Wikipedia:Today's featured list/May 2015
|
Featured list tools: |
May 1
.jpg)
American actor and director Morgan Freeman's career on film, television and on the stage began in 1964, with a film role in the Sidney Lumet-directed drama The Pawnbroker and a part in the musical Hello, Dolly! Freeman subsequently appeared in the films Teachers in 1984, and Marie in 1985 before making his breakthrough with 1987's Street Smart. In the 1990s, he was cast in numerous films, including the adventure film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves opposite Kevin Costner, drama The Shawshank Redemption with Tim Robbins, psychological thriller Seven, historical drama Amistad, crime thriller Kiss the Girls, and science fiction disaster film Deep Impact. In 2004, he played Eddie "Scrap Iron" Dupris in Clint Eastwood's film Million Dollar Baby, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 2011, Freeman received the AFI Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. Freeman has also narrated several documentaries and television series, including Cosmic Voyage, Slavery and the Making of America, March of the Penguins, and Breaking the Taboo. (Full list...)
May 4
Many cutaneous conditions affect the human integumentary system—the organ system covering the entire surface of the body and composed of skin, hair, nails, and related muscle and glands. This broad spectrum of conditions includes diseases, such as measles (pictured), as well as many nonpathologic states, such as melanonychia and racquet nails in certain circumstances. Classification of these conditions often presents many nosological challenges, since underlying etiologies and pathogenetics are often not known. While only a small number of skin diseases account for most visits to the physician, thousands of skin conditions have been described. Clinically, the diagnosis of any particular skin condition is made by gathering pertinent information regarding the presenting skin lesion(s). Diagnosis of many conditions often also requires a skin biopsy which yields histologic information that can be correlated with the clinical presentation and any laboratory data. (Full list...)
May 8
.JPG)
There are over 400 public artworks in the City of Westminster, one of the boroughs of London—more than in any other area of that city. These include statues, busts, fountains, murals and exterior mosaics, among others. The high concentration of artworks reflects this borough's central location containing most of the West End, the political centres of Westminster and Whitehall and several of the Royal Parks. Many of the most notable sites for commemoration in London lie within its boundaries, including Trafalgar Square, the Victoria Embankment and Parliament Square, with its statue of Winston Churchill (pictured). Individual monuments of note include the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain ("Eros") in Piccadilly Circus, the Victoria Memorial outside Buckingham Palace and the Cenotaph in Whitehall. So great is the number of memorials in the borough that Westminster City Council has deemed an area stretching from Whitehall to St James's to be a "monument saturation zone", where the addition of new memorials is generally discouraged. (Full list...)
May 11
The 3,000 hit club is the group of batters in Major League Baseball (MLB) who have collected 3,000 or more regular-season hits in their careers. Cap Anson was the first to join the club on July 18, 1897. Two players—Nap Lajoie and Honus Wagner—reached 3,000 hits during the 1914 season. Ty Cobb became the club's fourth member in 1921 and the first player in MLB history to reach 4,000 hits in 1927, ultimately finishing his career with more than 4,100. Cobb, also MLB's all-time career batting average leader, remained the MLB hit leader until September 11, 1985, when Pete Rose (pictured) collected his 4,192nd hit. Rose, the current record holder, finished his career with 4,256 hits. In total, 28 players have reached the 3,000 hit mark in MLB history. Of these, 14 were right-handed batters, 12 were left-handed, and 2 were switch hitters, meaning they could bat from either side of the plate. Baseball writer Josh Pahigian wrote that the club has been "long considered the greatest measure of superior bat handling." (Full list...)
May 15
.jpg)
Fifty-five singles reached number one on the Top Pops charts. The pop music newspaper was founded as a monthly publication by Woodrow Wyatt in May 1967, becoming fortnightly in November 1967. On 25 May 1968, editor Colin Bostock-Smith began compiling a singles sales chart using a telephone sample of approximately twelve W H Smith & Son stores – the first single to reach number one on the Top Pops chart was "Young Girl" by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap. The charts and paper were published weekly with effect from 22 June 1968. On 20 September 1969 the paper was rebranded Top Pops & Music Now, and subsequently became Music Now from 21 March 1970. From 27 February 1971 the chart was no longer published and in May 1971 the newspaper ceased publication. The only song to be knocked off number one and then regain the top spot was "Mony Mony" by Tommy James and the Shondells. The final chart-topper was "My Sweet Lord" by George Harrison (pictured). (Full list...)
