Wikipedia:Today's featured list/August 2019
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August 2
Fourteen National Treasures of Japan are residential structures from the 15th-century feudal Muromachi period to the early modern 17th-century Edo period. The term National Treasure has been used in Japan to denote cultural properties since 1897. The definition and the criteria have changed since the inception of the term. The residential structures adhere to the current definition, and were designated National Treasures when the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties was implemented on June 9, 1951. The structures listed include teahouses, shoin (the Ninomaru Palace pictured), guest or reception halls and other rooms which are part of Japanese domestic architecture. While most of the structures are located in temples, one is a castle. In 2009, the early 20th century Akasaka Palace was designated as a National Treasure in the category of "modern residences" (Meiji period and later). It is the only National Treasure in this category. (Full list...)
August 5
The first colonies of the British Empire on the continent of Australia were the penal colony of New South Wales, founded in 1787, and the Swan River Colony (later renamed Western Australia), founded in 1829. Over the next few decades, the colonies of New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Van Diemen's Land (later renamed Tasmania), and Victoria were created from New South Wales, as well as an aborted Colony of North Australia. On 1 January 1901, these colonies, excepting New Zealand, became states in the Commonwealth of Australia. Since federation, the internal borders have remained mostly stable, except for the creation of some territories with limited self-government: the Northern Territory from South Australia, to govern the vast, sparsely populated centre of the country; the split of the Northern Territory into Central Australia and North Australia, and then the quick merger of those back into the Northern Territory; and the Australian Capital Territory, a federal district ceded from New South Wales. (Full list...)
August 9
The BBC Sports Team of the Year Award is an award given annually as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony each December. The award is given "[f]or the team in an individual sport or sporting discipline that has achieved the most notable performance in the calendar year to date. The team should have significant UK interest or involvement". From 2012, the award's recipient is decided by an expert panel selected by the BBC. The Team of the Year Award was first presented in 1960, six years after the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award was introduced. The first recipient of the award was the Cooper Formula One Racing team. The England national rugby union team (2003 squad pictured) and the Ryder Cup team have won the award the most times; both teams have won five times and have shared the award on one of those occasions. Six nations have been represented by the award-winning team. Football has had the highest representation among the winners, with thirteen recipients. The most recent award was presented in 2018 to the England national netball team. (Full list...)
August 12
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A titular church in Rome, Italy, is assigned to a cleric of the Catholic Church who is created a cardinal. These are churches in the city, under the Diocese of Rome, which are assigned to cardinals as honorary designations that symbolise their relationship to the diocese and to its bishop, the pope. There are two types of titular churches: titles and deaconries. A title is a titular church that is assigned to a cardinal priest (of the second order of the College of Cardinals), whereas a deaconry is a titular church that is assigned to a cardinal deacon (the third order). When a cardinal priest or a cardinal deacon is then appointed a cardinal bishop (the first order), he is typically transferred from his titular church to the vacant title of a suburbicarian diocese, in the vicinity of Rome. There are 232 current titular churches, 164 of which are titles and 68 of which are deaconries (San Giuliano Martire pictured). Twenty-four titular churches are currently vacant. (Full list...)
August 16
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The Ariel Award for Best Director is presented by the Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas (AMACC) in Mexico. It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibited outstanding directing while working in the Mexican film industry. In 1947, the 1st and 2nd Ariel Awards were held, with Roberto Gavaldón and Emilio "El Indio" Fernández winning for the films La Barraca and Enamorada, respectively. With the exception of the years 1959 to 1971, when the Ariel Awards were suspended, the award has been given annually. Nominees and winners are determined by a committee formed every year consisting of academy members (active and honorary), previous winners and individuals with at least two Ariel nominations; the committee members submit their votes through the official AMACC website. Carlos Carrera (pictured) and Fernández hold the record for most wins in the category, with four each. As of the 2019 ceremony, Alfonso Cuarón is the most recent winner in this category for his work on Roma. (Full list...)
August 19
The English rock band Radiohead have recorded over 160 songs since their debut in 1992. Radiohead's first album, Pablo Honey (1993), preceded by their breakthrough single "Creep", features a sound reminiscent of alternative rock bands such as the Pixies and Nirvana. The Bends (1995) marked a move toward "anthemic rock", with more cryptic lyrics about social and global topics, as well as elements of Britpop. OK Computer (1997), the first Radiohead album produced by longtime collaborator Nigel Godrich, features more abstract lyrics that reflect themes of modern alienation, as well as subtle, complex and textured songs. Kid A (2000) and Amnesiac (2001), recorded in the same sessions, marked a drastic change in style, incorporating influences from electronic music, 20th-century classical music, krautrock and jazz. (Full list...)
August 23
The Kingdom of Bhutan is divided into 20 districts. Bhutan is located between the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and India on the eastern slopes of the Himalayas in South Asia. Dzongkhags are the primary subdivisions of Bhutan. They possess a number of powers and rights under the Constitution of Bhutan, such as regulating commerce, running elections, and creating local governments. The Local Government Act of 2009 established local governments in each of the 20 dzongkhags overseen by the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs. Each dzongkhag has its own elected government with non-legislative executive powers, called a dzongkhag tshogdu (district council). As of the 2017 census, Thimphu (Tashichho Dzong pictured) is the most populous dzongkhag, with 138,736 residents; Gasa is the least populous, with 3,952 residents. Thimphu is the most densely populated, with 67.1 people per km2, whereas Gasa is the least densely populated, with 1.3 people per km2. (Full list...)
August 26
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The first Scripps National Spelling Bee champion was Frank Neuhauser of Louisville, who beat eight other finalists to win the inaugural competition in 1925. The Scripps National Spelling Bee is an annual spelling bee held in the United States. The competition was initially organized by The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky, until the Scripps Howard Broadcasting Company (now the E. W. Scripps Company) assumed sponsorship in 1941. In both 1957 and 1962 joint champions were declared when both remaining contestants spelled the same word incorrectly. After three consecutive ties between 2014 and 2016, a written tiebreaker round was introduced, but it was discontinued for the 2019 Bee, which subsequently resulted in an unprecedented eight-way tie when the organizers ended the final session after the remaining contestants had completed five consecutive perfect rounds. (Full list...)
August 30
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The Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame is a journalistic hall of fame of professional wrestling that recognizes people who make significant contributions to the sport. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Like other wrestling halls of fame, such as the WWE, TNA and WCW halls of fame, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame is not contained in a building, and there are no ceremonies for inductions other than a highly detailed biographical documentation of their career in the newsletter. Inductees include wrestlers, managers, promoters, trainers, and commentators. Meltzer began the Hall of Fame by choosing a list of 122 inaugural inductees in 1996. Since then, wrestlers from past and present, others employed in the professional wrestling industry, and wrestling journalists and historians have been selected by Meltzer to cast secret ballots to determine annual groups of inductees. Voting criteria include the length of time spent in wrestling, historical significance, ability to attract viewers, and wrestling ability. As of 2018, there are 223 inductees, including eight tag teams. (Full list...)