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Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2013-09-18/Featured content

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Featured content

Hurricane Diane and Van Gogh

The Church at Auvers, an 1890 painting by Dutch post-Impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh, is now a featured picture.
This Signpost "Featured content" report covers material promoted from September 8 through September 14, 2013
This total rainfall map of Hurricane Diane was produced by Wikipedia contributor and professional meteorologist user:Thegreatdr. The article Hurricane Diane is now featured.

Thirteen featured articles were promoted this week.

  • Symphony No. 8 (Sibelius) (nom) by Brianboulton. Symphony No. 8 was Jean Sibelius's final major compositional project, occupying him intermittently from the mid-1920s until around 1938. However, it was never published and it is unknown how much of it was completed. Sibelius refused to release it for performance, and burned all the scores and associated material in 1945.
  • Phoenix (constellation) (nom) by Casliber. Phoenix is a minor constellation in the southern sky. Named after the mythical phoenix, it was first depicted on a celestial atlas by Johann Bayer in his 1603 Uranometria. The constellation is the radiant of two annual meteor showers: the Phoenicids in December, and the July Phoenicids.
  • How a Mosquito Operates (nom) by Curly Turkey. Also known as The Story of a Mosquito, this silent animated film directed by American cartoonist and animator Winsor McCay lasts for six minutes and tells the story of a giant mosquito who torments a sleeping man. It is one of the first animated films ever made, and is noted for the high technical quality of its naturalistic animation.
  • Grace Sherwood (nom) by PumpkinSky. Better known as the Witch of Pungo, Sherwood (c. 1660 – c. 1740) is the last person known to have been convicted of witchcraft in Virginia. She was accused of transforming herself into a cat, damaging crops and causing the death of livestock. Sherwood may have spent up to eight years in jail after being imprisoned following her trial in 1706. She was freed in 1714, and later died in 1740 at the age of about 80.
  • Whaam! (nom) by TonyTheTiger. Whaam! is a 1963 diptych painting by American artist Roy Lichtenstein. It is one of the best known works of pop art, and is among his most important paintings. The painting is regarded for the temporal, spatial and psychological integration of its two panels, which Lichtenstein conceived as a contrasting pair. It has been on permanent display at Tate Modern since 2006.
  • Atlantic Puffin (nom) by Cwmhiraeth. The Atlantic Puffin is a species of seabird in the auk family, and the only one native to the Atlantic Ocean with two related species. It breeds in Iceland, Norway, Greenland, Newfoundland and many North Atlantic islands, and has a large population and a wide range. It is not considered to be endangered although there may be local declines in numbers.
  • Hurricane Diane (nom) by Hurricanehink. Hurricane Diane was an Atlantic hurricane that formed on August 7, 1955 from a tropical wave between the Lesser Antilles and Cape Verde, and later moved inland through North Carolina, causing coastal flooding but little wind and rain damage. Monetary losses totaled $754.7 million, although the inclusion of loss of revenue increased the total to over $1 billion.
  • Ambohimanga (nom) by Lemurbaby. Ambohimanga is a hill and traditional fortified royal settlement in Madagascar, located northeast of Antananarivo. Both are considered the most significant symbols of the Merina people, and the most important and best-preserved monument of the precolonial Kingdom of Madagascar and its precursor, the Kingdom of Imerina.
  • Pengkhianatan G30S/PKI (nom) by Crisco 1492. Pengkhianatan G30S/PKI is a 1984 Indonesian docudrama written and directed by Arifin C. Noer. It was based on an official history of the 30 September Movement coup in 1965. It was a commercial and critical success, receiving one award out of seven nominations at the 1984 Indonesian Film Festival.
  • Kwinana Freeway (nom) by Evad37. The Kwinana Freeway is a 72-kilometre (45 mi) freeway in and beyond the southern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. It connects central Perth with Mandurah to the south, and it's the central section of State Route 2. Planning for the freeway began in the 1950s, and the first segment was finished between 1956 and 1959.
  • Eisenhower dollar (nom) by Wehwalt. The Eisenhower dollar is a one-dollar coin issued by the United States Mint from 1971 to 1978, being the first of such denomination to be issued by the Mint since the Peace dollar series ended in 1935. The coin, designed by Frank Gasparro, depicts General of the Army and President Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower, who appears on the obverse.
  • Blackwater fire of 1937 (nom) by MONGO. The Blackwater fire took place on August 18, 1937 at the Shoshone National Forest, due to a lightning strike approximately 35 miles west of Cody, Wyoming. Fifteen firefighters were killed by the fire, which rapidly spread into dense forest, consuming 1,700 acres (690 ha) of old-growth forest dominated by Douglas fir trees.
  • Carolina Panthers (nom) by Toa Nidhiki05. The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football club based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The team, worth approximately US$1 billion, plays in the southern division of the National Football Conference, and is controlled by Jerry Richardson and his family. First competing in 1995, they reached Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2003, losing 32–29 to the New England Patriots.


