Wikipedia:Today's featured article/March 2015

Today's featured articles for March 2015

Today's featured article archive

March 1

The Old Church of St Nidan, Llanidan, is a medieval church in Anglesey, Wales. The first church on the site was established in the 7th century by St Nidan, the confessor of the monastery at Penmon, Anglesey; the oldest parts of the present structure date from the 14th century. In about 1500 a second nave was added, and an arcade (pictured) was built between the two naves. Between 1839 and 1843 a new church was built nearby, partly due to the cost of repairing St Nidan's. A sandstone chest containing bone fragments (which local tradition holds to be those of St Nidan) and a 13th-century font were relocated to the new church. Much of the old church was demolished, leaving part of the western end and the central arcade. It has been restored and is occasionally open to the public. The remaining parts of the church are a Grade II* listed building. In the 12th century, Gerald of Wales said that the church possessed a curious stone shaped like a thigh that would always return by the next day no matter how far away it was taken. A Norman earl, he said, had chained it to a large rock and thrown it into the sea, only for the stone to return to the church by the following morning. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Poetry of Maya Angelou – Kenneth Horne – Operation Hardboiled

March 2

Maggie Gyllenhaal (born 1977) is an American actress. She started out appearing in films directed by her father, Stephen Gyllenhaal, and achieved recognition in a supporting role in the indie cult film Donnie Darko (2001), which starred her brother, Jake Gyllenhaal. Her first critically acclaimed role was in Secretary (2002); she received Golden Globe nominations for this film and Sherrybaby (2006). She appeared in the romantic comedy Trust The Man (2006) and such big-budget films as World Trade Center (2006) and The Dark Knight (2008). She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Jean Craddock in the musical-drama Crazy Heart (2009). She appeared in the theatrical play Closer (2000) and in the television production The Honourable Woman (2014), for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film. Gyllenhaal is an active Democrat and a supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Before the US-led invasion of Iraq she participated in anti-war demonstrations, and she is active in causes involving human rights, civil liberties, poverty and education. She is married to actor Peter Sarsgaard. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Old Church of St Nidan, Llanidan – Poetry of Maya Angelou – Kenneth Horne

March 3

The three-cent nickel was designed by the US Mint's Chief Engraver James B. Longacre and struck by the mint from 1865 to 1889. When precious metal coinage was hoarded during the economic turmoil of the American Civil War, including the silver three-cent piece, and even the copper-nickel cent was commanding a premium, Congress issued paper money in denominations as small as three cents, but these small slips of paper became ragged and dirty. After the issue of a lighter bronze cent and a two-cent piece in 1864, there were proposals for a three-cent piece in copper-nickel. The advocates were led by Pennsylvania industrialist Joseph Wharton, who then controlled the domestic supply of nickel ore. On the last day of the congressional session, March 3, 1865, a bill for a three-cent piece in copper-nickel alloy was introduced in Congress, was passed by both houses without debate, and was signed by President Abraham Lincoln. Although initially popular, the three-cent nickel piece became less so with the introduction in 1866 of the five-cent nickel, a larger, more convenient coin, with a value better fitting the decimal system. After 1870, most years saw low annual mintages for the three-cent nickel, and in 1890 Congress abolished it. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Maggie Gyllenhaal – Old Church of St Nidan, Llanidan – Poetry of Maya Angelou

March 4

Bradford City A.F.C. was founded in Bradford, England, in 1903, bringing an association football club to the West Riding of Yorkshire as an alternative to rugby league. They were immediately elected to the Football League to replace Doncaster Rovers in Division Two, and made their permanent home in the Valley Parade stadium. Under the management of Peter O'Rourke the club won promotion to Division One in 1908, and the FA Cup in 1911 (team pictured). After subsequent relegations, they remained in the third and fourth tiers of the English football league system until 1985–86. During that time, they endured several periods of financial hardship, and in 1985, their home ground suffered a disastrous fire in which 56 people died. After coming close to returning to the top division of the League in 1987–88, the club enjoyed mixed fortunes before finally achieving promotion to the Premier League in 1998–99. After two seasons in the top tier, the club's playing and financial misfortunes multiplied; successive relegations saw them fall into the bottom tier of The Football League, before promotion in 2012–13 brought them back up a division. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Three-cent nickel – Maggie Gyllenhaal – Old Church of St Nidan, Llanidan

