revolution. In August 1792, the radical factions ordered his arrest. Fleeing through Belgium, he was captured by Austrian troops and spent more than five years in prison. In 1824, President James Monroe invited Lafayette to the United States, where he met a rapturous reception. During France's July Revolution of 1830, he supported Louis-Philippe as king, but turned against him when the monarch became autocratic. (Full article...) Recently featured: Tom Simpson Hemmema Hurricane Elena Did you know... The Dawn of Love ... that The Dawn of Love (pictured) has been described as "one of the most unpardonable sins against taste"? ... that commercial director Gary Shore made his feature film directorial debut with Dracula Untold? ... that hundreds of thousands of artisanal miners are involved in gold mining in Sudan? ... that the consecration of the Bosnian Croat prelate Berislav Grgić as the first non-German leader of the world's northernmost Catholic bishopric took place in a Norwegian Protestant cathedral? ... that Quaker Run was historically "filled with trout", but now lacks fish life of any kind? ... that Bill Harvey was one of many British footballers denied unemployment benefit in the 1930s? ... that only a single stem of the fossil liverwort Notoscyphus balticus was used to describe the species? ... that because many girls at the Beth Rivkah school in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, have the same first name, teachers call on them by their surnames?

In the news Otto Pérez Molina in 2013 Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina (pictured) is arrested after resigning amid charges of customs fraud. The ancient temples of Bel and Baalshamin in Palmyra are destroyed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Mount McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America, is renamed to its traditional name of Denali by the United States. Flash floods and mudslides caused by Tropical Storm Erika kill at least 31 people across Dominica in the Lesser Antilles. India is declared free from maternal and neonatal tetanus. Wildfires across the U.S. state of Washington, including the Okanogan Complex fire, destroy more than 200 homes and burn 920 square miles (2,400 km2). Ongoing events: European migrant crisis Recent deaths: Nelson Shanks Wes Craven Oliver Sacks On this day... September 6: Father's Day in Australia, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand (2015); Independence Day in Swaziland (1968) Hipólito Yrigoyen 1781 – American Revolutionary War: General Benedict Arnold led British forces to victory in the Battle of Groton Heights. 1930 – Argentine President Hipólito Yrigoyen (pictured) was deposed in a military coup by José Félix Uriburu. 1955 – A Turkish mob attacked ethnic Greeks in Istanbul, killing at least 13 people and damaging more than 5,000 Greek-owned homes and businesses. 1995 – Baltimore Oriole shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. played his 2131st consecutive major league baseball game, breaking the 56-year old record set by New York Yankee first baseman Lou Gehrig. 2000 – The Millennium Summit, a meeting of world leaders to discuss the role of the United Nations at the turn of the 21st century, opened in New York City. More anniversaries: September 5 September 6 September 7

Today's featured picture The Solovetsky Monastery is a Russian Orthodox monastery in Solovetsky, Arkhangelsk, Russia. Founded in 1436 by the monk Zosima, the monastery grew in power into the 16th century, becoming an economic and political center of the White Sea region and eventually hosting 350 monks. After the Bolshevik Revolution, Soviet authorities closed down the monastery and incorporated many of its buildings into Solovki prison camp, one of the earliest forced-labor camps of the gulag system. The camp closed after the region's trees had been harvested. Today the monastery has been re-established, and also serves as a museum. Photograph: Linazet Recently featured: Maxima clam Bacchus and Ariadne Alatskivi Castle

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