Wikipedia:Today's featured article/September 2015
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September 1
Acacia pycnantha, commonly known as the golden wattle, is a tree of the family Fabaceae native to southeastern Australia. It grows to a height of 8 m (25 ft) and has sickle-shaped phyllodes (flattened leaf stalks) instead of true leaves. The profuse fragrant, golden flowers appear in late winter and spring, followed by long seed pods. Plants are cross-pollinated by several species of thornbill and honeyeater, which visit nectaries on the phyllodes and brush against flowers, transferring pollen between them. An understorey plant in eucalyptus forest, it is native to southern New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, and southeastern South Australia. Explorer Thomas Mitchell collected the type specimen, from which George Bentham wrote the species description in 1842. Its bark produces more tannin than any other wattle species, resulting in its commercial cultivation for production of this compound. It has been widely grown as an ornamental garden plant and for cut flower production, but has become a weed in South Africa, Tanzania, Italy, Portugal, Sardinia, India, Indonesia, and New Zealand, as well as Western Australia, Tasmania and New South Wales. It was made the official floral emblem of Australia in 1988, and has been featured on the country's postal stamps. (Full article...)
September 2
JC's Girls is an Evangelical Christian women's organization in the United States whose members preach the gospel to female workers in the sex industry. The group does not focus upon conversion but rather on communicating its message that Christians exist who are not judging female sex workers and are willing to accept them. Now based at The Rock Church in San Diego, the organization was founded in 2005 at Sandals Church in Riverside, California, by Heather Veitch (pictured), a stripper for four years before becoming a Christian and leaving the sex industry in 1999. Terry Barone, spokesman of the California Southern Baptist Convention, said that JC's Girls members "are doing what Jesus did ... He ministered to prostitutes and tax collectors." Criticism of the organization has focused on the way that members dress and the fact that they do not explicitly encourage women in the sex industry to quit. Philip Sherwell of the Calgary Herald called the evangelism of JC's Girls "America's most unusual Christian outreach operation". (Full article...)
September 3
Hurricane Elena was an unpredictable and damaging tropical cyclone that affected the United States Gulf Coast in late August and early September 1985. Threatening popular tourist destinations during Labor Day weekend, Elena repeatedly defied forecasts, triggering an unprecedented series of evacuations; many residents and tourists were forced to leave twice in a matter of days. Elena's slow movement off western Florida resulted in severe beach erosion and damage to coastal buildings, roads, and seawalls. The hurricane devastated the Apalachicola Bay shellfish industry, killing off vast oyster beds and leaving thousands of workers unemployed. Farther west, Dauphin Island in Alabama endured wind gusts as high as 130 mph (210 km/h) and a significant storm surge. In Mississippi, over 13,000 homes were damaged and 200 were entirely destroyed. Overall, nine people died as a result of the hurricane: three in Florida, two in Louisiana, one in Arkansas, two in Texas from rip currents, and one in a maritime accident. Damage totaled about $1.3 billion, and power outages from the storm affected 550,000 homes and businesses. (Full article...)
September 4
A hemmema was a type of warship built for the Swedish archipelago fleet and the Russian Baltic Navy in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was designed by Swedish naval architect Fredrik Henrik af Chapman in collaboration with Augustin Ehrensvärd, commander of the archipelago fleet. The hemmema was a specialized vessel for use in the shallow waters and narrow passages that surround the thousands of islands and islets extending from the Swedish capital of Stockholm into the Gulf of Finland. It replaced the galley as a coastal warship since it had better crew accommodations, was more seaworthy and heavily outgunned even the largest galleys. It could be propelled by either sails or oars but was still smaller and more maneuverable than most sailing warships, which made it suitable for operations in the confined waters. The 12 hemmemas that were built served on both sides of the Russo-Swedish War of 1788–90 and the Finnish War of 1808–09. (Full article...)