March 5

HMS Bellerophon was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. Launched in 1786, she served mostly on blockades or convoy escort duties. Known to sailors as the "Billy Ruffian", she entered service on the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, and took part in the Glorious First of June fleet action in 1793. Bellerophon narrowly escaped being captured by the French in 1795, saved only by the bold actions of the squadron's commander, Vice-Admiral Cornwallis. Detached to reinforce Rear-Admiral Nelson's fleet in 1798 under Admiral Jervis, she took part in the decisive defeat of a French fleet at the Battle of the Nile. At the Battle of Trafalgar Bellerophon fought a bitter engagement against Spanish and French ships, sustaining heavy casualties including the death of her captain, John Cooke. In July 1815, when Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo and found escape to America barred by the blockading Bellerophon, he came aboard "the ship that had dogged his steps for twenty years" to finally surrender to the British, ending 22 years of nearly continuous war with France. The ship's long and distinguished career has been recorded in literature and folk songs. (Full article...)

Recently featured: History of Bradford City A.F.C. – Three-cent nickel – Maggie Gyllenhaal

March 6

In the 1850 Atlantic hurricane season, three significant tropical cyclones affected land. Records of other storms are incomplete, since the Atlantic hurricane database goes back only to 1851. The first system struck North Carolina in July, causing significant damage before battering the Mid-Atlantic states. Rivers were flooded from Baltimore to northern New England, and 20 people were killed along the Schuylkill River. In August, a strong hurricane hit Havana, Cuba, before making landfall on the Florida Panhandle with an enormous storm surge. Coastal flooding was severe around Apalachicola. Abundant precipitation fell from Georgia through Virginia; one river swelled more than 20 feet (6 m) above its normal height. The storm toppled a railroad bridge near Halifax, North Carolina. Offshore, a pilot boat collided with a larger ship in the rough seas and sank. Considered the worst storm in nearly 30 years in the tidewater region of Virginia, the cyclone briefly reentered the Atlantic off New Jersey before making landfall over New England, with strong winds and moderate to heavy rains. In September, a hurricane brushed the coastline from New York to Cape Cod with gusty winds and appreciable rainfall, and later struck Atlantic Canada. (Full article...)

Recently featured: HMS Bellerophon (1786) – History of Bradford City A.F.C. – Three-cent nickel

March 7

"S&M" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna (pictured) from her fifth studio album, Loud (2010). The song was released in January 2011 as the fourth single from the album. Written by the American songwriter Ester Dean in collaboration with its producers StarGate and Sandy Vee, "S&M" borrows from Depeche Mode's 1984 song "Master and Servant". The lyrics make reference to sadomasochism, bondage, and fetishes. The song reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaked at number one in Australia, Canada, and Poland, and reached the top five in France, Germany, Ireland, Spain, and the UK. Critical response was mixed; some praised its sound and composition while others criticized its overtly sexual lyrics. An accompanying music video that portrays softcore sadomasochistic acts and fetishes was banned in many countries and restricted to nighttime television in others. Critics complimented Rihanna's sensuality and the vibrant colors. Photographer David LaChapelle filed a lawsuit alleging that the video incorporates ideas from his photographs. (Full article...)

Recently featured: 1850 Atlantic hurricane season – HMS Bellerophon (1786) – History of Bradford City A.F.C.

