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From today's featured article The Franklin half dollar coin was struck by the United States Mint from 1948 to 1963. It pictures Founding Father Benjamin Franklin on the obverse, with the Liberty Bell and a small eagle on the reverse. Produced in 90 percent silver with a reeded edge, the coin was struck at the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco mints. Mint director Nellie Tayloe Ross had long admired Franklin, and asked the Mint's chief engraver, John Sinnock, to design the coin; his initials appear on the obverse, but some mistook them for the initials of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. When Ross submitted the designs to the Commission of Fine Arts, they disliked the small eagle and felt that depicting the crack in the Liberty Bell would expose the coinage to jokes and ridicule; nevertheless, the Mint proceeded with Sinnock's designs. Beginning in 1964 the coin was replaced by the Kennedy half dollar, issued in honor of the assassinated President, John F. Kennedy. Though the coin is still legal tender, its face value is greatly exceeded by its value to collectors or as silver. (Full article...) Recently featured: Lightning (Final Fantasy) Mutiny on the Bounty Menkauhor Kaiu Did you know... Kasturi Rangappa Nayaka Fort ... that the sites of Sira and the Kasturi Rangappa Nayaka Fort (pictured) were considered auspicious because of a good omen of a hare chasing a hound, a common legend in the building of forts in India? ... that Vice Admiral Robert Walls was among the last intake of 13 year old cadet midshipmen to be accepted by the Royal Australian Naval College? ... that after the 1972 hijacking of Pan Am Flight 841, the pilot received honors at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport as well as death threats and vandalism at his home? ... that American cross-country skiing coach Jon Kreamelmeyer was inducted into the Paralympic Hall of Fame in 2014? ... that the next version of the Bank of England £5 note will feature a portrait of Winston Churchill? ... that Tony Stewart won the 2006 Banquet 400 despite running out of fuel? ... that in Munin, a puzzle-platformer video game, the goal is to retrieve the main character's wings, stolen by the Norse god Loki? ... that in one study, a newt was able to regenerate the lens of its eye eighteen times?

In the news Teodoro Obiang Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (pictured) is re-elected as President of Equatorial Guinea. All Super Puma helicopters in Norway and the United Kingdom are grounded after 13 people are killed in a crash near Bergen, Norway. The National Museum of Natural History, in New Delhi, India, and its entire collection, are destroyed by fire. In the UK, following a second inquest, the jury reaches a verdict of unlawful killing in respect of the 96 victims of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. Kenyans Eliud Kipchoge and Jemima Sumgong win the men's and women's London Marathon, respectively. Ongoing events Recent deaths: Harry Wu Papa Wemba Tommy Kono On this day... April 30: Holy Saturday (Eastern Christianity, 2016); National Persian Gulf Day in Iran; Consumer Protection Day in Thailand William McIntosh 1598 – King Henry IV of France issued the Edict of Nantes, granting freedom of religion to the Huguenots. 1825 - Creek chief William McIntosh (pictured) was executed by being stabbed in the heart for having signed a treaty ceding much of remaining Creek lands to the United States. 1943 – Second World War: The Royal Navy submarine HMS Seraph began Operation Mincemeat to deceive Germany about the upcoming invasion of Sicily. 1982 – Sixteen monks and a nun belonging to Ananda Marga in Calcutta, India, were dragged out of taxis by persons unknown in three different locations, beaten to death and then set on fire. 2009 – A gunman went on a shooting spree at the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy, a public university in Baku, killing 12 people before committing suicide. More anniversaries: April 29 April 30 May 1

Today's featured picture Stockholm Central Station, located in the district of Norrmalm at Vasagatan/Central Plan, is the largest railway station in Sweden. Designed by Adolf W. Edelsvärd and opened on 18 July 1871, it has over 200,000 visitors daily. Engineers use the heat generated by these visitors to help heat a nearby office building. Photograph: Arild Vågen Recently featured: Aularches miliaris C-class Melbourne tram Americae Sive Quartae Orbis Partis Nova Et Exactissima Descriptio

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