September 5
Tom Simpson (1937–1967) was one of Britain's most successful professional cyclists. He began his career track cycling, specializing in pursuit races. In this discipline he won a bronze medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics and a silver at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. In 1959 Simpson moved to France and turned professional in road racing. In the 1962 Tour de France he became the first British rider to wear the yellow jersey. In 1965 he became Britain's first world road race champion. He won three Monument classic races: the 1961 Tour of Flanders, the 1964 Milan–San Remo and the 1965 Giro di Lombardia. At the 1967 Tour de France, he collapsed and died during the ascent of Mont Ventoux. He was 29 years old. The post-mortem examination found that he had mixed amphetamines and alcohol. He was known to have taken performance-enhancing drugs during his career, when no doping controls existed. Despite this, he is held in high esteem by many cyclists for his character and will to win. (Full article...)
September 6
Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834), often called simply Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer who fought for the United States in the American Revolutionary War. In 1775, he became convinced that the American cause was noble. In the United States, he was made a major general. He was wounded during the Battle of Brandywine and served with distinction in the Battle of Rhode Island. In 1781, troops in Virginia under his command blocked British forces, leading to the decisive Siege of Yorktown. Lafayette returned to France and was elected a member of the Estates-General of 1789. After the storming of the Bastille, he was made head of the National Guard, and tried to steer a middle course through the French Revolution. In August 1792, the radical factions ordered his arrest. Fleeing through Belgium, he was captured by Austrian troops and spent more than five years in prison. In 1824, President James Monroe invited Lafayette to the United States, where he met a rapturous reception. During France's July Revolution of 1830, he supported Louis-Philippe as king, but turned against him when the monarch became autocratic. (Full article...)
September 7
Caesar Hull, DFC (1914–1940) and Paterson Hughes, DFC (1917–1940) were Royal Air Force (RAF) flying aces of the Second World War. They were killed in action in the Battle of Britain on the same day, 7 September 1940. Raised in Southern Rhodesia, South Africa and Swaziland, Hull joined No. 43 Squadron in Sussex, England, in 1935, and took part in the fighting for Narvik during the Norwegian Campaign in 1940. Hull was the RAF's first Gloster Gladiator ace and the most successful RAF pilot of the Norwegian Campaign. He later saw action as a Hawker Hurricane pilot during the Battle of Britain, in which he was killed while diving to the aid of an RAF comrade. Hughes was born and raised in Australia and took a commission with the RAF in 1937. Posted to No. 234 Squadron following the outbreak of war, he flew Supermarine Spitfires and was credited with seventeen victories during the Battle of Britain. His tally made him the highest-scoring Australian of the battle, and among the three highest-scoring Australians of the war. Hughes is generally thought to have died after his Spitfire was struck by flying debris from a German bomber that he had just shot down. (See Caesar Hull and Paterson Hughes.)
September 8
Madonna in the Church is a small oil panel painting by Jan van Eyck, an Early Netherlandish artist. Probably created c. 1438–40, it shows the Virgin Mary in a Gothic cathedral holding the Child Jesus. She is presented as Queen of Heaven, wearing a jewel-studded crown and cradling a playful child who grips a hem of her dress. Light pours through the windows, illuminating the interior and culminating in two pools near her feet. Tracery at the rear of the church nave contains wooden carvings depicting episodes from her life. The work evidences the new approach and techniques applied to 15th-century oil painting but is still influenced by medieval, monumental Byzantine depictions of the Madonna; she is unrealistically large compared to her surroundings. Most art historians believe the panel began as the left wing of a since-dismantled diptych; its opposite wing was most likely a votive portrait. (Full article...)