March 8

Lost Luggage is an action video game developed and released in 1982 for the Atari 2600 by the Texas-based studio Games by Apollo. The player controls skycap porters working at an airport and tries to collect pieces of luggage that fall from a frantic overhead luggage carousel. A two-player mode, in which the second player controls the direction the luggage falls, is included. Programmer Ed Salvo was inspired to begin making Lost Luggage when he was waiting for his luggage at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, and the game took around four weeks to make. A four-minute advertising jingle was recorded for the game, but never used. Most reviewers criticized the game's similarity to the Activision game Kaboom!, believing Lost Luggage to be an inferior clone, but a reviewer for the magazine TV Gamer recommended the game for children, and Videogaming Illustrated described the game as the most charming of Apollo's releases. Soon after Lost Luggage's release, Apollo filed for bankruptcy and closed. (This article is part of a featured topic: Lost Luggage (video game) .)

Recently featured: "S&M" (song) – 1850 Atlantic hurricane season – HMS Bellerophon (1786)

March 9

Vidya Balan, the lead actress of Kahaani

Kahaani is a 2012 Indian mystery thriller film directed and co-produced by Sujoy Ghosh. It stars Vidya Balan (pictured) as Vidya Bagchi, a pregnant woman searching for her missing husband in Kolkata during the festival of Durga Puja, assisted by Satyoki "Rana" Sinha (Parambrata Chatterjee) and Khan (Nawazuddin Siddiqui). Made on a shoestring budget of ₹80 million (US$960,000), Kahaani was conceived and developed by Ghosh, who co-wrote the film with Advaita Kala. The crew often employed guerrilla-filmmaking techniques on Kolkata's city streets to avoid attracting attention. The film was noted for avoiding the usual Bollywood tropes of Kolkata culture and for using many local crew and cast members. Kahaani explores themes of feminism and motherhood in male-dominated Indian society. The film also makes allusions to Satyajit Ray's films such as Charulata (1964) and Aranyer Dinratri (1970). Kahaani was released worldwide on 9 March 2012. Critics praised the screenplay, the cinematography and the performances of the lead actors. Critical acclaim and word-of-mouth publicity helped the film earn ₹1.04 billion (US$12 million) worldwide, and it won several awards. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Lost Luggage (video game) – "S&M" (song) – 1850 Atlantic hurricane season

March 10

Ronnie Lee Gardner (1961–2010) was an American felon who received the death penalty for murder in 1985 and was executed by a firing squad by the state of Utah. In 1984 he killed a bartender during a robbery in Salt Lake City, and the next year killed an attorney in an unsuccessful escape attempt. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the first murder and received the death penalty for the second. In a series of appeals, defense attorneys presented mitigating evidence of the troubled upbringing of Gardner, who had spent nearly his entire adult life in incarceration. His legal team took the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to intervene. His execution at Utah State Prison, the first to be carried out by firing squad in the U.S. in 14 years, became a focus of media attention in June 2010. Gardner stated that he sought this method of execution because of his Mormon background. On the day before his execution, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a statement clarifying its position on the issue of blood atonement of individuals. The case also attracted debate over capital punishment and whether Gardner's difficult childhood had destined him for a life of violence. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Kahaani – Lost Luggage (video game) – "S&M" (song)

March 11

Vannevar Bush (1890–1974) was an American engineer, inventor, science administrator, policymaker and public intellectual. He is best known for his work on analog computers, for founding Raytheon, and for the memex, a proposed adjustable microfilm viewer with a structure analogous to hypertext. He became Vice President of MIT and Dean of the MIT School of Engineering in 1932, and president of the Carnegie Institution of Washington in 1938. He was chairman of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and of the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC). During World War II he was director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD), coordinating the defense activities of some 6,000 leading American scientists. As head of NDRC and OSRD, he initiated the Manhattan Project, and ensured that it received top priority from the highest levels of government. In 1945, he published As We May Think in which he predicted that "wholly new forms of encyclopedias will appear, ready made with a mesh of associative trails running through them". This influenced generations of computer scientists, who drew inspiration from his vision. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Ronnie Lee Gardner – Kahaani – Lost Luggage (video game)

