Connor Barth, a placekicker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, prepares to kick a field goal during the first quarter of the Bucs v. New York Giants National Football League military appreciation game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., Nov. 8, 2015.
This Signpost "Featured content" report covers material promoted from July 26 through August 22. For nominations and nominators, see the featured contents' talk pages.
Featured articles
19
featured articles were promoted this month.
- The
1998 Football League First Division play-off Final (
nominated by
The Rambling Man) was an
association football match played on 25 May 1998 at
Wembley Stadium, London, between
Charlton Athletic and
Sunderland. The match was to determine the third and final team to gain
promotion from the
Football League First Division, the second tier of
English football, to the
Premier League for the
1998–99 season. The top two teams of the
1997–98 Football League First Division season gained automatic promotion, and the teams placed from third to sixth place in the table took part in play-off semi-finals; Sunderland had ended the season in third position and Charlton had finished fourth. The clubs won their semi-finals and competed for the final promotion place. Winning the game was estimated to be worth between five and ten million
pounds to the successful team. Played in front of 78,000 spectators, Charlton won 7–6 on
penalties.
-
Evelyn Mase (
nominated by
Midnightblueowl) was a South African nurse. She was the first wife of the
anti-apartheid activist and future president
Nelson Mandela, to whom she was married from 1944 to 1958.
-
Meghan Trainor (
nominated by
MaranoFan) is an American singer-songwriter and talent show judge. She rose to prominence after signing with
Epic Records in 2014 and releasing her debut single "
All About That Bass", which reached number one on the US
Billboard Hot 100 chart and sold 11 million copies worldwide, and drew criticism for its lyrical content. Trainor has released
three studio albums with the label, and has received various
awards and nominations, including the 2016
Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
-
Orangutans (
nominated by
LittleJerry) are
great apes native to Indonesia and Malaysia. They are found in the
rainforests of
Borneo and
Sumatra, but during the
Pleistocene they ranged throughout
Southeast Asia and
South China. The most
arboreal of the great apes, orangutans spend most of their time in trees. They have proportionally long arms and short legs and their hair is reddish-brown. Orangutans are among the most intelligent
primates. All three orangutan species are considered
critically endangered. Human activities have caused severe declines in populations and ranges. Threats to wild orangutan populations include poaching,
habitat destruction because of
palm oil cultivation, and the illegal
pet trade. Several conservation and rehabilitation organisations are dedicated to the survival of orangutans in the wild.
-
Portraits of Odaenathus (
nominated by
Attar-Aram syria):
Odaenathus, the king of
Palmyra from 260 to 267 CE, has been identified by modern scholars as the subject of sculptures, seal impressions, and mosaic pieces.
-
Alfred Worden (
nominated by
Wehwalt) was an American
test pilot and
astronaut, and the
command module pilot for the
Apollo 15 lunar mission in 1971. A former
test pilot, he served on the support and backup crews for
Apollo 9 and
12 before selection for Apollo 15. In
lunar orbit, he became the individual who was the furthest from any other human being, a record he still holds. He also performed the first deep-space
extravehicular activity, or spacewalk, in history. His career was effectively ended by a scandal over
carrying postal covers to the Moon, and he retired in 1975.
-
Horseshoe bats (
nominated by
Enwebb) are
bats in the family 'Rhinolophidae'. In addition to the single living
genus, Rhinolophus, which has about 106 species, the extinct genus
Palaeonycteris has also been recognized. Horseshoe bats are considered small or medium-sized
microbats, weighing 4–28 g (0.14–0.99 oz), with forearm lengths of 30–75 mm (1.2–3.0 in) and combined lengths of head and body of 35–110 mm (1.4–4.3 in). Horseshoe bats are relevant to humans in some regions as a source of disease, as food, and
traditional medicine. Several species are the natural reservoirs of
SARS coronavirus, though
masked palm civets were the intermediate hosts through which humans became infected. Some evidence suggests that some species could be the natural reservoir of
SARS-CoV-2, which causes
coronavirus disease 2019. They are hunted for food in several regions, particularly
sub-Saharan Africa, but also
Southeast Asia. Some species or their
guano are used in traditional medicine in Nepal, India, Vietnam, and Senegal.
