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Today's featured article Hygeberht was the Bishop of Lichfield from 779 and Archbishop of Lichfield after the elevation of Lichfield to an archdiocese some time after 787, during the reign of the powerful Mercian king Offa. Little is known of Hygeberht's background, although he was probably a native of Mercia. Offa succeeded in having Lichfield elevated to an archbishopric, but the rise in Lichfield's status was unpopular with Canterbury, the other southern English archbishopric. Offa was probably motivated by a desire to increase the status of his kingdom and to free his kingdom's ecclesiastical affairs from the control of another kingdom's archbishopric, and possibly the need to secure the coronation of Offa's successor, which the Archbishop of Canterbury had opposed. After Offa's death his distant relative Coenwulf became king, and petitioned the pope to have Lichfield returned to a simple bishopric. The pope agreed to do so in 803, by which time Hygeberht was no longer even considered a bishop: he is listed as an abbot at the council that oversaw the demotion of Lichfield in 803. The date of his death is unknown. (more...) Recently featured: Garret Hobart – Great Auk – Battle of Schellenberg Did you know... From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that the airline Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei, which operated LZ 129 Hindenburg (pictured), was re-established under the same name in 2001 and today flies Zeppelin NTs in passenger service? ... that British cyclist Liam Phillips put his selection in doubt for the 2012 Summer Olympics when he broke his collarbone at the 2012 BMX World Championship? ... that the architecture of Scotland in the Middle Ages included houses made of solid clay? ... that while attending Eton College, Max Pirkis received his first professional acting role, being cast in the 2003 film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World? ... that Barbeyella minutissima are found in areas of up to 3,500 metres above sea level? ... that when Alfred Baldey was appointed to the New Zealand Legislative Council, people wondered who he was? ... that internees at Whitewater went on strike because they thought the guards stole their pajamas?

In the news CERN announces the discovery of a new particle with properties consistent with the Higgs boson after experiments at the Large Hadron Collider. GlaxoSmithKline pleads guilty to criminal charges of health care fraud and is fined a record US$3 billion. In association football, UEFA Euro 2012 concludes with Spain defeating Italy in the final to win a second consecutive European Football Championship. An intense derecho (damage pictured) strikes the eastern United States, leaving at least 22 people dead and millions without power. UNESCO lists the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem as the State of Palestine's first World Heritage Site. On this day... July 5: Aphelion (04:00 UTC, 2012); Independence Day in Algeria (1962), Cape Verde (1975) and Venezuela (1811); Saints Cyril and Methodius Day in the Czech Republic and Slovakia 1775 – The Second Continental Congress of Britain's Thirteen Colonies adopted the Olive Branch Petition in the hopes of avoiding war with Great Britain. 1954 – BBC News (current logo pictured) aired its first televised news broadcast from leased studios within Alexandra Palace in London. 1977 – General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq overthrew Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in a military coup d'état. 1987 – The Black Tigers of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam made its first suicide bombing against the Sri Lanka Army in Nelliady, Sri Lanka. 1989 – United States National Security Council member Oliver North was sentenced for his part in the Iran-Contra Affair. More anniversaries: July 4 – July 5 – July 6 It is now July 5, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture Incahuasi Island is in the middle of the Salar de Uyuni salt flat in the Potosí Department in Bolivia. The island covers 24.62 hectares (60.8 acres) and consists of rocky, hilly terrain, with unusual and fragile coral-like structures and deposits that often consist of fossils and algae. It is the remains of the top of an ancient volcano which was submerged when the area was part of a giant prehistoric lake, roughly 40,000 years ago. Photo: Martin St-Amant Recently featured: PET scan with radiopharmaceuticals – Plains zebra – F-16 Solo Display Team

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