March 12

Tylopilus felleus is a fungus of the bolete family. Its distribution includes east Asia, northern Europe, and eastern North America, extending south into Mexico and Central America. A mycorrhizal species, it grows in deciduous and coniferous woodland, often fruiting under beech and oak. Its fruit bodies (mushrooms) have convex or flat caps that are shades of brown, buff, or tan, and typically measure up to 15 cm (6 in) in diameter. The pore surface is initially white before turning pinkish with age. Like most boletes it lacks a ring, and it may be distinguished from Boletus edulis and other similar species by its unusual pink pores and the prominent dark brown netlike pattern on its stalk. French mycologist Pierre Bulliard described this species as Boletus felleus in 1788 before it was transferred into the new genus Tylopilus. It is the type species of Tylopilus, and the only member of the genus found in Europe. Tylopilus felleus has bioactive compounds that have been tested for antitumour and antibiotic properties. Although not poisonous, it is generally considered too bitter to be edible. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Vannevar Bush – Ronnie Lee Gardner – Kahaani

March 13

Hugh Walpole (1884–1941) was a New Zealand-born English novelist. His vivid plots, skill at scene-setting, and high profile as a lecturer on literature brought him financial success and a large readership in the UK and North America in the 1920s and 1930s, but his work has been largely neglected since his death. Between 1909 and 1941 Walpole wrote thirty-six novels, five volumes of short stories, two original plays and three volumes of memoirs. His range included disturbing studies of the macabre, children's stories and historical fiction, most notably his Herries Chronicle series, set in the English Lake District. During the First World War he served in the Red Cross on the Russian–Austrian front, and worked in British propaganda. He worked in Hollywood writing scenarios for two Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films in the 1930s. Walpole conducted a succession of intense but discreet relationships with other men, and eventually settled down with a married policeman in the Lake District. Having as a young man eagerly sought the support of established authors, he was in his later years a generous sponsor of many younger writers. He bequeathed a substantial legacy of paintings to the Tate Gallery and other British institutions. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Tylopilus felleus – Vannevar Bush – Ronnie Lee Gardner

March 14

Portrait of a Young Girl is a small oil-on-oak panel painting in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, by the Early Netherlandish painter Petrus Christus. It was completed between 1465 and 1470, towards the end of the artist's life, and marks a significant advance in the oeuvres of both Christus and contemporary portraiture. The girl is set in an airy, three-dimensional, realistic setting, confronting the viewer with an expression that is reserved, but alert and intelligent. She reflects the Gothic ideal of elongated facial features, narrow shoulders, tightly pinned hair and an almost unnaturally long forehead. The painting is widely regarded as one of the most exquisite Northern Renaissance portraits. Art historian Joel Upton describes the sitter as resembling "a polished pearl, almost opalescent, lying on a cushion of black velvet." The panel builds on the work of the first generation Northern Renaissance painters Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden, and was highly influential in the decades after its completion. Its appeal lies in part in the intriguing stare, accentuated by the slight misalignment of her eyes and asymmetry of her eyebrows. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Hugh Walpole – Tylopilus felleus – Vannevar Bush

March 15

The 1982 team on a Paraguay stamp

The Peru national football team has represented Peru in international football since 1927. Organised by the Peruvian Football Federation, it is one of ten members of FIFA's South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), playing most home matches at the Estadio Nacional in Lima. Peru took part in the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930 and the 1936 Olympic football competition. Goalkeeper Juan Valdivieso and forwards Teodoro Fernández and Alejandro Villanueva led the squad to wins in the 1938 Bolivarian Games and the 1939 Copa América. The team won the Copa América in 1975 and qualified for three World Cups in the 1970s with Hugo Sotil, defender Héctor Chumpitaz, and Teófilo Cubillas, the player often regarded as Peru's greatest. Peru last qualified for the World Cup in 1982 (team pictured). Players wear white shirts adorned with a red diagonal stripe, Peru's national colours. This basic design has been used continuously since 1936, and gives rise to the team's common Spanish nickname, la Blanquirroja ("the white-and-red"). The team has longstanding rivalries with Chile and Ecuador. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Portrait of a Young Girl (Christus) – Hugh Walpole – Tylopilus felleus