May 18
There are twenty-one colleges and universities in the U.S. state of North Dakota that are listed under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Fargo-based North Dakota State University (NDSU) is the largest public institution, with an enrollment of 14,407 students for fall 2010. The state's second-largest post-secondary institution, the University of North Dakota (UND) (University Avenue pictured), enrolls 14,194 students as of fall 2010 enrollment data. University of Jamestown, founded in 1883 – six years before North Dakota became a state – is the oldest post-secondary institution. The North Dakota University System contains eleven public colleges, which includes NDSU. Including University of Jamestown, there are also seven private universities in North Dakota. The University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, a part of UND, is the state's only medical school. The majority of North Dakota's post-secondary institutions are accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Most are accredited by multiple agencies. (Full list...)
May 22
Ninety-seven Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order were appointed by King Edward VII, plus an additional 239 honorary Knights Grand Cross, between his accession to the throne on 22 January 1901 and his death on 6 May 1910. The Royal Victorian Order is an order of knighthood awarded by the sovereign of the United Kingdom and several Commonwealth realms. It is granted personally by the monarch and recognises personal service to the monarchy, the Royal Household, royal family members, and the organisation of important royal events. The order was instituted with five grades, the highest of which was Knight Grand Cross, which conferred the status of knighthood on holders (apart from foreigners, who typically received honorary awards not entitling them to the style of a knight). Of the 97 appointments, 6 were members of King Edward VII's own family, 3 were Indian princes, 1 was an archbishop, 31 were already peers and 56 were knights (including 8 baronets). Of the total substantive appointments, 30 were to serving commissioned officers, including General Sir John French and Admiral of the Fleet John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher. Royalty feature heavily in the foreign appointments; the King of Greece was among them, as were the future kings of Norway, Denmark, Greece and Thailand. (Full list...)
May 25
The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award is an annual award presented by the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas to the author of the best short science fiction story published in English in the preceding calendar year. It is the short fiction counterpart of the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, awarded by the same organization. The award is named in honor of Theodore Sturgeon (1918–85), one of the leading authors of the Golden Age of Science Fiction from 1939 to 1950. The award was established in 1987 by his heirs—including his widow, Jayne Sturgeon—and James Gunn, at the time the Director of the Center for the Study of Science Fiction. From 1987 through 1994 the award was given out by a panel of science fiction experts led by Orson Scott Card. Beginning in 1995, the committee was replaced by a group of jurors, who vote on the nominations submitted for consideration. The winner is selected by May of each year, and is presented at the Campbell Conference awards banquet in June at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. During the 28 years the award has been active, 167 authors have had works nominated, 29 of whom have won, including one tie. No author has won more than once. (Full list...)
May 29
The 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team played 107 rugby union matches during their 14-month tour of the British Isles, Australia, and New Zealand. The tour was the longest in rugby history, and the first by a New Zealand team to Europe. The team was privately organised by Joe Warbrick, and was originally intended to contain only Māori players. Several non-Māori, and even a number of non-New Zealand-born players were eventually recruited to strengthen the side. The team played three internationals: a heavy loss to England, a win over Ireland, and narrow loss to Wales. The initial leg of the Native team's journey was a tour of New Zealand, and their first match was a 5–0 victory over Hawke's Bay. The team departed from New Zealand having won seven of their nine matches, but their losses included a heavy defeat to Auckland. They played 74 matches in the British Isles—with 36 of these in their first three months. Following their departure from Plymouth in March 1889, the Natives travelled to Melbourne, Australia. There the team played eight Victorian rules football matches, and two rugby games. (Full list...)