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Wikipedia:Today's featured list/June 2018

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June 1

Krishna Sobti
Krishna Sobti

The Jnanpith Award is an Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian writers writing in Indian languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India and English, with no posthumous conferral. From 1965 till 1981, the award consisted of a citation plaque, a cash prize of 1 lakh (equivalent to 67 lakh or US$80,000 in 2023), and a bronze replica of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge and wisdom. The first recipient of the award was the Malayalam writer G. Sankara Kurup who received the award in 1965 for his collection of poems, Odakkuzhal (The Bamboo Flute), published in 1950. The cash prize has been revised to 11 lakh (equivalent to 17 lakh or US$20,000 in 2023) and out of twenty-three eligible languages the award has been presented for works in fifteen languages. The award has been conferred upon fifty-seven writers including seven women authors. The most recent recipient of the award is Hindi fiction writer and essayist Krishna Sobti (pictured) who was awarded for the year 2017. (Full list...)


June 4

The 2016 American film La La Land was nominated for 265 awards, winning 112; its direction, screenplay, music and the performances of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone received the most attention from award groups. La La Land received 14 nominations at the 89th Academy Awards tying the record for most nominations by a single film with All About Eve (1950) and Titanic (1997). It won six, Best Director (Damien Chazellepictured), Best Actress (Stone), Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, and Best Production Design. At the ceremony, the film was also falsely announced as the winner for Best Picture (which it lost to Moonlight), and Chazelle became the youngest winner of the Best Director award. The film garnered a leading seven Golden Globe Award nominations. Winning all of its nominations, it became the film with the most Golden Globe Awards. La La Land also led the 70th British Academy Film Awards with five wins and 11 nominations. (Full list...)


June 8

Marty Turco
Marty Turco

The Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award was an award in ice hockey given annually to the goaltender who finished the regular season with the best save percentage in the National Hockey League. A goaltender's save percentage represents the percentage of shots on goal that he stops, and is calculated by dividing the number of saves by the total number of shots on goal. The award was first presented at the conclusion of the 1999–2000 season, and was named in honor of former Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals goaltender Roger Crozier. The winner of the trophy received a commemorative crystal trophy and was given US$25,000 to donate to a youth hockey or other educational program of their choice. As of 2007, after which it ceased being presented, the award had been handed to six different players on seven occasions. Marty Turco (pictured) is the only goaltender to have won the award twice. (Full list...)


June 11

Missouri S&T logo
Missouri S&T logo

The alumni of Missouri University of Science and Technology, or Missouri S&T, include both graduates and non-graduates who have attended the University located in Rolla, Missouri. Missouri S&T was founded as the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy (MSM) in 1870, the first technological institution west of the Mississippi River. In 1964, the school's name was changed to University of Missouri–Rolla (UMR) as part of the University of Missouri System, and the most recent name change to Missouri University of Science and Technology took effect in 2008. The university's alumni span multiple fields and careers, particularly those concentrated in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The creator of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, enrolled at Missouri S&T in 1995 majoring in computer science and mathematics, but transferred out during his junior year. Many NASA astronauts and engineers are graduates from Missouri S&T, such as Sandra Magnus, who was aboard the last American Space Shuttle, and George Mueller, who helped enable the Apollo 11 moon landing. (Full list...)


June 15

Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald

The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Female was an award presented at the Grammy Awards to female recording artists for quality jazz vocal performances. The honor was first presented to Ella Fitzgerald (pictured) at the 23rd Annual Grammy Awards (1981) for A Perfect Match, and last awarded to Fitzgerald at the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards (1991) for All That Jazz. Fitzgerald holds the record for the most wins in this category, with four. Diane Schuur is the only other artist to receive the award more than once, with two consecutive wins, and Betty Carter and Maxine Sullivan share the record for the most nominations without a win, with three each. (Full list...)


June 18

1921 laureate Albert Einstein
1921 laureate Albert Einstein

Nobel laureates in Physics are determined annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded to scientists in the various fields of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the 1895 will of Alfred Nobel (who died in 1896), awarded for outstanding contributions in physics. As dictated by Nobel's will, the award is administered by the Nobel Foundation and awarded by a committee that consists of five members elected by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The award is presented in Stockholm at an annual ceremony on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death. Each recipient receives a medal, a diploma and a monetary award prize that has varied throughout the years. (Full list...)


June 22

Péter Besenyei’s plane
Péter Besenyei’s plane

Red Bull Air Race World Championship winners are determined by an international series of air races in which entrants compete to navigate a challenging obstacle course in the fastest time. The Red Bull Air Race World Championship was established in 2003 and created by Red Bull GmbH. Pilots fly individually against the clock and are required to complete tight turns through a slalom course consisting of inflatable pylons, known as "Air Gates". The races are held mainly over water near cities, but are also held at airfields or natural wonders (such as Sugarloaf Mountain and Monument Valley). The inaugural series comprising two races was won by the Hungarian pilot Péter Besenyei (aircraft pictured) who went on to secure second place the following three series. As of 2017, the most successful pilot in the history of the championship is Briton Paul Bonhomme who has won the title on three occasions, in 2009, 2010 and 2015. (Full list...)


June 25

There are 37 light rail stations in the Metro system, a public transportation network serving the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota, metropolitan area. Construction on the network's first light rail line, the Blue Line, began in 2001 and the system's first 12 stations opened on June 26, 2004. Later that year, five more stations opened, linking downtown Minneapolis with the Mall of America station in Bloomington, Minnesota. Two more stations opened on the Blue Line in 2009, including a new northern terminus, Target Field station (pictured). Construction on the Green Line began in 2010 and the entire line, connecting downtown Minneapolis and downtown Saint Paul, opened in 2014. Extensions to both lines are planned. A southwestward extension from Target Field will add 15 new stations to the Green Line, connecting it to Eden Prairie, Minnesota, while a northward extension from Target Field will connect the Blue Line to Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, adding 11 stations to the system. The Green and Blue line extensions are slated to open for passenger service in 2021 and 2022, respectively. (Full list...)


June 29

Choir dress of a cardinal
Choir dress of a cardinal

Cardinals are senior ecclesiastical leaders of the Catholic Church, almost always ordained bishops and generally holding important roles within the church, such as governing prominent archdioceses or managing dicasteries within the Roman Curia. They are created in consistories by the pope and one of the foremost duties of the cardinals is the election of a new pope (since 1378 invariably from among themselves, though not a formal requirement) when the Holy See is vacant, following the death or the resignation of the reigning pontiff. The body of all cardinals is collectively known as the College of Cardinals. Under current ecclesiastical law, as defined by the apostolic constitution Universi Dominici gregis, only cardinals who have not passed their 80th birthday on the day that the Holy See falls vacant are eligible to participate in a papal conclave to elect a new pope and are thus known as cardinal electors.

As of 28 June 2018, there are 226 cardinals, 125 of whom are cardinal electors. (Full list...)