Wikipedia:Main Page history/2017 November 17

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From today's featured article

Ben Affleck (born 1972) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He starred as a child in the PBS educational series The Voyage of the Mimi beginning in 1984. He later appeared in several Kevin Smith films, including Chasing Amy (1997) and Dogma (1999). Affleck gained wider recognition when he and childhood friend Matt Damon won the Golden Globe and Academy Award for the screenplay of Good Will Hunting (1997). He established himself as a leading man in studio films including Armageddon (1998), Forces of Nature (1999), Pearl Harbor (2001) and Changing Lanes (2002). After a career downturn, his directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone (2007), was well received. For the political thriller Argo (2012), which he directed, co-produced and starred in, he won two major industry awards for best director, and the film won three for best picture. Affleck is a co-founder of the Eastern Congo Initiative and the production company Pearl Street Films. He has three children with actress Jennifer Garner (married 2005–2017). (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Apollo and Daphne by Bernini

... that the character posings in the manga Phantom Blood were influenced by the sculpture Apollo and Daphne (pictured)?
... that serial killer Tommy Lynn Sells confessed to the Dardeen family homicides that took place in Ina, Illinois, 30 years ago today, but he was never charged?
... that Sushila Rani Patel taught actress Madhubala to speak, read, and write English?
... that the Mulungushi Rock of Authority, known as "the birthplace of Zambian independence", is located in the Central Province of Zambia?
... that Staley T. McBrayer is sometimes referred to as the "Orville Wright" or "Wilbur Wright" of offset newspaper publishing?
... that the tidepool sculpin can leave the rock pool in which it lives, and breathe air?
... that after being injured, Annabelle Lindsay relinquished a scholarship to play college basketball in the United States but has since been awarded another to play wheelchair basketball?
... that Microsoft helped fund a new overpass on Washington State Route 520 near its corporate headquarters in Redmond?

In the news

Salvator Mundi

Salvator Mundi (pictured), generally attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, sells at auction for US$450.3 million, a new record for an artwork.
Zimbabwe National Army troops seize control of Harare and place President Robert Mugabe under house arrest.
Borut Pahor is re-elected President of Slovenia.
An earthquake strikes the border between Iraq and Iran, killing at least 540 people and injuring more than 8,000 others.
The Paradise Papers—more than 13 million financial documents relating to offshore investment—are leaked.

On this day...

November 17

Queen Elizabeth I of England

1558 – Elizabeth I (pictured) became Queen of England and Ireland, marking the beginning of the Elizabethan era.
1839 – Giuseppe Verdi's first opera Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio, was first performed at La Scala in Milan.
1871 – The United States' National Rifle Association was first chartered in the state of New York by William Conant Church and George Wood Wingate.
1894 – H. H. Holmes, one of the first modern serial killers, was arrested in Boston after having killed at least nine people.
1997 – Sixty-two people were killed by terrorists outside the Deir el-Bahri in Luxor, one of Egypt's top tourist attractions.

Empress Chen Jinfeng (d. 935) · Bernard Montgomery (b. 1887) · Rosemary Sinclair (b. 1936)

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From today's featured list

The Latin Grammy Award for Album of the Year is an honor presented annually at the Latin Grammy Awards, a ceremony that recognizes excellence and creates a wider awareness of cultural diversity and contributions of Latin recording artists in the United States and internationally. The award is given to the performers, producers, audio engineers and mastering engineers for vocal or instrumental albums with 51% of new recorded songs. Albums of previously released recordings, such as reissues, compilations of old recordings and greatest hits albums packages are not eligible. Juan Luis Guerra has won the most awards in the category with four wins (one as a producer). Alejandro Sanz and Juanes have won three times each. They are followed by Calle 13 with two winning albums. Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira became the first female recipient in 2006. Most nominated albums were recorded in Spanish language, though Gilberto Gil, Ivan Lins, Maria Rita, Tribalistas and Caetano Veloso have been nominated for albums recorded in Portuguese language, with Lins winning the award in 2005 for Cantando Histórias. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Nakhi women carrying the typical baskets of the region in a public performance at the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Open Air Theatre in Yunnan, China. The Nakhi are one of the 56 officially recognized Chinese ethnic groups and inhabit the foothills of the Himalayas. Their culture, including their literature and farming practices, is strongly influenced by Dongbaism.

Photograph: Uwe Aranas

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