March 16

...And Justice for All is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released in 1988 by Elektra Records, and the first to feature bassist Jason Newsted after the death of Cliff Burton in 1986. The album is musically progressive, with long and complex songs and fast tempos. Producer Flemming Rasmussen was absent during the mixing process, and the production has been criticized as "dry". The lyrics feature themes of political and legal injustice seen through the prisms of censorship, war, and nuclear brinkmanship. The album's front cover features a representation of Lady Justice; the phrase "...And Justice for All" appears spray-painted in the lower right corner. Originally released on one vinyl disc, the album was quickly re-released as a double album without additional tracks. The album was included in The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics' poll of the year's best albums, and the single "One" earned Metallica its first Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1990. The group's best-selling album at the time and second best-selling ever, it was the first underground metal album to achieve chart success in the US, shipping eight million copies by 2003. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Peru national football team – Portrait of a Young Girl (Christus) – Hugh Walpole

March 17

Audie Murphy (1925–1971) was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II, receiving every military combat award for valor available from the U.S. Army, as well as French and Belgian awards for heroism. Coming from a poor sharecropping family of Irish descent in Texas, he served in nine World War II campaigns, receiving the Medal of Honor after single-handedly holding off an entire company of German soldiers for an hour at the Colmar Pocket in France. After the war, he appeared in more than forty feature films, mostly westerns; his most successful film was To Hell and Back (1955), based on his war memoirs. During the Korean War, Murphy was commissioned as an officer in the 36th Infantry Division of the Texas National Guard. Possessing a natural gift for rhyme, he collaborated on numerous songs between 1962 and 1970. He suffered from what would today be termed posttraumatic stress disorder, and was plagued by money problems in the last few years of his life, but refused offers to appear in alcohol and cigarette commercials to avoid setting a bad example. Murphy died in a plane crash in Virginia, and was interred with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. (Full article...)

Part of the Audie Murphy featured topic.

Recently featured: ...And Justice for All (album) – Peru national football team – Portrait of a Young Girl (Christus)

March 18

Margaret Bondfield (1873–1953) was a British Labour politician, trades unionist and women's rights activist. She became the first female cabinet minister, and the first woman to be a privy counsellor, when she was appointed Minister of Labour in the Labour government of 1929–31. Bondfield was born in humble circumstances and received limited formal education. Beginning as a shopworker in Brighton and London, she was an active trades unionist and held union office from 1898. Bondfield helped to found the Women's Labour League in 1906, and was chair of the Adult Suffrage Society. She was a socialist rather than a suffragette, which divided her from some factions in the women's movement. She was first elected to parliament in 1923, and was a junior minister in the Labour government of 1924. Her term in the cabinet was overshadowed by the economic crises that beset the 1929–31 Labour ministry, and her actions in office antagonised many in the Labour Party. She left parliament in 1931, but continued in quiet public service until shortly before her death. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Audie Murphy – ...And Justice for All (album) – Peru national football team

March 19

Brill railway station was the terminus of a small railway line in Buckinghamshire, England, known as the Brill Tramway. Built and owned by the 3rd Duke of Buckingham, it opened just north of Brill in 1872. As the line was cheaply built and used poor quality locomotives, services were slow, taking 1 hour 45 minutes to travel the six miles (10 km) from Brill to the junction station with mainline services at Quainton Road. Although little used by passengers, the station was important for freight traffic, particularly shipping milk from the area's farms to London. The Metropolitan Railway took over the line in 1899, and upgraded it. In 1933 it became part of the London Underground as one of the two north-western termini, despite being 45 miles (72 km) and over two hours travelling time from London. The management of London Transport aimed to reduce goods services, and it was felt that the line to Brill was unlikely to become a viable passenger route. The line was closed in 1935, and all buildings and infrastructure at Brill associated with the railway were sold at auction. Most of the station infrastructure was demolished, though three station cottages survive. (Full article...)

Part of the Brill Tramway featured topic.