-
Siamosaurus (
nominated by
PaleoGeekSquared) is a
genus of
spinosaurid
dinosaur that lived in what is now
Thailand during the
Early Cretaceous
period (
Barremian to
Aptian) and is the first reported spinosaurid from Asia. It is confidently known only from tooth
fossils; the first were found in the
Sao Khua Formation, with more teeth later recovered from the younger
Khok Kruat Formation. Like in all spinosaurids, Siamosaurus' teeth were conical, with reduced or absent
serrations. This made them suitable for impaling rather than tearing flesh, a trait typically seen in largely
piscivorous (fish-eating) animals. Spinosaurids are also known to have consumed
pterosaurs and small dinosaurs, and there is fossil evidence of Siamosaurus itself feeding on
sauropod dinosaurs, either via
scavenging or active hunting. Siamosaurus' role as a partially piscivorous predator may have reduced the prominence of some contemporaneous crocodilians competing for the same food sources.
Isotope analysis of the teeth of Siamosaurus and other spinosaurids indicates
semiaquatic habits. Siamosaurus lived in a
semi-arid habitat of
floodplains and meandering rivers, where it coexisted with other dinosaurs, as well as pterosaurs, fishes, turtles, and
crocodyliforms.
- The
Treaty of Lutatius (
nominated by
Gog the Mild) was the agreement of 241 BC between
Carthage and
Rome which ended the
First Punic War after 23 years. Accepting defeat, the Carthaginian
Senate ordered their commander on Sicily to negotiate a
peace treaty. A treaty was agreed by which Carthage would hand over what it still held of Sicily, relinquish several groups of islands nearby, release all Roman prisoners without ransom, and pay large
reparations over 10 years. In 237 BC Carthage prepared an expedition to recover the island of
Sardinia, which had been lost to rebels. Cynically, the Romans announced that this an act of war and that their peace terms were the ceding of Sardinia and
Corsica and the payment of an additional indemnity; these were added to the treaty as a codicil.
-
Bob Mann (
nominated by
Gonzo fan2007 and
Cbl62) was an American professional
football player in the
National Football League (NFL). A native of
New Bern, North Carolina, Mann played
college football at
Hampton Institute in 1942 and 1943 and at the
University of Michigan in 1944, 1946 and 1947. Playing the
end position, he broke the
Big Ten Conference record for
receiving yards in 1946 and 1947. After not being selected in the
1948 NFL Draft, Mann signed his first professional football contract with the
Detroit Lions, where he stayed for two seasons. He later played for the
Green Bay Packers for parts of five seasons until 1954. Mann broke the
color barrier for both teams.
- The
2010 Twenty20 Cup Final (
nominated by
Harrias) was a 20
overs-per-side
cricket match between
Hampshire County Cricket Club and
Somerset County Cricket Club played on 14 August 2010 at the
Rose Bowl in
Southampton. It was the eighth final of the
Twenty20 Cup.
-
Al-Hafiz (
nominated by
Cplakidas) was the eleventh
caliph of the
Fatimids from 1132 to his death in 1149. Many
Isma'ili followers abroad refused to recognize him and even in Egypt there were uprisings throughout his reign. He tried to restrain his over-mighty
viziers, with mixed success. He was repeatedly forced to give way to the demands of various military factions, and ultimately was unable to halt the evolution of the vizierate into a de facto
sultanate, independent of the caliph. His successors would be reduced to puppets at the hands of powerful viziers, until the end of the Fatimid Caliphate in 1171.
-
Hurricane Willa (
nominated by
Hurricane Noah,
KN2731, and
Hurricanehink) was a powerful
tropical cyclone that brought torrential rains and destructive winds to southwestern Mexico, particularly the states of
Sinaloa and
Nayarit, during late-October 2018. It was the twenty-fifth tropical cyclone, twenty-second named storm, thirteenth hurricane, tenth major hurricane, and record-tying third
Category 5 hurricane of the
2018 Pacific hurricane season. Willa was the first major hurricane to make
landfall in the
Mexican state of Sinaloa since
Lane in
2006.
-
Infinity Science Fiction (
nominated by
Mike Christie) was an American
science fiction magazine, edited by
Larry T. Shaw, and published by Royal Publications. The first issue, which appeared in November 1955, included
Arthur C. Clarke's "
The Star", a story about a planet destroyed by a
nova (an exploding star) that turns out to have been the
Star of Bethlehem; it won the
Hugo Award for that year. Shaw obtained stories from some of the leading writers of the day, including
Brian Aldiss,
Isaac Asimov, and
Robert Sheckley, but the material was of variable quality. In 1958
Irwin Stein, the owner of Royal Publications, decided to shut down Infinity; the last issue was dated November 1958. The title was revived a decade later by Stein's publishing house,
Lancer Books, as a paperback anthology series. Five volumes were published between 1970 and 1973, edited by
Robert Hoskins; a sixth was prepared but withdrawn after Lancer ran into financial problems at the end of 1973.
- The
qibla (
nominated by
HaEr48) is the direction towards the
Kaaba in the
Sacred Mosque,
Mecca, Saudi Arabia, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, such as serving as the including the
direction of the
salah or ritual prayer.
