Wikipedia:Today's featured list/July 2018

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July 2

P. G. Wodehouse
P. G. Wodehouse

The English author, humorist and scriptwriter P. G. Wodehouse created several regular comic characters with whom the public became familiar. These include Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves; the immaculate and loquacious Psmith; Lord Emsworth and the Blandings Castle set; the disaster-prone opportunist Ukridge; the Oldest Member, with stories about golf; and Mr Mulliner, with tales on numerous subjects from film studios to the Church of England. Wodehouse also wrote scripts and screenplays and, in August 1911, his script A Gentleman of Leisure was produced on the Broadway stage. In the 1920s and 1930s he collaborated with Jerome Kern and Guy Bolton in an arrangement that "helped transform the American musical" of the time. His writing for plays also turned into scriptwriting, starting with the 1915 film A Gentleman of Leisure. He joined Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 1930 for a year, and then worked for RKO Pictures in 1937. (Full list...)


July 6

Twenty episodes of HolbyBlue, a British police procedural drama which was created by Tony Jordan, aired over two series. The show is set in the fictional city of Holby, and focuses on the daily lives of police officers working at Holby South police station. The creation of HolbyBlue was announced on 27 April 2006 by the BBC. It was revealed that the show would have links to British medical drama Holby City. The first series began filming at the end of January 2007, commenced airing on 8 May 2007 at 8 pm, one week later than scheduled for unknown reasons, and concluded on 26 June 2007. On 21 June 2007, it was announced that HolbyBlue would air a second series in 2008, this time for an extended run of twelve episodes. Filming recommenced in late 2007 in Surrey, and the second series began airing on 20 March 2008, concluding on 5 June 2008. On 6 August 2008, the BBC revealed that HolbyBlue would not be recommissioned for a third series, due to a decline in viewership. (Full list...)


July 9

Asa Hutchinson
Asa Hutchinson

The Governor of Arkansas is the chief executive of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The governor is the head of the executive branch of Arkansas's state government and is charged with enforcing state laws. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Arkansas General Assembly, to convene the legislature, and to grant pardons, except in cases of treason and impeachment. The state has had 46 elected governors, as well as 11 acting governors who assumed powers and duties following the resignation or death of the governor. Before becoming a state, Arkansas Territory had four governors appointed to it by the President of the United States. Orval Faubus served the longest term as state governor, being elected six times to serve twelve years. Bill Clinton, elected five times over two distinct terms, fell only one month short of twelve years. The current governor is Republican Asa Hutchinson (pictured), who took office on January 13, 2015, after his election on November 4, 2014. (Full list...)


July 13

The first international football match
The first international football match

Scotland was one of the earliest modern footballing nations, with Glasgow club Queen's Park early pioneers of the game throughout the UK. More clubs formed in Scotland, resulting in the commencement of the first major competition in 1873, the Scottish Cup, then the founding of the Scottish Football League in 1890. With the official sanctioning of professionalism, the Old Firm of Celtic and Rangers became dominant in Scotland, and remain so, although other clubs have enjoyed brief periods of success too. The first officially recognised international football match (pictured) took place between Scotland and England in 1872. Scotland first competed in a major tournament when they qualified for the 1954 FIFA World Cup. They have qualified for a further seven World Cups and two UEFA European Championships since, and have exited at the group stage each time. (Full list...)


July 16

London Bridge railway station
London Bridge railway station

The London station group is a group of 18 railway stations served by the National Rail network in central London. Most are terminal stations, either serving major national services or local commuter routes. A small number are through-stations that are considered terminals for ticketing purposes. All current stations in the group fall within London fare zone 1. Most London terminal stations were developed in the mid-19th century during the initial boom of rail transport. Many stations were built around the edge of central London, stopping at what is now the London Inner Ring Road, because it was prohibitively expensive to build right into the centre, and because each railway was owned by a private company competing with the others. The creation of the London Underground provided a practical connection to the various termini. Many of the stations have been upgraded and modernised to provide a greater capacity and connections to the network; the first London terminus, London Bridge (pictured) has been rebuilt and expanded on numerous occasions, and of the major 19th century terminals, only Broad Street has closed. (Full list...)


