Wikipedia:Today's featured list/March 2012
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March 5
There are 58 national parks of the United States operated by the National Park Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior. National parks must be established by an act of the United States Congress. The first of these protected areas, Yellowstone National Park, was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872, followed by Sequoia and Yosemite in 1890. The Organic Act of 1916 created the National Park Service "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." These parks combined protect more than 51.9 million acres (210,000 km2) in twenty-seven states and two territories, and they preserve a variety of resources including canyons, mountains, glaciers, deserts, lakes, caves, forests, and valleys. The newest national park is Great Sand Dunes, established in 2004, which like many other national parks was previously a national monument. (Full list...)
March 12
Hundreds of scientific books and articles were published by Albert Einstein throughout his career as a theoretical physicist. Best known for his theories of special relativity and general relativity, Einstein also made important contributions to statistical mechanics, especially his treatment of Brownian motion. Other high profile works included his resolution of the paradox of specific heats, and his connection of fluctuations and dissipation. Despite his reservations about its interpretation, Einstein also made seminal contributions to quantum mechanics and, indirectly, quantum field theory, primarily through his theoretical studies of the photon. In addition to the work he did by himself, he also collaborated with other scientists on additional projects, such as the Bose–Einstein statistics and the Einstein refrigerator. (Full list...)
March 19
A world-record 100 centuries in international cricket matches have been scored by Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar (pictured). His 100th century came on 16 March 2012 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Bangladesh. He has scored 51 centuries in Tests and 49 in One Day International (ODI) matches; both are world records for highest number of centuries by a batsman. In Test matches, Tendulkar has scored centuries against all the Test cricket playing nations, and is the second batsman to score 150 against all of them. He also holds the record for the number of scores above 150, a figure he has reached on 20 occasions. His first Test century was achieved against England in 1990, where he scored 119 not out. His highest score is an unbeaten 248, against Bangladesh in 2004. In ODIs, Tendulkar has scored centuries against all of the cricketing nations that have permanent One Day International status. He is also the first batsman to have scored 200 in an ODI. (Full list...)
March 26
Since Manchester United Football Club played their first competitive match in October 1886, more than 850 players have made a competitive first-team appearance for the club, of whom almost 200 players have made at least 100 appearances (including substitute appearances). Manchester United's record appearance-maker is Ryan Giggs (pictured), who has made more than 900 appearances since his debut in 1991; he broke Bobby Charlton's previous appearance record in the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final. Giggs also holds the record for the most starts, having started in 765 games. Charlton is the club's top goalscorer with 249 goals in his 17 years with the club. Seven other players have made more than 500 appearances, including three members of the 1968 European Cup-winning team and three members of the 1999 Treble-winning team. Other than Charlton, only two players have scored more than 200 goals for the club. (Full list...)