September 9
Balch Creek is a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) tributary of the Willamette River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Beginning at the crest of the Tualatin Mountains, the creek flows generally east down a canyon and through Forest Park, a large municipal park in Portland. It then enters a pipe and remains underground until reaching the river. Danford Balch, after whom the creek is named, settled a land claim along the creek in the 19th century, and was the first person legally hanged in Oregon. Basalt, mostly covered by silt in the uplands and sediment in the lowlands, underlies the Balch Creek watershed, which includes the Audubon Society of Portland nature sanctuary. Mixed conifer forest with a well-developed understory of shrubs and flowering plants is the natural vegetation. Sixty-two species of mammals and more than 112 species of birds use Forest Park. A small population of coastal cutthroat trout resides in the stream, which in 2005 was the only major water body in Portland that met state standards for bacteria, temperature, and dissolved oxygen. Although nature reserves cover much of the upper and middle parts of the watershed, industrial sites dominate the lower part. (Full article...)
September 10
The two Minas Geraes-class battleships were built during the first decade of the twentieth century for the Brazilian Navy. Named Minas Geraes and São Paulo, Brazil's order for these "dreadnoughts"—powerful warships whose capabilities far outstripped those of the world's older battleships—initiated a vastly expensive South American naval arms race. Once in service, Minas Geraes and São Paulo were only ever used for or against rebellions. Soon after the ships arrived in Brazil in 1910, their crews revolted against the continued use of corporal punishment (in this case, whipping or "lashing") in the navy. In 1922, the government used both warships to help put down an army rebellion. São Paulo's crew mutinied in 1924, but eight years later the ship helped the government break a rebel blockade. During the Second World War, the obsolete dreadnoughts were used as harbor defense vessels for ports in northeast Brazil. They were both sold for scrap after the war, but São Paulo sank without a trace while under tow. (Full article...)
Part of the Minas Geraes-class battleships and South American dreadnought race featured topics.
September 11
American Airlines Flight 77 was a daily morning transcontinental flight from Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia to Los Angeles International Airport. On September 11, 2001, the flight's Boeing 757 aircraft was hijacked by five men affiliated with al-Qaeda, and deliberately crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, near Washington, D.C., as part of the September 11 attacks. Less than 35 minutes into the flight, the hijackers stormed the cockpit, and Hani Hanjour, a trained pilot, took over the controls. The six crew members and the passengers were forced to the rear of the aircraft, where they relayed information on the hijacking. The hijackers crashed the aircraft into the western side of the Pentagon at 09:37 EDT, severely damaging the building and causing a large fire, and at 10:10 a portion of the Pentagon collapsed. All 64 people on board including the five hijackers were killed, as well as 125 people in the building. The victims of the attack are honored in the Pentagon Memorial adjacent to the Pentagon. (Full article...)
September 12
The Royal Opera is based at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent Garden Opera Company, it was known by that title until 1968. It brought a long annual season and consistent management to a house that had previously operated under a series of impresarios. When the company was formed, its policy was to perform all works in English, but since the late 1950s most operas have been given in the original language. From the outset, performers have comprised a mixture of British and Commonwealth singers and international guest stars. Among the many guest performers have been Maria Callas, Plácido Domingo, Kirsten Flagstad, Hans Hotter, Birgit Nilsson, Luciano Pavarotti and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. Among those who have risen to international prominence from the ranks of the company are Geraint Evans, Joan Sutherland, Kiri Te Kanawa and Jon Vickers. The company's growth from modest beginnings to parity with the world's greatest opera houses was recognised by the grant of the title "The Royal Opera" in 1968. The company has had six music directors since its inception: Karl Rankl, Rafael Kubelík, Georg Solti, Colin Davis, Bernard Haitink and Antonio Pappano. (Full article...)
September 13
Broad Ripple Park Carousel is an antique carousel in The Children's Museum of Indianapolis in the U.S. state of Indiana. It was originally installed in 1917 at an amusement park near the White River where it remained until the building housing it collapsed in 1956. The ride's mechanism was destroyed, but the animals were relatively unscathed and put into storage by the park's owners, the Indianapolis Department of Parks and Recreation. The animals were carved by the Dentzel Carousel Company sometime before 1900 and assembled by the William F. Mangels carousel company, which also supplied the engine powering the ride. Restoration of the animals began in 1966 and was only finished with the restoration of the entire carousel in 1977. A 1919 Wurlitzer organ model 146B, a type manufactured only for carousels, was also installed. As restored, the carousel is 42 feet (13 meters) wide and has a total of 42 animals, including – as well as the usual horses – goats, giraffes, deer, a lion, and a tiger. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987. (Full article...)
