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Today's featured article The Royal National College for the Blind (RNC) is a co-educational residential college of further education based in the English city of Hereford. Students who attend the college are blind or partially sighted. Alongside regular further education subjects and vocational training, the college offers training in independent living and personal development. Founded in 1871 in London as The Royal Normal College and Academy for the Blind, the college had a number of homes before moving to its campus in Hereford, and was renamed Royal National College for the Blind in the late 1970s. It has been a pioneer in the education of visually impaired people in Britain since the Victorian era, and, as of 2010, is the only college for visually impaired students in the United Kingdom to have been awarded Beacon Status in recognition of its outstanding teaching and learning. The college is actively involved in the development of assistive technology to help visually impaired people in their day-to-day lives. The campus, located on College Road, Hereford, is home to RNC's teaching, residential and leisure facilities. Students live in halls of residence or on-campus houses which enable them to gain a level of independence within the college environment. (more...) Recently featured: Alexandre Banza – Crown Fountain – Hermann Detzner Did you know... From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that "gill rot" in the Lost River sucker (pictured) may be associated with ammonia contamination? ... that during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Israel's Galilee Squadron was menaced by Syrian trainer aircraft? ... that Jacques Borlée, the father and coach of Olympic medalist Olivia and twin athletes Jonathan and Kévin Borlée, won a silver medal at the 1983 European Athletics Indoor Championships? ... that completion of the Zrinski Bridge marked the end of 40-year long construction of Budapest–Zagreb–Rijeka motorway? ... that after hearing a sermon by George Whitefield, a member of Ditchling Chapel said he would "tear the church to pieces" and founded his own church, the Bethel Chapel? ... that, as a U.S. Justice Department lawyer, James A. Fowler argued before the Supreme Court in cases about water and vinegar?

In the news After five years in captivity, Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit (pictured) is freed in exchange for the release of 1,027 Palestinian prisoners. British writer Julian Barnes wins the Man Booker Prize for his novel The Sense of an Ending. British IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon dies after a crash at the IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The United States sends 100 military advisers to help defeat the Lord's Resistance Army in central Africa. King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Jetsun Pema, a commoner, marry in Bhutan. American hedge trader Raj Rajaratnam receives an eleven-year prison sentence, among the longest ever imposed for insider trading. Dennis Ritchie, co-creator of Unix and designer of the C programming language, dies at the age of 70. On this day... October 19: Hoshana Rabbah (Judaism, 2011); Shemini Atzeret begins at sunset (Judaism, 2011); Mother Teresa Day in Albania 1789 – John Jay (pictured) was sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the United States. 1914 – World War I: Allied forces engaged German troops in the First Battle of Ypres. 1950 – The Chinese Army captured the town of Qamdo as part of China's plan to take control of Tibet. 1987 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 22.6% on Black Monday, at the time one of the largest one-day percentage declines in stock market history. 2004 – Irish aid worker Margaret Hassan was abducted in Baghdad by unidentified kidnappers, who murdered her about four weeks later. More anniversaries: October 18 – October 19 – October 20 It is now October 19, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture Alpine heathland—dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils—at High Shelf Camp near Mount Anne in the Australian island of Tasmania. Heathlands of Australia are home to some 3,700 endemic or typical species in addition to numerous less restricted species. Photo: JJ Harrison Recently featured: Plectroctena sp. ants – Naajaat, Greenland – Dwarf yellow-headed gecko

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