Wikipedia:Today's featured list/October 2015
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October 2
The National Film Award for Best Actress is presented annually at the Indian National Film Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role while working within the Indian film industry. Though the National Film Awards were established in 1954, it was not until the 15th National Film Awards in 1968 that the Best Actress category was introduced. The winners are decided by a panel appointed by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF). Since the inception of the award, the DFF has presented a total of 51 awards to 41 different actresses. Nargis Dutt was the first recipient, winning the award for her role in Raat Aur Din (1967). Shabana Azmi (pictured) is the most frequent winner in this category with five awards, followed by Sharada who has won the award three times. (Full list...)
October 5
International cricketer Shivnarine Chanderpaul has scored centuries (100 or more runs in a single innings) on 30 occasions in Test cricket and 11 times in One Day International (ODI) matches. Chanderpaul, who has played for the West Indies since 1994, is the team's second-most prolific batsman in international cricket, after Brian Lara, having accumulated almost 20,000 runs. He made his Test debut in March 1994, selected as an all-rounder who could bowl leg breaks, against England. Chanderpaul reached his first century three years later, scoring an unbeaten 137 against India at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown. His highest score in Test cricket is 203 not out, a total he achieved twice, first against South Africa in 2005, and then against Bangladesh in 2012. In ODI cricket, he scored his maiden ODI century shortly after his first Test century, in May 1997 against India, scoring 109 runs. Chanderpaul reached his highest ODI score in 1999, making 150 runs during a West Indian record partnership of 226 with Carl Hooper, against South Africa. (Full list...)
October 9
There are 167 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly). Cornwall, in the south-west of England, UK, has a population of 575,413 (2022) across an area of 3,545 km2 (875,988.6 acres), making it one of the least densely populated counties within England. The north coast of Cornwall falls on the Celtic Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, which also surrounds the Isles of Scilly, the south coast falls on the English Channel and the county is bounded by the River Tamar, forming the border with Devon, to the east. Cornish geology consists mainly of rocks from the Devonian and Carboniferous geological periods. In England the body responsible for designating SSSIs is Natural England, which chooses a site because of its fauna, flora, geological or physiographical features. Of the 167 sites designated in this Area of Search, the greatest number, 81, have been designated due to their biological interest, with 54 due to their geological interest and 32 for both. (Full list...)
October 12
Thirty-two high-rises stand taller than 295 feet (90 m) in Brooklyn, the most populous of New York City's five boroughs. The current tallest building in Brooklyn is 388 Bridge Street in Downtown Brooklyn, which rises 590 feet (180 m) and was opened in 2014. Avalon Willoughby West, currently under construction in Downtown Brooklyn, is slated to become Brooklyn's tallest building at 596 feet (182 m) following its topping out in 2015. Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower (pictured) in Fort Greene, at 512 feet (156 m), was the tallest building in Brooklyn for 80 years from its completion in 1929 until 2009, when The Brooklyner was topped out at 514 feet (157 m). The Brooklyner and the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower are currently the borough's second and third-tallest buildings. Brooklyn's fourth-tallest building, at 489 feet (149 m), is 66 Rockwell Place, a residential tower that was completed in 2014. (Full list...)
October 16
National Hero of Indonesia is the highest-level title awarded in Indonesia. It is posthumously given by the Government of Indonesia for actions which are deemed to be heroic – defined as "actual deeds which can be remembered and exemplified for all time by other citizens" – or "extraordinary service furthering the interests of the state and people". The Ministry of Social Affairs gives seven criteria which an individual must fulfill. Nominations undergo a four-step process and must be approved at each level. A total of 147 men and 12 women have been deemed national heroes, most recently Rajiman Wediodiningrat, Lambertus Nicodemus Palar and Tahi Bonar Simatupang in 2013. These heroes have come from all parts of the Indonesian archipelago, from Aceh in the west to Papua in the east. They represent numerous ethnicities, including native Indonesians, ethnic Chinese, and Eurasians. They include prime ministers, guerrillas, government ministers, soldiers, royalty, journalists, and a bishop (Albertus Sugiyapranata, pictured). (Full list...)
October 19
Numerous notable mathematicians, physicians, and scientists have been educated at Jesus College, one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Mathematicians who have studied at Jesus College include Nigel Hitchin (Savilian Professor of Geometry at Oxford since 1997, pictured), Jonathan Borwein (a former Rhodes Scholar who has held professorial appointments in Canada and Australia), and Jim Mauldon (who taught at Oxford before moving to the United States to teach at Amherst College in Massachusetts). Several noted individuals from biology, botany and zoology were educated at the college, including the Welsh clergyman Hugh Davies (whose Welsh Botanology of 1813 was the first publication to cross-reference the Welsh-language and the scientific names of plants). Jesus College had its own science laboratories from 1907 to 1947, which were overseen (for all but the last three years) by the physical chemist David Chapman, a Fellow of the college from 1907 to 1944. At the time of their closure, they were the last college-based science laboratories at the university. Scientific research and tuition (particularly in chemistry) became an important part of the college's academic life after the construction of the laboratories. (This list is part of a featured topic: Jesus College, Oxford.)
October 23
The 1999 film Boys Don't Cry has won 37 awards from 57 nominations. Boys Don't Cry is based on the life of Brandon Teena, a trans man who was beaten, raped, and murdered in 1993 after his male acquaintances found out that he was transgender. Hilary Swank (pictured) stars as Teena and Chloë Sevigny plays his girlfriend Lana Tisdel. Peter Sarsgaard and Brendan Sexton III portray Teena's two murderers. The film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 1999. The film garnered awards and nominations in a variety of categories with particular praise for Swank's performance as Teena, its screenplay and its direction. At the 72nd Academy Awards, Swank won for Best Actress, while Sevigny was nominated for Best Supporting Actress; Swank won for Best Actress – Drama, while Sevigny was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture awards at the 57th Golden Globe Awards. Swank was also nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 53rd British Academy Film Awards. (Full list...)
October 26
The works of the British writer W. Somerset Maugham include plays, novels and short stories. Maugham trained as a doctor, although he never practised professionally, as his first novel, Liza of Lambeth, was published the same year he qualified. A year after his first novel was published Maugham began contributing to magazines and periodicals; initially these were short stories, but he also wrote opinion pieces, non-fictional and autobiographical work, and letters. Much of his non-fictional writing was published in book form, and covered a range of topics, including travel, current affairs, autobiography and belles lettres. In 1903 his first play was performed, A Man of Honour at the Imperial Theatre, London. It was the first of many of his works that were produced for the stage, and with the later development of cinema, his novels and stories were also adapted for the big screen. By the time of his death in 1965 Maugham was one of the most commercially successful and gifted writers of the twentieth century, according to Bryan Connon, his biographer. (Full list...)
October 30
Beginning in 1903, 110 World Series champions have been determined. The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) and concludes the MLB postseason. The championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and is a contest between the champions of baseball's National League (NL) and American League (AL). The Series-winning team is awarded the Commissioner's Trophy. In the 110 World Series through 2014, the AL champion has won 63 and the NL champion has won 47. The New York Yankees of the AL have played in 40 of the 110 Series and have won 27 championships, the most Series appearances and victories of any Major League franchise. The Yankees have also lost more Series (13) than any other club. The St. Louis Cardinals, who represented the NL for a 19th time in 2013, have won 11 championships, which is the second-most among Major League teams. Only the Giants have been NL champions more times, appearing in 20 World Series with eight victories, including one in the 2014 Series. (This list is part of a featured topic: Major League Baseball awards.)