Wikipedia:Main Page history/2015 November 23

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From today's featured article

Nadine Gordimer

Burger's Daughter is a political and historical novel by the South African Nobel recipient Nadine Gordimer (pictured), first published in the United Kingdom in 1979 by Jonathan Cape. Banned in South Africa for three months by the Publications Control Board, the book follows a group of white anti-apartheid activists who seek to overthrow the South African government. Rosa, the title character, comes to terms with her father's legacy as an activist in the South African Communist Party. Gordimer was involved in the anti-apartheid movement and knew many of the activists, including Bram Fischer, the defence lawyer at Nelson Mandela's treason trial; she has described the book as a "coded homage" to him. The novel was generally well received by critics; a review in The New York Review of Books described the style of writing as "elegant" and "fastidious", belonging to a "cultivated upper class". In 1980 it won the Central News Agency Literary Award. When Gordimer won the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature, Burger's Daughter was one of the books cited during the awards ceremony. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

A Qatar Airways A319

... that Qatar Airways used an Airbus A319 (pictured) to operate an all-business-class flight between London and Doha this year?
... that Kristin Feireiss became a Pritzker Architecture Prize juror in 2015?
... that the Surface Book's casing is constructed from machined magnesium?
... that Naoya Emura is a "kind younger brother"?
... that Sovereignty Day in Slovenia is a state holiday but not a work-free day?
... that after Ming dynasty army officer Lu Tang helped capture the pirate warlord Wang Zhi, he was demoted for letting some of the other pirates escape?
... that Team Mexico's entry into the United States was delayed, causing them to be late to the 2008 TNA World X Cup?
... that one of Helen Maitland Armstrong's stained glass windows was still intact after flying half a mile in a hurricane?

In the news

Airbus A321-231 operated as Metrojet Flight 9268

Cambiemos candidate Mauricio Macri is elected President of Argentina.
Nineteen people are killed after more than 130 people were held hostage by gunmen at the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, Mali.
AquAdvantage salmon becomes the first genetically modified animal approved by the US FDA for human consumption.
The second-largest gem-quality diamond is found in Botswana.
Russia's Federal Security Service states that Metrojet Flight 9268 (aircraft pictured) was destroyed by a bomb.

Ongoing events:
- Paris attack aftermath
- European migrant crisis
Recent deaths:

On this day...

November 23: National Sovereignty Day in Argentina; St George's Day in Georgia; Labor Thanksgiving Day in Japan

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

1733 – African slaves from Akwamu in the Danish West Indies revolted against their owners, one of the earliest and longest slave revolts in the Americas.
1867 – The Manchester Martyrs were hanged in Manchester, England, for killing a police officer while helping two Irish nationalists escape from police custody.
1955 – The Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean were transferred from British to Australian control.
1963 – The first episode of Doctor Who, the world's longest-running science fiction television show, was broadcast on BBC television, starring William Hartnell as the first incarnation of the title role.
2005 – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (pictured) won the Liberian general election, making her the first democratically elected female head of state in Africa.

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From today's featured list

Jean Dujardin

The 2011 film The Artist received awards and nominations in a variety of categories. Premiering at the 64th Cannes Film Festival on 15 May 2011, The Artist is a French romantic comedy–drama film directed by Michel Hazanavicius and filmed in the style of a black and white silent film. It stars Jean Dujardin (pictured) as George Valentin, a silent film star whose career suffers from the rise of the talkies. At the 84th Academy Awards, the film received ten nominations. It went on to win five awards including Best Picture, Best Directing for Hazanavicius, and Best Actor for Dujardin. The Artist became only the second silent film in Oscar history to win Best Picture after Wings, the inaugural Best Picture winner. The film earned six nominations at the 69th Golden Globes, winning three awards including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy or Comedy and Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Dujardin. At the 65th British Academy Film Awards, the film received twelve nominations, and won seven awards including Best Film. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

The European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) is a species of hedgehog found in a wide range of habitat types in western Europe. It is a well-known species, and a favourite in European gardens, both for its endearing appearance and its preference for eating a range of garden pests. While populations are currently stable across much of its range, it is thought to be declining severely in Great Britain.

Photograph: Michael Gäbler

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