September 14
The red-winged fairywren (Malurus elegans) is a perching bird in the family Maluridae. It is non-migratory, and endemic to the southwestern corner of Western Australia. The sexes are dimorphic: females, juveniles and non-breeding males have predominantly grey-brown plumage, but breeding males adopt brilliant colours, with an iridescent silvery-blue crown and upper back, red-brown shoulders, a black throat, grey-brown wings and pale underparts. Though the red-winged fairywren is locally common, there is evidence of a decline in numbers. Primarily insectivorous, it forages and lives in the shelter of scrubby vegetation in temperate wetter forests dominated by the karri (Eucalyptus diversicolor), remaining close to cover to avoid predators. Like other fairywrens, it is a cooperative breeding species, with small groups of birds maintaining and defending small territories year-round. Groups consist of a socially monogamous pair with several helper birds who assist in raising the young. (Full article...)
September 15
Bill Denny, MC (1872–1946) was a South Australian journalist, lawyer, Labor politician and decorated soldier who held a seat in the South Australian House of Assembly for 33 years. He was elected in 1900, re-elected in 1902, defeated in 1905 and re-elected the following year, then retained his seat until defeated in 1933. Denny was the Attorney-General of South Australia in the Labor government led by John Verran (1910–12). In August 1915, Denny enlisted in the First Australian Imperial Force to serve in World War I, initially as a trooper in the 9th Light Horse Regiment. After being commissioned in 1916, he served in the artillery on the Western Front. He was awarded the Military Cross for his actions on 15 September 1917 when he was wounded while leading a convoy into forward areas near Ypres. He was again Attorney-General in the governments led by John Gunn, Lionel Hill and Robert Richards. When Denny died in 1946 aged 73, he was accorded a state funeral. (Full article...)
September 16
A Handful of Dust is a novel by the British writer Evelyn Waugh (pictured). First published in 1934, it concerns the misfortunes of Tony Last, a contented but shallow English country squire who, betrayed by his wife and seeing his illusions shattered one by one, joins an expedition to the Brazilian jungle. Here he is trapped in a remote outpost, as the prisoner and plaything of an insane captor, and is forced to read the novels of Charles Dickens, aloud, in perpetuity. Waugh incorporated several autobiographical elements into the story, notably a journey into the South American interior undertaken in 1933–34, and his own recent desertion by his young wife. The book was immediately popular with the public and has never been out of print; its literary reputation has grown, and it has been listed among the 20th century's best novels. Unlike in much of his work, Waugh did not introduce overt religious themes into A Handful of Dust. He later explained that he intended the book to demonstrate the futility of humanist, as distinct from religious, values. (Full article...)
September 17
Grand Theft Auto V is an action-adventure open world video game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on 17 September 2013 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, in 2014 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and in 2015 for Microsoft Windows. The game is the next main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series after 2008's Grand Theft Auto IV. Set within the fictional state of San Andreas (based on Southern California), the story follows three criminals and their efforts to commit heists, with the game's use of three lead protagonists representing a break from series tradition. In a single-player or an online multiplayer mode, players can freely roam the open world of San Andreas, which includes rural environments and the fictional city of Los Santos (based on Los Angeles). Upon release, Grand Theft Auto V was critically acclaimed, drawing praise for its open world design and technical capabilities. It became the fastest-selling entertainment product in history, earning US$800 million in its first day and $1 billion in its first three days. (Full article...)