-
Yugoslav destroyer Beograd (
nominated by
Peacemaker67) was the
lead ship of
a class of
destroyers built for the
Royal Yugoslav Navy during the late 1930s. In
World War II, she was captured and saw extensive service with the
Royal Italian Navy, completing over 100
convoy escort missions, mainly on routes between Italy and the
Aegean or
North Africa. In September 1943, she was captured by the
German Navy and redesignated TA43. She was sunk or
scuttled at
Trieste in 1945.
- The
Roman withdrawal from Africa in 255 BC (
nominated by
Gog the Mild) was the attempt by the Roman Republic to rescue the survivors of their defeated expeditionary force to Carthaginian Africa (in what is now northeastern Tunisia) during the First Punic War. A force of 390 warships fought and defeated 200 Carthaginian vessels and the Roman survivors of the previous year's invasion were evacuated. While returning to Italy the Roman fleet encountered a storm off the south-east corner of Sicily: 384 ships were sunk and more than 100,000 men were lost.
Featured lists
20
featured lists were promoted this month.
-
Cardiff City Football Club is a Welsh professional
association football team based in
Cardiff. The club was founded in 1899 and initially played in local amateur leagues before joining the
English football league system. After spending a decade in the
Southern Football League, Cardiff joined the
Football League in 1920.
A total of 123 players (
nominated by
Kosack) have won at least one cap in senior international football while playing for Cardiff, representing 25 nations.
Chris Gunter is the youngest Cardiff player to win an international cap, having represented Wales in 2017 at the age of 16.
Kenwyne Jones has scored more international goals than any other Cardiff player. He scored ten times for
Trinidad and Tobago between 2014 and 2016.
-
Hot Country Songs is a
chart that ranks the top-performing
country music songs in the United States, published by
Billboard magazine.
13 different singles (
nominated by
ChrisTheDude) topped the chart in 1966 and
19 in 1965 (
nominated by
ChrisTheDude), which was published at the time under the title Hot Country Singles. Chart placings were based on playlists submitted by country music radio stations and sales reports submitted by stores.
- In baseball, a home run is credited to a batter when he hits a fair ball and reaches home safely on the same play, without the benefit of an error.
One hundred and twenty-seven players (
nominated by
Bloom6132) have hit a home run in their first at bat of a Major League Baseball (MLB) game to date, the most recent being Keibert Ruiz of the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 16, 2020. George Tebeau and Mike Griffin both hit home runs in their first at bats on April 16, 1887. Both players are recognized as the first player to homer in his first major league at bat because the exact time when each home run was hit is unclear.
- Since July 2009, Israeli broadcast monitoring service
Media Forest has been publishing four rankings which list the top ten most-broadcast Romanian and foreign songs on Romanian radio stations and television channels separately on a weekly basis. In
2009, eight and eleven singles (
nominated by
Cartoon network freak) were listed by Media Forest as the most-broadcast tracks on radio and television respectively.
-
Sigourney Weaver is an American actor, playwright, and producer who first began acting in plays in the early 1970s. Throughout her career she has acted in nearly
40 stage productions (
nominated by
HAL333). She made her film debut with a minor role in the
Woody Allen-directed
Annie Hall (1977). Her breakthrough role was as
Ellen Ripley in the
Ridley Scott-directed
Alien (1979). She reprised the role in
Aliens (1986), this time helmed by director
James Cameron. Her performance netted her a nomination for the
Academy Award for Best Actress. She would reprise the role in two more sequels:
Alien 3 (1992) and
Alien: Resurrection (1997), both of which were not as well-received. Although originally written as a man, Ripley is now regarded as one of the most significant female protagonists in cinema history, and consequently, Weaver is considered to be a pioneer of action heroines in
science fiction films
-
The Mandalorian, an American
space Western
web television series set in the Star Wars universe created by
Jon Favreau and released on
Disney+, features an
extensive cast of characters (
nominated by
Hunter Kahn).
- The
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
World Heritage Sites are places of importance to
cultural or
natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972.
Lithuania accepted the convention on 31 March 1992, making its natural and historical sites eligible for inclusion on the list. The first site added to the list was the
Vilnius Historic Centre, in 1994. Three further sites were added in 2000, 2004, and 2005. In total, there are
four sites on the list (
nominated by
Tone), all of them cultural. Two sites are transnational: the
Curonian Spit is shared with Russia and the
Struve Geodetic Arc is shared with nine other countries. In addition to its World Heritage Sites, Lithuania also maintains two properties on its tentative list.
