Wikipedia:Today's featured list/May 2019
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May 3
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The recipient is honoured for their "outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema" and is selected by a committee consisting of eminent personalities from the Indian film industry. The award comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, a shawl and a cash prize. First presented in 1969 to actress Devika Rani, the award was introduced by the Government of India to commemorate the work of Dadasaheb Phalke (pictured). Phalke (1870–1944), who is popularly known as the "father of Indian cinema", was an Indian film-maker who directed India's first full-length feature film, Raja Harishchandra (1913). As of 2017[update], there have been 49 awardees. Among those, the only posthumous recipients are actors Prithviraj Kapoor (1971) and Vinod Khanna (2017), the latest recipient. (Full list...)
May 6
The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. It is named after British author Arthur C. Clarke (pictured), who gave a grant to establish the award in 1987. Any "full-length" science fiction novel written or translated into English is eligible for the prize, provided that it was first published in the United Kingdom during the prior calendar year. There is no restriction on the nationality of the author, and the publication history of works outside the United Kingdom is not taken into consideration. Books may be submitted for consideration by their publishing company, and, beginning in 2016, self-published titles have been eligible with certain qualifications. During the 32 nomination years, 125 authors have had works nominated, 27 of whom have won. China Miéville has won three times, while Pat Cadigan and Geoff Ryman have won twice each; no other author has won multiple times. Stephen Baxter and Gwyneth Jones have the most nominations, at seven each. (Full list...)
May 10
Portland, Oregon, is the site of twenty-nine completed high-rises over 250 feet (76 m), four of which stand taller than 492 feet (150 m). The tallest building in the city is the Wells Fargo Center, which rises 546 feet (166 m) in Downtown Portland and was completed in 1973. The second-tallest skyscraper in the city is the U.S. Bancorp Tower, which rises 536 feet (163 m) and was completed in 1983. Although The Oregonian Building, rising 194 feet (59 m) if its clock tower is included, was Portland's tallest building from 1892 until 1913, the history of skyscrapers in the city is thought to have begun with the construction of the Wells Fargo Building in 1907. This building, standing 182 feet (55 m) and 12 floors tall, is often regarded as the first skyscraper in Portland. The Wells Fargo Center was the city's first building standing more than 492 feet (150 m) tall. (Full list...)
May 13
Poland has been represented by 18 goaltenders and 136 skaters in men's ice hockey tournaments at the Olympic Games. The men's tournament was introduced as a demonstration sport at the 1920 Summer Olympics, and made a permanent sport when the Winter Olympics began in 1924. The Polish national team has participated in thirteen tournaments, first in 1928 (team pictured) and most recently in 1992. Poland has never finished higher than fourth at the Olympics, which they achieved at the 1932 Winter Olympics, when only four teams participated. Hilary Skarżyński has scored the most goals for Poland, with nine, while Andrzej Fonfara and Andrzej Zabawa have had the most assists, with seven each. Zabawa and Wiesław Jobczyk have each recorded fourteen points, the most of any Polish player. Henryk Gruth and Jerzy Potz have competed in the most Olympics, having each taken part in four tournaments, while Gruth has played the most games of any skater, with twenty-four. (Full list...)
May 17
There are 129 protected areas in the United States known as national monuments. The President of the United States can establish a national monument by presidential proclamation, and the United States Congress can do so by legislation. The president's authority arises from the Antiquities Act of 1906, which authorizes the president to proclaim "historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest" as national monuments. President Theodore Roosevelt established the first national monument, Devils Tower (pictured) in Wyoming, on September 24, 1906. He established 18 national monuments, although only nine still retain that designation. National monuments are located in 31 states as well as in the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Minor Outlying Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Arizona and California have the largest number of national monuments, each with 18, followed by New Mexico with 14. At least 75 national monuments protect places of natural significance, and 62 have historical importance. (Full list...)
May 20
Canadian singer and songwriter Alessia Cara has won 17 awards out of 73 nominations. Cara signed a record deal with EP Entertainment and Def Jam Recordings in 2014, and released her debut single "Here" the following year, which earned her six nominations at the 2016 iHeartRadio MMVAs and a nomination for Single of the Year at the Juno Awards. In 2017, she released "Stay" alongside Russian-German producer Zedd, which won for Best Dance Video at the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, and received a nomination for Top Dance/Electronic Song at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards. At the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, "1-800-273-8255" received nominations for Song of the Year and Best Music Video, "Stay" was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, and Cara won for Best New Artist. (Full list...)
May 24
Seventy-three episodes of the American fantasy drama television series Game of Thrones aired. The series was created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and is based on George R. R. Martin's series of fantasy novels, A Song of Ice and Fire. It takes place on the fictional continents of Westeros and Essos, and chronicles the power struggles among noble families as they fight for control of the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms. The series premiered on April 17, 2011, on HBO. Filming for the series has taken place in a number of locations, including Croatia, the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Iceland and Spain. The series concluded with its eighth season, which premiered on April 14, 2019, and consisted of six episodes. The show's episodes have won numerous awards including three Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series. (Full list...)
May 27
The Chief Minister of Karnataka is the chief executive of the Indian state of Karnataka. As per the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's de jure head, but de facto executive authority rests with the chief minister. Following elections to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, the state's governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the government. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Since 1947, twenty-two people have been Chief Minister of Mysore (as the state was known before 1 November 1973) and Karnataka. A majority of them belonged to the Indian National Congress party, including inaugural office-holder K. Chengalaraya Reddy. The incumbent chief minister is the Janata Dal (Secular)'s H. D. Kumaraswamy (pictured), who was sworn in on 23 May 2018. (Full list...)
May 31
NBA champions are the winners of the National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals, the conclusion of the league's postseason. All Finals have been played in a best-of-seven format and are contested between the winners of the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference (formerly Divisions before 1970), except in 1950, when the Eastern Division champion faced the winner between the Western and Central Division champions. Prior to 1949, the playoffs were a three-stage tournament where the two semifinal winners played each other in the finals. The winning team of the series receives the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, named after Larry O'Brien (pictured), Commissioner of the NBA from 1975 to 1984. The current home-and-away format in the NBA Finals is in a 2–2–1–1–1 format (the team with the better regular season record plays on their home court in Games 1, 2, 5 and 7). The Boston Celtics and the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers alone own almost half of the titles, having won a combined 33 of 72 championships. The 2019 NBA Finals are being contested between the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors. (Full list...)