The Royal Hill of Ambohimanga in Madagascar is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the subject of a new featured article.


The Snake River is the longest stream in the U.S. State of Idaho with a length of 769 miles (1238 km) in the state. The list of the longest streams in Idaho is now featured.

Six featured lists were promoted this week.

  • Timeline of the Jurchen campaigns against the Song Dynasty (nom) by Typing General. The Jurchen campaigns against the Song Dynasty were a series of wars fought between the Jurchen Jin Dynasty and the Song Dynasty in the 12th and 13th centuries. Two armies were dispatched against the Song. One army captured the provincial capital of Taiyuan, while the other besieged the Song capital of Kaifeng. Both dynasties ended in the 13th century as the Mongol Empire expanded across Asia.
  • List of Detroit Red Wings seasons (nom) by Rejectwater. The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They have participated in 88 seasons, have won 2735 regular season games, and accumulated 19 division championships and six conference championships. The team has also led the league in points 18 times, appeared in the playoffs 61 times, and won 11 Stanley Cup titles.
  • List of longest streams of Idaho (nom) by Little Mountain 5. The U.S state of Idaho has a total of 70 streams that are at least 50 miles long. All of these streams originate in the United States except the Kootenai River and the Moyie River, which begin in the province of British Columbia. All but four of the streams lie within the large basin of the Columbia River, although the river itself does not flow through Idaho.
  • List of tornadoes in the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak (nom) by Cyclonebiskit. A large tornado outbreak took place from May 2 to May 8, 1999 across several parts of the United States, as well as southern Canada. During that timespan, 152 tornadoes touched down the area and over 50 people lost their lives. The F5 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado alone took 36 lives when it touched Oklahoma City. The damage amounted to $1.4 billion.
  • Citra Award for Best Supporting Actress (nom) by Crisco 1492. This award is given at the Indonesian Film Festival to Indonesian actresses for their achievements in supporting roles. Described as the equivalent to the Academy Awards, it was first given in early 1955 to Endang Kusdiningsih for her role in Tarmina. A total 68 actresses have been nominated for the award, 26 of whom have won at least one.
  • Hattie Jacques on stage, radio, screen and record (nom) by SchroCat with Cassianto. Jacques (1922 – 1980) was an English actress who appeared in many genres of light entertainment including radio, film, television and stage. Her career began in 1939 and lasted until her death in 1980, and she is best remembered for her appearances in fourteen Carry On films. Jacques had a long professional partnership with Eric Sykes, with whom she co-starred on several television series.


This photo of the southern portion of Shun Lee, an area in Hong Kong, is a new featured picture.

Five featured pictures were promoted this week.

Portrait of Federico II Gonzaga, circa 1529, by the highly esteemed 16th century Italian painter Titian. Now a featured picture.
  • The Church at Auvers (nom) created by Vincent van Gogh and nominated by Armbrust. Famous Dutch post-impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh painted this work in 1890. The subject is a church in Auvers-sur-Oise in France. This work now hangs in Musee d' Orsay in Paris, France, which houses a large collection of impressionist and post-impressionist works.
  • Portrait of Federico II Gonzaga (nom) created by Titian and nominated by Crisco 1492. This painting, circa 1529, is by the highly esteemed 16th century Italian painter Titian who was a member of the Venetian school. The subject is Federico II of Gonzaga, ruler of the Italian city of Mantua.
  • Shun Lee (nom) created by Base64, edited by Crisco 1492 and nominated by Tomer T. Shun Lee is an area in Hong Kong in the Kwun Tong District. There are three public housing estates and one home ownership scheme estate in the area.
  • Ruby-throated Hummingbird, female (nom) created by Pslawinski and nominated by Pslawinski. This small species of hummingbird is the only one that frequently nests east of the Mississippi River, and the smallest bird species of the eastern United States and eastern Canada.
  • Louis Pasteur (nom) created by Nadar, restored by Crisco 1492 and nominated by Pine. French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur (1822 - 1895) made advances in vaccination and pasteurization. His work has had major impacts in medicine and public health.


A female ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) seen in a new featured picture.