Recently featured: Margaret Bondfield – Audie Murphy – ...And Justice for All (album)

March 20

The 2001–02 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season had the earliest named storm since 1992. Eleven tropical storms, two more than average, formed in the basin, which lies west of longitude 90°E and south of the equator. Many storms formed in the north-east portion of the basin, and several more originated around Australia. Tropical systems were present during 73 days, 15 more than average. Tropical cyclones in this basin are monitored by the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center in Réunion. The first storm was Andre, which emerged from the Australian basin as Tropical Cyclone Alex in late October, before the conventional storm season began. The strongest storm, Cyclone Hary (pictured), was the first very intense tropical cyclone since 2000; it hit Madagascar, where it caused lighter damage than expected but three deaths. In January, Cyclone Dina left heavy damage in the Mascarene Islands, particularly on Réunion, where it dropped 2,102 mm (82.8 in) of rainfall. The final storm was Cyclone Kesiny, which killed 33 people when it struck Madagascar amid a political crisis in May, after the conventional storm season had ended. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Brill railway station – Margaret Bondfield – Audie Murphy

March 21

The Tosa-class battleships were two dreadnoughts ordered by the Imperial Japanese Navy during the early 1920s. The ships were larger versions of the preceding Nagato class, and carried an additional 41-centimeter (16.1 in) twin-gun turret; their design served as a basis for the Amagi-class battlecruisers. The first ship, Tosa, was canceled according to the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty before it could be completed, and was used in experiments testing the effectiveness of its armor scheme before being scuttled in the Bungo Channel. The hull of the second ship, Kaga (model pictured), was converted into an aircraft carrier of the same name. The carrier supported Japanese troops in China during the Second Sino-Japanese War of the late 1930s, and took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 and the invasion of Rabaul in the Southwest Pacific in January 1942. The following month her aircraft participated in a combined carrier airstrike on Darwin, Australia, during the Dutch East Indies campaign. She was sunk during the Battle of Midway in 1942. (Full article...)

Part of the Tosa-class battleships featured topic.

Recently featured: 2001–02 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season – Brill railway station – Margaret Bondfield

March 22

God of War is a third person action-adventure video game for the PlayStation 2, first released on March 22, 2005. Loosely based on Greek mythology, it is the first installment in the series of the same name and the third chronologically. The player controls Kratos, a Spartan warrior who serves the Olympian Gods. The goddess Athena tasks him with killing Ares, the God of War, who tricked Kratos into killing his own wife and child. As Ares besieges Athens out of hatred for Athena, Kratos embarks on a quest to find the one object capable of stopping the god: the legendary Pandora's Box. The gameplay focuses on combo-based combat and features quick time events that require the player to complete game controller actions in a timed sequence to defeat stronger enemies and bosses. The player can use magical attacks, and the game also features puzzles and platforming elements. The eleventh best-selling PlayStation 2 game of all time, it sold more than 4.6 million copies worldwide. Regarded as one of the best action-adventure games for the platform and noted for its graphics, sound, presentation, and story, it won several "Game of the Year" awards. (Full article...)

Part of the God of War franchise featured topic.

Recently featured: Tosa-class battleships – 2001–02 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season – Brill railway station

March 23

Kangana Ranaut (born 1987) is an Indian film actress. She has established a career in Bollywood, and is the recipient of a National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards. She was born in Bhambla, a small town in Himachal Pradesh. Adamant to build her own career path, she relocated to Delhi at age sixteen, where she briefly became a model. After training under the theatre director Arvind Gaur, she made her film debut in the 2006 thriller Gangster. She received praise for portraying emotionally intense characters in the dramas Woh Lamhe (2006), Life in a... Metro (2007) and Fashion (2008). For the last of these, she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. Ranaut featured in the successful films Raaz: The Mystery Continues (2009) and Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010), though she was criticised for being typecast in neurotic roles. A comic role opposite R. Madhavan in Tanu Weds Manu (2011) was well-received, though this was followed by brief roles in unsuccessful films. She then played a mutant in the science fiction film Krrish 3 (2013), one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films, and won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for the comedy-drama Queen (2014). (Full article...)

