New featured picture: the Library of Congress Main Reading Room in a sweep of light, shade and colour. The image was taken by Carol M. Highsmith, the notable American architectural photographer. Highsmith is donating her life’s work of more than 100,000 images, copyright-free, to the Library of Congress, which has established a rare one-person archive to house them.
This week's "Featured content" covers Sunday 31 July – Saturday 6 August
Featured articles
GF Handel (1685–1750), the baroque master who composed the oratorio Messiah, the subject of a new featured article. This painting is from 1727.From the new featured article, the famous cracked Liberty Bell on the reverse of the Franklin half dollar.From the new featured article, Small-toothed sportive lemur, photographed by Edward E. Louis Jr.New featured picture: a Mangrove Robin, photographed in the Cairns Esplanade, Cairns, Queensland, AustraliaSeven articles were promoted to featured status:
Messiah (Handel) (nom), among the most frequently performed and best-loved works in the whole choral-music literature. People who know hardly a note of classical music are still likely to recognise the opening notes of the "Hallelujah" chorus. (Nominated by Tim riley, Gerda Arendt, and Brianboulton)
Franklin half dollar (nom), a coin struck by the United States Mint ("Mint") from 1948 to 1963. The fifty-cent piece pictures Founding Father Benjamin Franklin on the obverse, and the Liberty Bell—complete with its crack, a matter of some controversy at the time—on the reverse. (Wehwalt)
Operation Kita (nom), the dramatic voyage of two Japanese battleships and their escorts from Singapore to Japan in February 1945. By this stage of World War II, the Allies were close to cutting off Japan's shipping routes, and the warships—loaded with supplies of raw materials—evaded attacks by 26 submarines and over 88 aircraft. Remarkably, they sustained no damage and all reached Japan. (Nick-D)
Small-toothed sportive lemur (nom), a primate species that, like all lemurs, is endemic to Madagascar. It lives in dense rainforest in southeastern Madagascar, off the south-east coast of Africa. (Visionholder)
Richard Dannatt, Baron Dannatt (nom), a retired British Army officer and former defence adviser to the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron; he has served in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and is the incumbent Constable of the Tower of London. (HJ Mitchell)
Robin Friday (nom), an English association football player who played professionally as a forward for Reading and Cardiff City during the mid-1970s, and who was also known off the field for his heavy smoking, drinking, womanising, and drug-taking. He died in 1990, aged 38, after a heart attack. (Cliftonian)
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (nom), a 1989 American science fiction film, and the penultimate to star the cast of the original Star Trek science fiction television series. The film was directed by cast member William Shatner. (David Fuchs)
One featured article was delisted: Belgium (nom: referencing and coverage)
Library of Congress Main Reading Room (nom; related article), created by Carol M. Highsmith, born 1946, a photographer and author who specialises in documenting architecture, ranging from the monumental to the everyday and the whimsical (from the Carol M. Highsmith Collection at the Library of Congress).
Azure Kingfisher (nom; related article). Creator User:JJ Harrison said he took this image "in technically challenging conditions (1/20th, 700mm, ISO 1600 wide open!). ... I spent quite a long time in a hide to get it".
Frecce Tricolori (nom; related article), the aerobatic demonstration team of the Italian Aeronautica Militare. Formed in 1961, they comprise nine aircraft and a solo, the largest number of aircraft of any aerobatic team in the world. (created by Łukasz Golowanow, Konflikty.pl).
From the new featured picture by User:Mmxx: a photomontage of 16 images that have been digitally manipulated in Photoshop to give the impression of a real landscape.
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