September 18
The American musician Jimi Hendrix died in London on September 18, 1970, aged 27. In the days leading up to his death, he was in poor health, affected by exhaustion and possibly influenza, and frustrated by his personal relationships. He spent his last day with Monika Dannemann at her apartment in Notting Hill. The next morning, she found him unresponsive, and he was confirmed dead at St Mary Abbot's Hospital. The post-mortem examination concluded that Hendrix had died of asphyxia after choking on his vomit while intoxicated with barbiturates; Dannemann stated that he had taken 18 times his recommended dose of Vesparax. Finding no evidence of suicide, the coroner recorded his death as an open verdict. In 1992, Hendrix's former girlfriend Kathy Etchingham asked the UK authorities to reinvestigate his death; this second investigation again proved inconclusive when it was closed the following year. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes Hendrix as "arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock music". (Full article...)
September 19
Laevistrombus canarium, commonly known as the dog conch, is a species of edible sea snail, a marine gastropod in the true conch family, found from India and Sri Lanka to Melanesia, Australia and southern Japan. The animal has an elongated snout, thin eyestalks with well-developed eyes and sensory tentacles, and a narrow, strong foot. The burrowing behaviours and leaping form of locomotion are common among true conchs. Living on muddy and sandy bottoms, it grazes on algae and detritus. The easily distinguishable sexes depend on internal fertilization for spawning. The maximum life span is 2 to 2.5 years. Predators of this snail include carnivorous gastropods such as cone snails and volutes. It is also a prey species for vertebrates, including humans, who consume the soft parts in a wide variety of dishes. The heavy shell is valued as an ornament, and used as a sinker for fishing nets. Several studies indicate that populations in some areas may be suffering from overexploitation. (Full article...)
September 20
Forrest Highway is a 95-kilometre-long (59 mi) highway in Western Australia's Peel and South West regions, extending Perth's Kwinana Freeway from east of Mandurah down to Bunbury. The highway begins in Ravenswood, continues around the Peel Inlet to Lake Clifton, and heads south to finish at Bunbury's Eelup Roundabout. Old Coast Road was the original Mandurah–Bunbury route, dating back to the 1840s. Since the 1980s the state government has been upgrading the main Perth to Bunbury route by extending Kwinana Freeway south from Perth, and constructing a dual carriageway on Old Coast Road north of Bunbury, including bypasses around Australind, Dawesville, and Mandurah. Construction of the New Perth Bunbury Highway project, which became Forrest Highway and the final Kwinana Freeway extension, began in December 2006, and the new highway was opened on 20 September 2009. Within one year of opening, the number of road accidents in the area had decreased significantly, but tourism and businesses in the towns on bypassed routes were also affected. In June 2014, Forrest Highway was extended south to Bunbury by renaming much of Old Coast Road as well as Australind Bypass as part of the highway. (Full article...)
September 21
Kareena Kapoor (born 1980) is an Indian Bollywood actress. She is the daughter of actors Randhir Kapoor and Babita, and the younger sister of actress Karisma Kapoor. Her achievements include six Filmfare Awards, four IIFA Awards, and three Screen Awards. One of Bollywood's highest-paid actresses, she has played a variety of characters and appeared in a range of film genres. After making her acting debut in Refugee (2000), Kapoor established herself as a leading actress in 2001 with her roles in Aśoka and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.... This initial success was followed by roles in a series of commercial failures. The year 2004 marked a turning point for her when she played a sex worker in Chameli. She earned wide recognition for her roles in Dev and Omkara, then starred in Jab We Met (2007). Kapoor achieved further success by featuring as the female lead in four of India's top-grossing productions—3 Idiots (2009), Golmaal 3 (2010), Bodyguard (2011), and Ra.One (2011)—and received praise for her roles in Kurbaan (2009) and Heroine (2012). Married to actor Saif Ali Khan, Kapoor's off-screen life is the subject of widespread coverage in India. (Full article...)
