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Wikipedia:Today's featured list/March 2018

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March 2

Maryam Mirzakhani
Maryam Mirzakhani

The Ruth Lyttle Satter Prize in Mathematics, is one of twenty-one prizes given out by the American Mathematical Society (AMS). It is presented biennially in recognition of an outstanding contribution to mathematics research by a woman in the previous six years. The award was established in 1990 using a donation from Joan Birman, in memory of her sister, Ruth Lyttle Satter, who worked primarily in biological sciences, and was a proponent for equal opportunities for women in science. First awarded in 1991, the award is intended to "honor [Satter's] commitment to research and to encourage women in science". The winner is selected by the council of the AMS, based on the recommendation of a selection committee. As of 2017, the award has been given 14 times, to 15 different individuals. Dusa McDuff was the first recipient of the award, for her work on symplectic geometry. The 2013 prize winner was Maryam Mirzakhani (pictured), who, in 2014, was the first woman to be awarded the Fields Medal. (Full list...)


March 5

James Cameron
James Cameron

The 70th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 23, 1998, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories honoring films released in 1997. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gil Cates and directed by Louis J. Horvitz. Actor Billy Crystal hosted for the fifth time, having last emceed the previous year's ceremony. Titanic received a record-tying 14 nominations and also won a record-tying eleven awards including Best Picture and Best Director for James Cameron (pictured). The telecast garnered more than 57 million viewers in the United States, making it the most watched Oscars broadcast in history. (Full list...)


March 9

English author Georgette Heyer produced works in a variety of genres; in total she published 32 novels in the romance genre, 6 historical novels, 4 contemporary novels, and 12 in the detective fiction genre. She was known for her historical romance novels set in the Regency and Georgian eras. Born in Wimbledon, London, the nineteen-year-old Heyer published her first novel, The Black Moth, in 1921 from a story she had written for her hemophiliac younger brother Boris. The Georgian novel, which featured an earl who turns to outlawry in the 18th century, set the template for many of her future stories – romance, a historical setting, characters from the nobility, and a "saturnine" male lead. Heyer's fame stemmed mainly from her Regency novels, which made her a household name. The first, Regency Buck, became a best-seller when it was published in 1935. Heyer's romance novels sold consistently well and had been translated into more than 10 languages by the time of her death. (Full list...)


March 12

Series logo
Series logo

During its run, Transformers: Robots in Disguise aired 71 episodes throughout three seasons and a miniseries. The American animated television series—developed by Adam Beechen, Duane Capizzi and Jeff Kline—acts as a stand-alone sequel to Transformers: Prime, following the adventures of Bumblebee after the end of the AutobotDecepticon War. The first 13 episodes of the series were made available on December 31, 2014 on 1905.com in mainland China (excluding Hong Kong) and dubbed in Mandarin Chinese; the series first aired on television on February 9, 2015 on Canal J in France. In the United States, the series premiered on Cartoon Network on March 14, 2015 and concluded its run on November 11, 2017. While Bumblebee and Optimus Prime are initially the only characters to return from Prime, numerous other characters eventually reappear in the series, including: Soundwave and Ratchet in the second season, Starscream; who acts as the main antagonist of the miniseries, and Bulkhead in the third season. Presently, only the first season has received a complete DVD release. (Full list...)


March 16

Serena Williams
Serena Williams

The Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year is an annual award honouring the achievements of individual women from the world of sports. It was first awarded in 2000 as one of the seven constituent awards presented during the Laureus World Sports Awards. The awards are presented by the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, a global organisation involved in more than 150 charity projects supporting 500,000 young people. As of 2018, a shortlist of six nominees for the award comes from a panel composed of the "world's leading sports editors, writers and broadcasters". The Laureus World Sports Academy then selects the winner who is presented with a Laureus statuette, created by Cartier, at an annual awards ceremony held in various locations around the world. American tennis player Serena Williams has won the most awards with four: in 2003, 2010, 2016 and 2018. She has also received the most nominations with five. (Full list...)


March 19

LeBron James
LeBron James

The National Basketball Association All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the player(s) voted best of the annual All-Star Game. The award was established in 1953 when NBA officials decided to designate an MVP for each year's game. The league also re-honored players from the previous two All-Star Games. The voting is conducted by a panel of media members, who cast their vote after the conclusion of the game. No All-Star Game MVP was named in 1999 as the game was canceled due to the league's lockout. The current recipient is Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (pictured). Bob Pettit and Kobe Bryant are the only two players to win the All-Star Game MVP four times. Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, and LeBron James have each won the award three times, while Bob Cousy, Julius Erving, Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, Karl Malone, Allen Iverson, and Russell Westbrook have all won twice. (Full list...)


March 23

American singer Selena released twenty-seven official singles, seven promotional singles, and made five guest vocalist appearances. Her career began as the lead vocalist of Los Dinos in 1980. In 1987, her cover of Ritchie Valens' "La Bamba" peaked at number 19 on the United States Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart, her first entry. She signed with EMI Latin nine years later as a solo artist though her band continued to tour with her. Selena appeared on "Buenos Amigos" with Salvadoran singer Álvaro Torres. The track peaked at number one on the U.S. Hot Latin Songs chart in 1991, the singer's first number one song. Selena's live recording entitled Live (1993) contained three studio tracks and produced two top five U.S. singles, "No Debes Jugar" and "La Llamada". After her collaboration with the Barrio Boyzz on the single "Donde Quiera Que Estés" peaked at number one on the Hot Latin Songs chart, Selena released her fourth studio album Amor Prohibido (1994). The album continued the singer's streak of US number one singles with "Amor Prohibido", "Bidi Bidi Bom Bom", "No Me Queda Más", and The Pretenders' cover "Fotos y Recuerdos". The latter peaked at number one posthumously following the shooting death of Selena on March 31, 1995. (Full list...)


March 26

Falcon 9 booster B1021 landed at sea on April 8, 2016
Falcon 9 booster B1021 landed at sea on April 8, 2016

Since their first mission in June 2010, rockets from the Falcon 9 family have been launched 51 times. Of these, 49 missions were successful, ISS cargo vessel CRS-7 was destroyed in flight, and one mission placed Dragon CRS-1 in the correct orbit but failed to deliver a secondary payload. Additionally, one rocket exploded on the launch pad in a pre-flight test, destroying the Amos-6 satellite. Designed and operated by private manufacturer SpaceX, the Falcon 9 rocket family includes the retired versions Falcon 9 v1.0, v1.1 and v1.2 "Full Thrust", the current "Full Thrust Block 4" upgrade and Falcon Heavy, and the in-development Falcon 9 Block 5. The Falcon design features reusable first-stage boosters, landing either on a ground pad near the launch site, or on a drone ship at sea. Falcon 9 was the first rocket to land propulsively after delivering a payload to orbit. This achievement is expected to significantly reduce launch costs. (Full list...)


March 30

Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron

South African-born American actress Charlize Theron made her film debut in an uncredited role as a follower of a cult in the 1995 horror film Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest. Theron followed this with appearances as a hitwoman in 2 Days in the Valley, and a woman suffering with schizophrenia in the mystery thriller The Devil's Advocate (1997) with Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino. For her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the crime drama Monster (2003), Theron received the Academy Award for Best Actress, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. Theron played the eponymous rebel assassin in the science fiction action film Æon Flux and a miner fighting sexual harassment in the drama North Country (both in 2005). The latter role earned her a nomination for Best Actress at the Academy Awards. In 2015, she played rebel soldier Imperator Furiosa in George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road. (Full list...)