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Wikipedia:Today's featured list/September 2015

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September 4

Theatre productions of Dan Leno
Theatre productions of Dan Leno

The English comic actor Dan Leno (1860–1904) appeared in 27 theatrical productions during his 40-year career. These, together with his comic music hall acts, earned him wide popularity during the Victorian and Edwardian eras. He excelled in pantomime, particularly at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane where he appeared in the Dame role every Christmas from 1888 to his death in 1904. He began performing as a child and became a champion clog dancer. From his teen years, he was a star in music halls throughout Britain. His debut in pantomime came in 1865 in the Liverpool festive production Fortunatus; or, The Magic Wishing Cap, as a juvenile clown. His theatrical performances in pantomime and burlesque matured over the next 20 years, and he received much praise for his first performance at Drury Lane in Babes in the Wood. He starred in a further 15 pantomimes there, for which he received much acclaim and became the most popular comic performer in the theatre's history. His last pantomime at Drury Lane was Humpty Dumpty, which was staged 10 months before his death. (This list is part of a featured topic: Dan Leno on stage and record.)


September 7

Sankta Karin church
Sankta Karin church

There are nineteen ruined churches on the Swedish island of Gotland, in the Baltic Sea, twelve of which lie in Visby, the island's main town. Of these, ten lie within the medieval city walls. Of the 94 medieval parish churches in the countryside, 91 are still in use. There are also the ruins of two monasteries and two chapels on Gotland. Gotland began to gradually abandon Norse religion and adopt Christianity during the 11th century. The church building period was fairly short; in the countryside stone churches were erected between the early 12th and mid-14th centuries, while in Visby the last churches were inaugurated during the 15th century. Some of these churches have since been ruined. Following the Black Death, the invasion of Gotland by Valdemar IV of Denmark and the Battle of Visby in 1361, and a general decrease in trade, Gotland entered a period of decline. After the Reformation some churches also became superfluous. (Full list...)


September 11

Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United from 1986 to 2013
Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United from 1986 to 2013

The Premier League Manager of the Season is an annual association football award presented to managers in England. It recognises the most outstanding manager in the Premier League each season. The recipient is chosen by a panel assembled by the league's sponsor (currently Barclays) and is announced in the second or third week of May. The first Manager of the Season award was given to Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson for retaining the league championship in the 1993–94 season. Ferguson has been Manager of the Season on eleven occasions, accounting for half of the awards given as of the 2014–15 season. Arsène Wenger became the first non-British manager to win the award, and received it on two further occasions with Arsenal. Chelsea's José Mourinho is the only manager other than Ferguson to win the award in consecutive seasons. (Full list...)


September 14

The Nebula Award for Best Novella is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). It honors science fiction or fantasy novellas published in English or translated into English and released in the United States or on the internet during the previous calendar year. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a novella if it is between 17,500 and 40,000 words. The Nebula Award for Best Novella has been awarded annually since 1966. Nebula Award nominees and winners are chosen by members of the SFWA, though the authors of the nominees do not need to be members. During the 50 nomination years, 156 authors have had works nominated; 46 of these have won, including co-authors and ties. Nancy Kress has won the most awards: four out of eight nominations. Robert Silverberg, John Varley, and Roger Zelazny have each won twice out of eight, two, and three nominations, respectively. Silverberg's and Kress's eight nominations are the most of any authors, followed by Lucius Shepard and Michael Bishop at seven, and Kate Wilhelm and Avram Davidson with six. (This list is part of a featured topic: Nebula Award.)


September 18

Interstate 75 sign
Interstate 75 sign

The Interstate Highways in Michigan are the segments of the national Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways that are owned and maintained by the U.S. state of Michigan, totaling about 1,239 miles (1,994 km). The longest of these, Interstate 75 (marker pictured), is also the longest highway of any kind in the state. The Interstates in Michigan have their origins in World War II-era expressways built in the Detroit area. After the system was created in 1956, the state highway department completed its first border-to-border Interstate in 1960. The last highway was completed in 1992, giving Michigan a total of 13 Interstate freeways. There are also 26 current business routes that connect cities bypassed by the Interstates; 23 are business loops that connect on both ends to their parent highway, and three are business spurs that connect on only one end. (Full list...)


September 21

Grey's Anatomy title screen
Grey's Anatomy title screen

As of May 14, 2015, 244 episodes of the American medical drama television series Grey's Anatomy have aired. The series has run for eleven seasons, and focuses on the fictional lives of surgical interns and residents, as they gradually evolve into seasoned doctors, while trying to maintain personal lives. The show's premise originated with Shonda Rhimes, who serves as an executive producer, along with Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, Krista Vernoff, Rob Corn, Mark Wilding, and Allan Heinberg. Grey's Anatomy premiered on American Broadcasting Company as a mid-season replacement on March 27, 2005. Episodes have been broadcast on Thursday nights at 9:00 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST), since Grey's third season. The first two seasons aired after Desperate Housewives in the Sunday 10:00 pm EST time-slot. All episodes are approximately forty-three minutes, excluding commercials, and are broadcast in both high-definition and standard. Grey's Anatomy was among the top-ten-rated shows in the United States from the show's first through fourth season. (Full list...)


September 25

D-Day in Normandy: U.S. troops wading through water and German gunfire. The picture is titled Into the Jaws of Death.
D-Day in Normandy: U.S. troops wading through water and German gunfire. The picture is titled Into the Jaws of Death.

The United States Army designated certain "campaigns" of World War II. These campaigns were the basis of campaign streamers awarded to units and campaign medals awarded to servicemen. In all, the Army designated forty-four campaigns as such. There were twenty-four campaigns in the AsiaticPacific Theater, nineteen in the EuropeanAfrican–Middle Eastern Theater, and one in the American Theater. In addition, there were also three "blanket campaigns": air combat, ground combat, and anti-submarine combat. The blanket campaigns were designated in all theaters except the American Theater, where only one was designated, anti-submarine warfare. (Full list...)


September 28

Topographic map of Bulgaria
Topographic map of Bulgaria

Bulgaria is inhabited by 20 amphibian species, which makes the amphibians the least diverse class of vertebrates in the country. They include seven species of newts and salamanders from a single family, Salamandridae, as well as 13 frog and toad species from five families—Bombinatoridae, Bufonidae, Hylidae, Pelobatidae and Ranidae. The most recently classified species are the northern crested newt, identified in 2005, and the Macedonian crested newt, identified in 2007. Bulgaria provides various habitats for amphibians. The country falls within six terrestrial ecoregions of the Palearctic realm. Bulgaria has varied topography. From north to south the main geomorphological regions are the Danubian Plain, the Balkan Mountains, the Sub-Balkan valleys, the RilaRhodope massif to the south-west, the Upper Thracian Plain and the Strandzha mountains to the south-east. The country has a dense river network but with the notable exception of the river Danube, they are mostly short and with low water flow. (Full list...)