September 22
Chetro Ketl is an Ancestral Puebloan great house and American archeological site located in Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico. Construction on Chetro Ketl began c. 990 and was largely complete by 1075. Following the onset of a severe drought, most Chacoans emigrated from the canyon by 1140. The great house was rediscovered in 1823 by the Spanish governor of New Mexico and explored in 1849 by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Chaco scholars estimate that it required more than 500,000 man-hours, 26,000 trees, and 50 million sandstone blocks to erect Chetro Ketl. The building contained around 400 rooms and was the largest great house by area in Chaco Canyon, covering nearly 3 acres (1.2 ha). Chetro Ketl's purpose is widely debated, but many archeologists believe the building was a place of large-scale ceremony that held an important position within the larger Chacoan system. The building has deteriorated significantly since its rediscovery in the early 19th century, and its usefulness as a source of information about Chacoan culture is slowly diminishing. (Full article...)
September 23
The Actions along the Matanikau were the two most prominent engagements across the Matanikau River in Guadalcanal during World War II. In the first of these separate but related actions (23–27 September 1942), elements of three U.S. Marine battalions attacked Japanese troop concentrations around the river. The attack was intended to destroy any Japanese forces in the area and to disrupt their attempts to stage attacks on the Marine's defenses at Lunga Point by denying their use of Point Cruz peninsula, the village of Kokumbona, and a series of ridges and ravines stretching inland from the coast. The Japanese repulsed this attack. In the second action (6–9 October), a larger force of Marines crossed the river and inflicted heavy casualties on an infantry regiment. This forced the Japanese to retreat from their positions east of the Matanikau and hindered their preparations for a planned major offensive on the U.S. Lunga defenses set for later in October. (Full article...)
Part of the Guadalcanal Campaign featured topic.
September 24
Pride and Prejudice is a six-episode 1995 British television drama, adapted by Andrew Davies from Jane Austen's 1813 novel of the same name. Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth starred as Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy. Produced by Sue Birtwistle and directed by Simon Langton, the serial was a BBC production with additional funding from the American A&E Network. BBC One originally broadcast the 55-minute episodes from 24 September to 29 October. The A&E Network aired the serial in double episodes on three consecutive nights beginning 14 January 1996. Critically acclaimed and a popular success, Pride and Prejudice was honoured with several awards, including a BAFTA Television Award for Jennifer Ehle for "Best Actress" and an Emmy for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Costume Design for a Miniseries or a Special". The role of Mr Darcy elevated Colin Firth to stardom. The New York Times called the adaptation "a witty mix of love stories and social conniving, cleverly wrapped in the ambitions and illusions of a provincial gentry". (Full article...)
September 25
Serpens is a constellation of the northern hemisphere, representing a serpent. One of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, it remains one of the 88 modern constellations defined by the International Astronomical Union. It is unique among the modern constellations in being split into two non-contiguous parts, the head (Serpens Caput) to the west and the tail (Serpens Cauda) to the east. Between these two halves lies the constellation of Ophiuchus, the "Serpent-Bearer", with the body of the serpent passing behind Ophiuchus. The brightest star in Serpens is the red giant star Alpha Serpentis, with an apparent magnitude of 2.63. The Eagle Nebula and its associated cluster (pictured) are located in Serpens, as is the nearby star-forming region Westerhout 40. Extragalactic objects in Serpens include Seyfert's Sextet, one of the densest galaxy clusters known; Arp 220, the prototypical ultraluminous infrared galaxy; and Hoag's Object, the most famed of the rare ring galaxies. (Full article...)
September 26
The three-dollar piece was a gold coin produced by the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1854 to 1889. Designed by Mint Chief Engraver James B. Longacre, the obverse ("heads" side) bears a representation of Lady Liberty wearing a headdress of a Native American princess, and the reverse displays a wreath of corn, wheat, cotton, and tobacco. Longacre sought to make it as different as possible from the quarter eagle ($2.50 piece), striking it on a thinner planchet and using a distinctive design. Although over 100,000 were struck in the first year, the coin saw little use. It circulated somewhat on the West Coast, where gold and silver were used to the exclusion of paper money, but what little place it had in commerce in the East was lost in the economic disruption of the Civil War, and was never regained. The piece was last struck in 1889, and Congress ended the series the following year. Although many dates were struck in small numbers, the rarest was produced at the San Francisco Mint in 1870 (1870-S); only one such coin is known with certainty to exist. (Full article...)
