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Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter. His early works, mostly still lifes and depictions of peasant labourers, contain few signs of the vivid colour that distinguishes his later work. In 1886 he moved to Paris where he met members of the avant-garde, including Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin, who were reacting against the Impressionist sensibility. As Van Gogh's work developed he created a new approach to still lifes and local landscapes. In the south of France in 1888, he turned to painting olive trees, cypresses, wheat fields and sunflowers, using brighter colours. Selling only one painting during his lifetime, he was considered a madman and a failure, and committed suicide at 37. His reputation began to grow in the early 20th century as Fauvists and German Expressionists took up elements of his painting style. He has attained widespread critical and popular acclaim, and is remembered as an important but tragic painter. His works are among the world's most expensive paintings. (Full article...)

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Machida Hisanari

Bill English
  • Bill English (pictured) becomes Prime Minister of New Zealand.
  • A bombing at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church in Cairo, Egypt, kills at least 25 people and injures 49 others.
  • A church collapses in Uyo, Nigeria, killing at least 23 people.
  • Two explosions outside a football stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, kill 46 people and injure more than 150 others.
  • A freight train derails, explodes and catches fire at Hitrino, Bulgaria, killing 7 people and injuring 29 others.
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December 16: Mawlid begins at sunset (Shia Islam, 2016); National Day in Bahrain; Victory Day in Bangladesh and India (1971); Day of Reconciliation in South Africa

New World Symphony, 1st movement

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Chris Froome, winner of the 2016 Tour de France

The 2016 Tour de France featured 198 riders from 35 countries. The 21-stage race took place from 2 July to 24 July 2016, starting in Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy and finishing on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. All eighteen Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) WorldTeams were automatically invited and were obliged to attend the race. In March 2016, four UCI Professional Continental teams were given wildcard places into the race by the organiser – Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) – to complete the 22-team peloton. France, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Germany all had ten or more riders competing in the race. The final stage in Paris was contested by 174 riders, with 24 of the riders failing to finish the race, a record low number of withdrawals. The race was won by Chris Froome (Team Sky) (pictured), the champion from the 2013 and 2015 Tours. Frenchman Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) finished second, 4 minutes and 5 seconds behind Froome, with Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team) third. Adam Yates (Orica–BikeExchange) won the competition for the best young rider. The points classification was won for the fifth consecutive year by Peter Sagan (Tinkoff), who also won the combativity award. Rafal Majka (Tinkoff) of Poland won the mountains classification, while Movistar won the team classification. (Full list...)

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Queen Victoria visits HMS Resolute prior to the ship being granted to her as a gift. Resolute was a British ship abandoned in the Arctic ice in 1854. She was found adrift by American whalers the following year, refurbished, and returned to the British. As a return favour, when the ship was broken up in 1879, some of its wood was made into a desk and gifted to the US President Rutherford B. Hayes. The Resolute desk remains an iconic part of the American White House furniture.

Lithograph: George Zobel, after William Simpson; restoration: Adam Cuerden

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This Wikipedia is written in English. Started in 2001 (2001), it currently contains 5,309,221 articles. Many other Wikipedias are available; some of the largest are listed below.

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/16/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.