- The
Boston Marathon, one of the six
World Marathon Majors, is a 26.2-mile (42.2 km) race which has been held in the
Greater Boston area in
Massachusetts since 1897. It is the oldest annual
marathon in the world. The event is held on
Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Various factors meant that until 1957 the course varied in length, due to which the marathon recognizes several course records that are slower than previous records due to being run on longer courses. The first Boston Marathon included only 15 runners, all of whom were men, and was won by
John McDermott. The race was cancelled for the first time in its history in 2020, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The winners (
nominated by
Harrias) have represented 27 different countries: Americans have won the marathon the most, doing so on 108 occasions; Kenyans have won 34 times; and Canadians 21 times.
Ernst van Dyk is the most successful individual athlete, having won the men's wheelchair division ten times. The current course records are held by
Geoffrey Mutai,
Buzunesh Deba,
Marcel Hug and
Manuela Schär.
- The
WCW Light Heavyweight Championship (
nominated by
Grapple X) was a
professional wrestling championship that was contested in
World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1991 and 1992. Conceived in 1991, the championship was first awarded as the result of a single-elimination tournament; its subsequent lineage ended when the final champion
Brad Armstrong was stripped of the title due to injury. A second tournament to decide Armstrong's successor was announced, but never took place. The title was held by four different champions; the inaugural champion
Brian Pillman was the only wrestler to win it on more than one occasion. The light heavyweight division which contested the championship had proved popular with fans, but its viability suffered as a result of WCW's creative decisions; in 1992,
Bill Watts became the head
booker, and implemented storyline changes in WCW's product which stymied the division's style. WCW would later introduce a similar title as the
WCW Cruiserweight Championship; the two titles are now considered one and the same by the wrestling promotion
WWE, which purchased WCW's assets in 2001.
- The
Wikimedian of the Year (
nominated by
CAPTAIN MEDUSA) is an annual award that honors
Wikipedia editors to highlight major achievements within the
Wikimedia movement. The award was established in August 2011 by Wikipedia's co-founder
Jimmy Wales, who selects the recipients and honors them at
Wikimania, an annual conference of the
Wikimedia Foundation. From 2011 to 2017 the award was named 'Wikipedian of the Year'. The award includes prize money, which as of 2020 is $5,000.
-
Clark Gable (1901–1960) was an American actor and producer who appeared in over
70 feature films and several short films (
nominated by
HAL333). Gable first began acting in stage productions, before his film debut in 1924. After many minor roles, Gable landed a leading role in 1931, subsequently becoming one of the most dominant
leading men in Hollywood. He often acted alongside reoccurring
leading ladies: six films with
Jean Harlow, six with
Myrna Loy, eight with
Joan Crawford, and four with
Lana Turner, among many others. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in cinematic history.
- The
DHL Fastest Lap Award (
nominated by
MWright96) is given annually by the courier,
Formula One global partner and logistics provider
DHL "to recognise the driver who most consistently demonstrates pure speed, with the fastest lap at the highest number of races each season", and to reward the winning driver for "characteristics such as excellent performance, passion, can-do attitude, reliability and precision". First awarded in
2007 by DHL, the trophy's official naming patron, it is presented to the driver with the highest number of
fastest laps over the course of the season, with one point awarded to the fastest lap holder of a
Grand Prix.
- The
Hennepin County Library, which serves
Hennepin County, Minnesota, including the city of
Minneapolis, consists of
41 branches (
nominated by
Bobamnertiopsis) in 24 cities and towns. Of these, 15 are in Minneapolis; collectively they made up the Minneapolis Public Library until they were absorbed by the Hennepin system in the merger. Four branches (Central, Franklin, Hosmer, and Sumner) were originally founded as
Carnegie libraries. Several other libraries, separate from the system, also operate within the county's boundaries.
- The
Roman Catholic archbishop of New York (
nominated by
Bloom6132) is the head of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, who is responsible for looking after its spiritual and administrative needs. As the archdiocese is the
metropolitan see of the
ecclesiastical province encompassing nearly all of the
state of New York, the Archbishop of New York also administers the bishops who head the
suffragan dioceses of
Albany,
Brooklyn,
Buffalo,
Ogdensburg,
Rochester,
Rockville Centre and
Syracuse. The current archbishop is
Timothy M. Dolan.
- The
NWA World Welterweight Championship (
nominated by
MPJ-DK) is an inactive
professional wrestling championship governed by the
National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and most recently promoted by NWA Mexico.