Recently featured: God of War (video game) – Tosa-class battleships – 2001-02 South-West Indian Ocean cyclone season

March 24

Isabeau of Bavaria (c. 1370–1435) became the queen of King Charles VI of France in 1385. She was born into the House of Wittelsbach, the eldest daughter of Duke Stephen III of Bavaria-Ingolstadt and Taddea Visconti of Milan. Isabeau was sent to France at age 15 or 16, where the young French king liked her enough to marry her three days after they met. Charles suffered from lifelong progressive mental illness from 1392, and was forced to temporarily withdraw from government. A 1393 masque or masquerade ball for one of Isabeau's ladies-in-waiting—an event later known as Bal des Ardents—ended in disaster with the King almost burning to death. Although he demanded Isabeau's removal from his presence during attacks of mental illness, he allowed her to act on his behalf. Charles' illness created a power vacuum that eventually led to the Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War between the supporters of his brother, Louis of Orléans, and the royal dukes of Burgundy. Isabeau shifted allegiances between the factions, choosing courses she believed most favorable for the heir to the throne. She was present at the signing of the Treaty of Troyes in 1421, and lived in English-occupied Paris until her death in 1435. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Kangana Ranaut – God of War (video game) – Tosa-class battleships

March 25

The Nauru reed warbler (Acrocephalus rehsei) is the only passerine land-bird that breeds on the island of Nauru in the Pacific Ocean. It is related to other Micronesian reed warblers, all of which evolved from one of several radiations of the genus across the Pacific. Related warblers on nearby islands include the Carolinian reed warbler, with which the Nauru species was initially confused, and the nightingale reed warbler. A medium-sized warbler, the Nauru reed warbler has dark brown upperparts, cream underparts and a long, thin beak. It makes a low, cup-shaped nest into which it lays two or three white eggs, and it feeds on insects. It is found throughout Nauru, whose environment has changed substantially in recent decades due to phosphate mining. The Nauru reed warbler is potentially threatened by introduced predators and habitat loss, and its small range leaves the species vulnerable to diseases and tropical cyclones. Reports of a similar warbler from nearby islands suggest that the Nauru reed warbler may have been eradicated from those islands by introduced cats. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Isabeau of Bavaria – Kangana Ranaut – God of War (video game)

March 26

The exhumation of Richard III of England in September 2012 and his reburial in Leicester Cathedral on 26 March 2015 took place over 500 years after his death at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Richard was originally buried in Leicester's Greyfriars Friary, but the site of his grave was forgotten after the friary was demolished and it was generally believed that his bones had been thrown into the nearby River Soar. In September 2012, an archaeological excavation took place at the site of the friary and a skeleton was discovered of a man with a spinal deformity and severe head injuries. He appeared to have been hastily buried without a coffin in a crudely cut grave. Analysis of the bones showed that he had been killed by edged weapons cutting open his skull and piercing his brain. DNA tests and radiocarbon dating confirmed that the skeleton was that of Richard III. Leicester Cathedral was chosen as the site of Richard's reburial, though some argued that York Minster or Westminster Abbey would be more suitable locations. The reinterment in an ecumenical Christian service at the cathedral, and the unveiling of his tomb, were scheduled for the end of a week's commemorations. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Nauru reed warbler – Isabeau of Bavaria – Kangana Ranaut

March 27

The D'Oliveira affair was a controversy over the inclusion of Basil D'Oliveira, a mixed-race cricketer of South African origin, in the England cricket team selected to tour apartheid-era South Africa in 1968–69. D'Oliveira had moved to England primarily because apartheid restricted his cricketing career; he played Test cricket for England from 1966. The English cricketing authorities wished to maintain traditional links with South Africa and have the tour go ahead without incident; the South Africans publicly indicated that D'Oliveira could play, but secretly worked to prevent this. D'Oliveira's omission from the tour party, ostensibly on cricketing merit, prompted a public outcry in Britain; when he was then chosen to replace an injured player, the South Africans alleged political motivations behind England's team selection. Following abortive attempts at compromise, the English cancelled the tour before it began. Sporting boycotts of South Africa were already under way but this controversy was the first to have a serious impact on South African cricket. South Africa was almost totally isolated from international cricket from 1971 to 1991. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Exhumation and reburial of Richard III – Nauru reed warbler – Isabeau of Bavaria

