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Ian Fleming

The Man with the Golden Gun was written by Ian Fleming (pictured) and is the final novel in the James Bond series. It was published by Jonathan Cape in the United Kingdom on 1 April 1965, eight months after the author's death. The story centres on the fictional British Secret Service operative James Bond, who returns to Britain via the Soviet Union, where he had been brainwashed. After being de-programmed, Bond goes to the Caribbean to kill Francisco Scaramanga, the titular "Man with the Golden Gun". The first draft and part of the editing process were completed before Fleming's death; the level of detail from previous novels was missing, as this was often added by Fleming in the second draft. The novel was serialised in 1965 and a daily comic strip adaptation was published the following year. In 1974, the book was adapted as the ninth film in Eon Productions' James Bond series. (This article is part of a featured topic: Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and short stories.)

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Did you know ...

Old Parliament House, Adelaide

... that South Australia's Old Parliament House (pictured) and the present Parliament House were jointly added to the Australian National Heritage List in 2006?
... that Franz Schnyder made his feature-film directorial debut after Swiss immigration authorities sought to prevent refugee filmmaker Leopold Lindtberg from directing another army-friendly film?
... that a Texas lawmaker voted to submit a 1914 referendum to voters while saying that he would "vote and work against its adoption"?
... that the English edition of Gottlob Herbert Bidermann's Eastern Front memoir includes events absent from the German original, added 36 years later from interviews with him?
... that Dan Deacon wrote the song "When I Was Done Dying" because he liked the idea that his body, memory and consciousness are "three separate things that are constantly oscillating"?
... that a suicide bomber disguised himself as a schoolboy while attempting to assassinate Timothy Torlot?
... that a professional sumo wrestler first appeared on television as a competitor on the obstacle-course competition show Sasuke Ninja Warrior?
... that Paramacrobiotus pius was described more than a decade after its type specimens were collected?
... that two Ukrainian intelligence agencies had a shootout in Kyiv?

In the news

Margaret Hamilton in 1995

American software engineer Margaret Hamilton (pictured) dies at the age of 90.
Francis Halzen is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in neutrino astronomy.
In motorsport, Elfyn Evans and Scott Martin win the World Rally Championship.
A snap election is announced following widespread housing protests in Spain.
In rugby league, the Super League Grand Final ends with Wakefield Trinity defeating the Warrington Wolves.

On this day

October 9: Leif Erikson Day in the United States and parts of Canada, Independence Day in Uganda (1962), Hangul Day in South Korea (1446)

Mortimer War Memorial

1708 – Great Northern War: Russia defeated Sweden at the Battle of Lesnaya on the Russian–Polish border, in present-day Belarus.
1740 – European soldiers and Javanese collaborators started massacring Chinese Indonesians in the port city of Batavia, modern-day Jakarta: at least 10,000 people were killed.
1793 – French Revolution: After a month-long siege, the leaders of Lyon surrendered, ending their revolt against the National Convention.
1921 – The Mortimer War Memorial (pictured), designed by Herbert Maryon in memory of local servicemen who died in the First World War, was dedicated.
1952 – A footman shot and killed two colleagues and wounded the lady of the house at Knowsley Hall, England.

Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (d. 705)
Nadezhda Stasova (d. 1895)
Yuri Tsunematsu (b. 1998)
Paul Hunter (d. 2006)

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From today's featured list

Liechtenstein has won two gold medals, two silver medals, and six bronze medals at the Olympic Games. Liechtenstein debuted at the Olympics in 1936 and has fielded a team at every Olympics since, except for the 1952 Winter Olympics and the 1956 and 1980 Summer Olympics. Liechtenstein won its first medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics, when alpine skier Hanni Wenzel won a bronze in the women's slalom. Wenzel also won the delegation's first gold medal upon winning the women's giant slalom at the following Winter Games. The delegation holds the distinction of being the only one to have earned all of its medals at the Winter Olympics while never winning a medal at the Summer Olympics. Liechtenstein is also the least populated nation to have won an Olympic gold medal. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex in Granada, Spain, and the only well-preserved palace of the medieval Islamic world. Construction began in 1238 under Muhammad I of Granada, founder of the Nasrid dynasty, and later rulers continued to expand the site. Its major surviving palaces, including the Comares Palace and Palace of the Lions, largely date from the 14th century and feature elaborate stucco and tile decoration. After the Christian conquest of Granada in 1492, the complex became a royal palace and was subsequently altered. Today the Alhambra is a major tourist attraction and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Photograph credit: Kim Hansen

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