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From today's featured article William Brill (17 May 1916 – 12 October 1964) was a senior officer and bomber pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Born in the Riverina district of New South Wales, he was a farmer before joining the RAAF in 1940. Posted to Britain to take part in the air war over Europe, Brill first saw combat with No. 460 Squadron RAAF, flying Vickers Wellingtons. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in 1942 for attacking a target after his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire. In 1944 he became a flight commander in No. 463 Squadron RAAF, flying Avro Lancasters. Brill's leadership and determination to complete his missions despite damage to his aircraft—on one occasion inflicted by another Lancaster's bombs—earned him the Distinguished Service Order. Promoted to wing commander, he took over No. 467 Squadron RAAF and was awarded a bar to his DFC for his skill in evading night fighters. Returning to Australia after the war, he led No. 10 Squadron, commanded air bases, and was twice RAAF Director of Personnel Services, gaining promotion to group captain. He was serving at the Department of Air when he died of a heart attack in 1964. (Full article...) Recently featured: Blonde on Blonde Epacris impressa Eardwulf of Northumbria Did you know... An oleg dance ... that despite being a fusion of Western and Balinese styles, oleg (pictured) was promoted as a traditional dance? ... that Garo Paylan was one of the first ethnic Armenians to serve as a member of the Turkish parliament in decades? ... that the Grade I listed building 56 Artillery Lane in London is now used as a free art exhibition space? ... that in 2016, Ross Greer became the youngest ever Member of the Scottish Parliament, elected at the age of 21? ... that Shaphee Lanphee, a traditional fabric of Manipur protected under the GI registration, was in the past used by the King to honour soldiers for their bravery? ... that physician and diplomat Edward Stevens may have been Alexander Hamilton's half-brother? ... that the silk dudou was the early-modern Chinese equivalent of the corset, used to flatten women's breasts? ... that Canadian football player Marcus Adams left the Rough Riders to join the Roughriders?

In the news Jamala Jamala (pictured), representing Ukraine with the song "1944", wins the Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm, Sweden. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is suspended after both houses of the National Congress vote to impeach her. A series of bombings in Baghdad kills at least 93 people and injures more than 165. Werner Faymann resigns as Chancellor of Austria and leader of the Social Democratic Party. In horse racing, Nyquist, ridden by Mario Gutierrez, wins the Kentucky Derby. Enda Kenny of Fine Gael is re-elected Taoiseach of Ireland and forms a minority coalition government. Ongoing events Recent deaths: Susannah Mushatt Jones Tony Cozier Mustafa Badreddine Mark Lane On this day... May 17: Galician Literature Day in Galicia, Spain Main fragment of the Antikythera mechanism 1642 – The Société Notre-Dame de Montréal founded a permanent mission known as Ville-Marie, which eventually grew into the city of Montreal. 1863 – Rosalía de Castro published Cantares gallegos, a collection of her poetry, the first book in the Galician language. 1902 – The Antikythera mechanism (pictured), the oldest known surviving geared mechanism, was discovered among artifacts retrieved from a shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera. 1954 – The US Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education, outlawing racial segregation in public schools because "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal". 2009 – Dalia Grybauskaitė was elected the first female President of Lithuania, receiving 68.18% of the vote. More anniversaries: May 16 May 17 May 18

Today's featured picture A screenshot from Charlie Murder, a 2013 action role-playing beat 'em up video game developed by Ska Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The game features five playable characters—all members of the garage punk band Charlie Murder—who fight a demonic army raised by a former band member in an attempt to save the world from the apocalypse. Charlie Murder has both single-player and four-player online and offline cooperative gameplay modes. Image: Ska Studios Recently featured: STS-134 Birdy Christ Pantocrator

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