March 28

Josh Hutcherson (born 1992) is an American actor and filmmaker. He began his acting career at a young age with minor roles in TV commercials and pilot episodes. As he gained experience, he began taking on bigger roles, notably in Zathura (2005), RV (2006), Bridge to Terabithia (2007), Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008), and The Kids Are All Right (2010). Over the course of his young career, he picked up three individual Young Artist Awards. Hutcherson's best-known role is Peeta Mellark in the science fiction adventure film series The Hunger Games (2012, 2013 and 2014). He has also taken on filmmaking and voiceover work, earning credits as an executive producer for Detention (2011), The Forger (2012), and Escobar: Paradise Lost (2015), and for voice acting in 2013's Epic, the most commercially successful of his films except for The Hunger Games series. Hutcherson received the GLAAD Vanguard Award in 2012 for his efforts in promoting equal rights for LGBT people, and he supports the gay–straight alliance chapter called "Straight But Not Narrow". (Full article...)

Recently featured: D'Oliveira affair – Exhumation and reburial of Richard III – Nauru reed warbler

March 29

John Tyler (1790–1862) was the tenth President of the United States (1841–45). He served as a Virginia state legislator, governor, U.S. representative, and senator before his election as vice president in 1840 on the Whig Party ticket led by William Henry Harrison. He became the first vice president to succeed to the presidency without being elected to the office after his running mate's death in April 1841. Taking the oath of office, he immediately moved into the White House and assumed full presidential powers, a precedent that would govern future successions and eventually become codified in the Twenty-fifth Amendment. He found much of the Whig program unconstitutional, and vetoed several of his party's bills. The Whigs, led by Kentucky Senator Henry Clay, dubbed him "His Accidency", and expelled him from the party. Stalemated on domestic policy, Tyler had several foreign-policy achievements, including the Webster–Ashburton Treaty with Britain and the Treaty of Wanghia with Qing China. He dedicated his last two years in office to the annexation of Texas, then retired to his Virginia plantation. When the Civil War began in 1861, Tyler won election to the Confederate House of Representatives shortly before his death. (Full article...)

Recently featured: Josh Hutcherson – D'Oliveira affair – Exhumation and reburial of Richard III

March 30

The Alsos Mission was an Allied unit formed to investigate Axis scientific developments, especially nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, as part of the Manhattan Project during World War II. Colonel Boris Pash, a former Manhattan Project security officer, was the mission's commander, and Samuel Goudsmit was its scientific leader. They joined the advancing Allied units, and occasionally operated behind enemy lines, first in Italy, and later in France and Germany. Gathering information on the German nuclear project, mission personnel captured and dismantled the German experimental nuclear reactor at Haigerloch (pictured) in a daring raid behind German lines in April 1945. They took senior German researchers into custody, including Otto Hahn, Max von Laue, Werner Heisenberg and Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker. They searched for personnel, records, and materials that might be useful, to make them available for Allied research and to keep them out of Soviet hands. Over 1,000 tons of uranium ore was recovered by the mission, along with stocks of heavy water. (Full article...)

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March 31

"Missing My Baby" is a song released by American Tejano music recording artist Selena on her third studio album Entre a Mi Mundo (1992). It was composed by her brother A.B. Quintanilla III, the song's principal record producer. He wanted to showcase Selena's diverse musical abilities and to help her cross over into the English-speaking market; most of the album is Mexican pop and traditional Mexican songs. Critics praised her emotive enunciation in the song. "Missing My Baby" is a mid-tempo R&B ballad influenced by urban and soul music. The lyrics talk about the narrator's love for her boyfriend and how much she misses him. Although never intended to be released as a single, the track peaked at number 22 on the US Rhythmic Top 40 chart in 1995. The track was one of the first songs to be played by radio stations after Selena was shot and killed by her friend, the former manager of her boutiques, on March 31, 1995. A posthumous music video made for cable network VH1 was released in 1998 to promote the triple box-set Anthology (1998). (Full article...)

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