September 27
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The Stockton and Darlington Railway operated in north-east England from 1825 to 1863. The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, its first line connected coal mines near Shildon with Stockton-on-Tees and Darlington, and was officially opened on 27 September 1825. The movement of coal to ships became a lucrative business, and the line was soon extended to a new port and town at Middlesbrough. Passengers were carried in coaches drawn by horses until carriages hauled by steam locomotives were introduced in 1833. The company suffered severe financial difficulties at the end of the 1840s and was nearly taken over by the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway, before profiting from the discovery of iron ore in Cleveland. The company was taken over by the North Eastern Railway in 1863, transferring 200 route miles (320 km) of line and about 160 locomotives, but continued to operate independently as the Darlington Section until 1876. Much of the original route is now served by the Tees Valley Line, operated by Northern Rail. The railway's opening in 1825 was seen as proof of the effectiveness of steam railways, and its anniversary was celebrated in 1875, 1925 and 1975. (Full article...)
September 28
Halo: Reach is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie, published by Microsoft Game Studios, and released on September 14, 2010, for the Xbox 360 video game console. Players control Noble Six, a member of an elite supersoldier squad, when the human world known as Reach is attacked in the year 2552 by the alien Covenant. Developed after the 2007 release of Halo 3, the game is a prequel to the original Halo game trilogy. Reach's music was composed by longtime Halo composers Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, who aimed for a more somber sound to match the story. Reach was announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009 in Los Angeles. It grossed $200 million on its launch day, setting a new record for the franchise. The game sold well in most territories, moving more than three million units its first month in North America. Critical reception was positive, and generally praised the game's graphics and sound, but the plot and characters were less positively received. (Full article...)
September 29
The Choiseul pigeon (Microgoura meeki) is an extinct species that was endemic to the island of Choiseul in the Solomon Islands. Its closest living relative is believed to be the thick-billed ground pigeon, and some authors have suggested that the Choiseul pigeon may be a link between that species and the crowned pigeons. The adult pigeon was largely blue-grey, with an orange belly and a distinctive slate-blue crest. The bird's head sported a blue frontal shield surrounded by black feathers and a bicoloured beak. It was described as having a beautiful rising and falling whistling call. It is believed to have been a terrestrial species that laid a single egg in an unlined depression in the ground. It roosted in pairs or small groups of three or four in small shrubs and was reportedly very tame, allowing hunters to pick it up off its roost. The indigenous peoples reported that the species was driven to extinction by feral cats, as the pigeon had never previously confronted a carnivorous mammal on Choiseul. The last unconfirmed report of a Choiseul pigeon was in the early 1940s. (Full article...)
September 30
Thunderbirds is a mid-1960s British science-fiction television series created by Gerry Anderson (pictured) and Sylvia Anderson, produced by their company AP Films and distributed by ITC. It was their fifth series to be filmed using a hybrid technique known as "Supermarionation", which combined scale-model special effects sequences with scenes featuring marionette puppet characters. Two series were made, totalling 32 episodes. Set in the mid-2060s, Thunderbirds follows the adventures of International Rescue, a secret organisation founded by ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy. Their advanced rescue machines are led by the Thunderbirds, a fleet of five vehicles piloted by Jeff's adult sons. The series premiered on the ITV network on 30 September 1965 and has since been broadcast in at least 66 other countries. Widely considered the Andersons' most popular and commercially successful series, it has received particular praise for its effects and music. It was followed by two feature-length film sequels in the 1960s and a live-action film adaptation in 2004. A computer-animated remake, Thunderbirds Are Go, premiered on ITV in 2015. (Full article...)