Wikipedia:Today's featured list/August 2021
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August 2
From the 1860s to the 1880s, Prussia and later the German Empire built a series of screw corvettes to expand and modernize its fleet of cruising warships. In total, twenty-three screw corvettes were built, mostly between six different ship classes. The first two ships, of the Nymphe class, were built in the early 1860s as Prussia began to prepare for an eventual conflict with Denmark over the Schleswig-Holstein Question, though only Nymphe entered service in time for the Second Schleswig War in 1864. Nymphe was the only ship of the type to see action against an enemy warship, taking part in the Battle of Jasmund during the Second Schleswig War in 1864 and an attack on a blockading French squadron during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. Augusta was activated during the Franco-Prussian War to raid French shipping in the Atlantic Ocean, capturing three ships carrying war materiel, two of which were taken as prizes and the third sunk. As the corvettes were replaced with newer vessels, beginning with several unprotected cruisers, they were frequently converted into training ships. (Full list...)
August 6
Former professional association football player Phil Younghusband scored 52 goals in 108 appearances for the Philippines national football team, making him the all-time male top goalscorer and the most capped player for the Philippines. Younghusband, who retired in November 2019 at the age of 32, scored 50 of his goals against Asian Football Confederation nations. He scored his first four international goals against Timor-Leste in a qualification match for the 2007 AFF Championship. He scored his twelfth international goal against Vietnam during the 2010 AFF Championship in a match dubbed the "Miracle of Hanoi". Younghusband's 50th international goal was a penalty kick against Tajikistan during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup qualification. The goal guaranteed the inclusion of the Philippines in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, the highest level of competition in the team's history. (Full list...)
August 9
The filmography of Mahesh Babu, an Indian actor known for his work in Telugu cinema, includes 39 films between 1979 and 2020. He first appeared in the 1979 film Needa when he was four years old, and continued to perform as a child actor in several films, most of which featured his father Krishna. After starring as the hero in Balachandrudu (1990) while still a child, Babu put his career on hold to concentrate on his education until taking on his first lead role as an adult in the 1999 film Raja Kumarudu, for which he won the Nandi Award for Best Male Debut. Afterwards, his career stagnated until successes like Murari (2001), Okkadu (2003) and Athadu (2005) brought him fame. In 2006, he played a gangster in the Puri Jagannadh–directed action-thriller Pokiri. The film became the highest-grossing Telugu film of all time and cemented Babu's reputation as a "superstar". In the wake of the failures of Sainikudu (2006) and Athidhi (2007), Babu took a long-term break from cinema for personal reasons. (Full list...)
August 13
A national recreation area (NRA) is a protected area in the United States established by an Act of Congress to preserve enhanced recreational opportunities in places with significant natural and scenic resources. There are 40 NRAs, which emphasize a variety of activities for visitors, including hiking, camping, boating, fishing, swimming, biking, horseback riding, and wildlife viewing, in areas that include multiple-use management for both conservation and limited utilization of natural resources. The first, Lake Mead NRA (pictured), was created by a 1936 agreement between the United States Bureau of Reclamation, which had built Hoover Dam, and the National Park Service, which had experience in managing visitors in the outdoors. NRAs are managed by the NPS, the United States Forest Service (USFS), and the Bureau of Land Management. NRAs are located in 26 states; California and Washington have the most, each with four. NRAs of the USFS have a total area of 3,261,818 acres (13,200 km2), and those of the NPS total 3,714,735 acres (15,033 km2). (Full list...)
August 16
There have been 20 presidents of the University of Illinois system, a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Illinois. The president is the chief executive officer and a faculty member of each of its colleges, schools, institutions, and divisions. Elected by the board of trustees, the president is responsible to them for the operation of the system by preparing budgets, recommending persons for appointment to university positions, and enforcing the rules and regulations of the universities. Following the establishment of the office in 1867, John Milton Gregory served as the first president, originally titled "regent". Three presidents, Lloyd Morey, James J. Stukel, and Robert A. Easter, are alumni of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The current president is Timothy L. Killeen, who has held the position since 2015. (Full list...)
August 20
The German composer Carl Maria von Weber is best known for his operas, of which he wrote 10 between 1798 and 1826. His first four exist in various states: Die Macht der Liebe und des Weins (composed 1798) is completely lost; two fragments survive for Das Waldmädchen (1800); the libretto to Peter Schmoll und seine Nachbarn (1803) is lost; and only three numbers from Rübezahl (composed 1804–05) survive. Weber's mature operas—Silvana (1810), Abu Hassan (1811), Der Freischütz (1821), Die drei Pintos (composed 1820–21), Euryanthe (1823), Oberon (1826)—all survive intact; they were all performed within his lifetime, except Die drei Pintos which was posthumously completed by Gustav Mahler. After his family moved to Munich in 1798, the 13-year-old Weber began study with Johann Nepomuk Kalcher, under whose supervision he wrote his first opera, the Singspiel Die Macht der Liebe und des Weins; the work was never performed. Weber's first operatic success came with Silvana, on a libretto by Franz Carl Hiemer that was reworked from Steinsberg's earlier one to Das Waldmädchen. (Full list...)
August 23
County Court venues in England and Wales date back to the County Courts Act 1846, which received Royal Assent on 28 August 1846 and was brought into force on 15 March 1847. England and Wales (with the exception of the City of London, which was outside the scope of the Act) were divided into 60 circuits, with a total of 491 county courts within these circuits. Lord Cottenham, then Lord Chancellor, wanted everyone to be within seven miles (11 km) of a court, and the final scheme came close to that aim. The system of 60 circuits was abolished in 1970. Over time, while new courts have been opened in various locations, there has been an overall reduction in the number of locations where a county court is held. From 22 April 2014, the Crime and Courts Act 2013 replaced the previous system of county courts for different localities with one County Court that operates throughout England and Wales, sitting in multiple locations simultaneously. In July 2015, further proposals to close nineteen County Court venues were announced. (Full list...)
August 27
The American sitcom The Office received numerous accolades during its run. The series, styled as a mockumentary, originally aired from 2005 to 2013 and depicts the lives of a group of office employees at the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. It was nominated for forty-four Primetime Emmy Awards and won five, including a win for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2006 and five additional nominations in the category. Accolades from major guilds include a Producers Guild of America Award, a Directors Guild of America Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Writers Guild of America Awards. The show also received a Peabody Award in 2007. Series lead Steve Carell (pictured) was particularly praised for his performance as Michael Scott, earning him a Golden Globe Award and a TCA Award. Carell was also nominated for six Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series but never won the award, which many have considered a major snub. (Full list...)
August 30
The 2017 AFL Rising Star was an Australian rules football award presented to the player adjudged the best young player in the Australian Football League (AFL) for the year. An eligible player was nominated for the award each round during the AFL's regular season, and a panel of experts voted for the winner at the end of the season. During the 2017 season, the award was sponsored by National Australia Bank, and the winner announced in a presentation held on 1 September 2017 and broadcast on subscription television by Fox Footy. The winner was Essendon player Andrew McGrath (pictured), who polled 51 votes. McGrath became only the third number-one draft pick to win the award, and the second Essendon recipient. The club that garnered the most individual nominations this season was Carlton, with five players nominated for the award. (Full list...)