July 20

Karan Johar in 2018
Karan Johar in 2018

Dharma Productions is an Indian production company established by Yash Johar in 1976. The company has produced 45 Hindi films and presented four regional language films from other companies. Their first release came in 1980 with the Raj Khosla-directed Dostana which was followed by a series of commercial failures. Karan Johar's (pictured) directorial debut Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol, and Rani Mukerji, was highly successful and established Dharma Productions as a leading production company in India. Their subsequent releases, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003) and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), all starring Khan, emerged as top-grossing Hindi films in overseas sales. In the late 2000s and 2010s, the company introduced the directors Ayan Mukerji, Shakun Batra and Shashank Khaitan, and the actors Sidharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt. They worked on several successful films for the company, including Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013), Kapoor & Sons (2016), Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017), and Raazi (2018). (Full list...)


July 23

Mark Romanek
Mark Romanek

American filmmaker Mark Romanek directed his first music video in 1986, for The The's "Sweet Bird of Truth". He earned his first MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction nomination for "Free Your Mind", performed by En Vogue, in 1993. In 1995, he directed the video for "Scream", set in space and performed by Michael and Janet Jackson, as well as the New Age surrealistic "Bedtime Story", performed by Madonna. They are two of the most expensive music videos ever made, costing $7 million and $5 million, respectively. "Scream" gained 11 nominations at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards, including Romanek's second Best Direction nomination, and his first Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form. In 1997, he won his second Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Got 'til It's Gone", performed by Janet Jackson, Q-Tip and Joni Mitchell. Romanek made his feature-film directorial debut with the 1986 comedy-drama feature Static, which was nominated for Grand Jury Prize at the 1986 Sundance Film Festival. (Full list...)


July 27

Austro-Hungarian fleet maneuvers in 1914
Austro-Hungarian fleet maneuvers in 1914

A total of 13 battleships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy were constructed between 1900 and 1917. The first class of battleships were three Habsburg-class battleships, launched between 1900 and 1902, and were soon followed by three Erzherzog Karl-class battleships, all of which were pre-dreadnoughts. After the appointment of Vice-Admiral Rudolf Montecuccoli to the post of Chief of the Naval Section of the War Ministry in October 1904, the Austro-Hungarian Navy began a program of naval expansion befitting a Great Power. Two years later, the first Radetzky-class battleships were laid down. They were soon succeeded by the Tegetthoff class, which were Austria-Hungary's first and only class of dreadnought battleships. The navy's plans for the construction of a second class of dreadnoughts, named the Ersatz Monarch class, were canceled following the outbreak of World War I. After the collapse of Austria-Hungary in 1918, all of the battleships were handed over to France, Great Britain, the United States, and Italy, and scrapped during the 1920s. (Full list...)


July 30

Alastair Cook
Alastair Cook

England Test cricket records date back to the first Test match, between England and Australia in March 1877 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. England will play their 1,000th Test match starting on Wednesday, the most by any Test playing team. As of July 2018, England is the third most successful team in Test cricket with an overall winning percentage of 35.73, behind Australia at 47.16 and South Africa at 37.70. Opening batsman and former captain Alastair Cook (pictured) holds several England Test cricket records. He has scored over 10,000 Test runs, the only England player to do so. Captaining his side from 2010 until he stood down in 2016, Cook holds the record for the most matches played as English skipper with 59, the Test record for the most consecutive matches played with 154 and the record for the most matches played for England with 156. Fast bowler James Anderson is the most prolific wicket-taker for England having taken a total of 540 wickets throughout his 138 match career. England claims two age records, James Southerton as the oldest player to make his Test debut at 49 and Wilfred Rhodes aged 52 as the oldest cricketer to ever play in a Test match. (Full list...)