-
Natalie Wood (1938–1981) was an American actress who started her career as a child by appearing in films directed by
Irving Pichel. Wood's first credited role was as an Austrian war refugee in the Pichel-directed
Tomorrow Is Forever (1946) with
Claudette Colbert and
Orson Welles. The following year, she played a child who does not believe in
Santa Claus in the Christmas comedy-drama
Miracle on 34th Street (1947) opposite
Maureen O'Hara,
John Payne, and
Edmund Gwenn.She has since appeared in
numerous films (
nominated by
Cowlibob), was the recipient of four
Golden Globes, and received three
Academy Award nominations.
- The
John Arlott Cup for the PCA Young Player of the Year (
nominated by
Harrias) is an annual
cricket award presented to the player who is adjudged to be the most promising young player in English
county cricket. Only players that are aged under 24 on 1 April of the awarding year are eligible for the prize.
Michael Atherton was the first winner of the award in 1990. Two players,
Kabir Ali and
Alastair Cook, have won the award twice, both doing so in successive years; Ali in 2002 and 2003, and Cook in 2005 and 2006. Representatives of thirteen of the eighteen first-class counties have won the award.
Yorkshire players have collected the most awards, doing so on six occasions.
-
Brad Pitt is an American actor and film producer who has received
various awards and nominations (
nominated by
CAPTAIN MEDUSA), including two
Academy Awards, two
British Academy Film Awards, and two
Golden Globe Awards. He has been nominated for an additional five Academy Awards.
-
Timeline of Mary Pickford (
nominated by
Jimknut)
Mary Pickford (1892–1979) was a Canadian motion picture actress, producer, and writer. During the
silent film era she became one of the first great celebrities of the cinema and a popular
icon known to the public as "America's Sweetheart".
- The
Archbishop of Montreal (
nominated by
Bloom6132)is the head of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal, who is responsible for looking after its spiritual and administrative needs. This archdiocese is the
metropolitan see of the
ecclesiastical province encompassing the south-central part of the province of
Quebec, and so the Archbishop of Montreal also administers the bishops who head the
suffragan dioceses of
Joliette,
Saint-Jean-Longueuil,
Saint-Jérôme, and
Valleyfield. The current archbishop is
Christian Lépine.
Featured pictures
20
featured pictures were promoted this month.
-
Poster for the première of
Jules Massenet's opera
Ariane. Colour lithograph, 0.87 x 0.61 m (About 34 x 24 inches)
(
nominated by
Adam Cuerden)
-
Connor Barth, a placekicker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, prepares to kick a field goal during the first quarter of the Bucs v. New York Giants National Football League military appreciation game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., Nov. 8, 2015.
(created by U.S. Air Force, photographer Ned T. Johnston;
nominated by
Bammesk)
-
King Girvan Yuddhavikram Shah
(restored and
nominated by
CAPTAIN MEDUSA)
-
Portrait of the American singer
Nina Simone, 1965.
(restored and
nominated by
Bammesk)
-
Sketch for the set of Act III, Scene 1 of
La Esmeralda, an opera by
Louise Bertin (restored and
nominated by
Adam Cuerden)
-
-
A Composite Imaginary View of Japan (created by Khalili Collections;
nominated by
MartinPoulter)
-
-
Blue tiger (
Tirumala limniace exoticus) male, Kumarakom, Kerala, India
(created and
nominated by
Charlesjsharp)
-
-
Purple sea urchin (
Sphaerechinus granularis), Madeira, Portugal
(created by
Poco a poco;
nominated by
MER-C)
-
English composer and suffragette
Ethel Smyth (1858-1944)
(restored and
nominated by
Adam Cuerden)
-
Mizrah, papercut (created by Israel Dov Rosenbaum;
nominated by
Andrew J.Kurbiko)
-
"George Kleine presents the Cines photo drama
Quo Vadis: Lygia Bound to the Wild Bull." Chromolithograph poster for 1913 film.
(restored and
nominated by
Adam Cuerden)
-
Talamanca hummingbird (
Eugenes spectabilis) male, Mount Totumas cloud forest, Panama.
(created and
nominated by
Charlesjsharp)
-
Chorda filum on top of a layer of soft blanket weed (
Cladophora glomerata), coastline of Sweden.
(created by
W.carter;
nominated by
Bammesk)
-
Eurasian coot (
Fulica atra) juvenile in
France (created and
nominated by
Charlesjsharp)
-
Hazel MacKaye, actress,
suffragist, and writer of various pageants and plays, many of which for women's suffrage events, as well as working with the
Young Women's Christian Association and becoming their Director of Pageantry and Drama.
(restored and
nominated by
Adam Cuerden)
-
-
Lilac-breasted roller (
Coracias caudatus caudatus) in
Botswana (created and
nominated by
Charlesjsharp)
One
featured topic was promoted this month.
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