Wikipedia:Today's featured article/July 2024

Today's featured article archive

July 1

The Flag of Canada is a red flag with a white square in its centre, featuring a stylized 11-pointed red maple leaf. It has become the predominant and most recognizable national symbol of Canada. It was adopted in 1965 to replace the Union Flag for most official purposes, although the Canadian Red Ensign had also been unofficially used since the 1860s and approved by a 1945 Order in Council. In 1964, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson appointed a committee to resolve the issue, sparking a serious debate about a flag change. Out of three choices, the maple leaf design by George Stanley, based on the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada, was chosen. The flag made its first appearance on February 15, 1965, a date now celebrated annually as National Flag of Canada Day. Other flags, usually containing the maple leaf motif in some fashion, have been created for use by Canadian officials, government bodies, and military forces. (Full article...)

July 2

Portrait of Thomas Cranmer in 1545

Thomas Cranmer was a leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury. He helped build the case for the annulment of Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, a cause of the separation of the English Church from the Holy See. He established the first doctrinal and liturgical structures of the Church of England and published the Exhortation and Litany. When Edward VI was king, Cranmer published the Book of Common Prayer, changed doctrine or discipline in several areas, and promulgated the new doctrines through the Homilies. Upon the accession Mary I, Cranmer was put on trial for treason and heresy. While imprisoned he made several recantations and reconciled himself with the Catholic Church. Mary wanted him executed, so he was burned at the stake and withdrew his recantations. Cranmer's death was immortalised in Foxe's Book of Martyrs and his legacy continues through the Book of Common Prayer and the Thirty-Nine Articles. (Full article...)

July 3

The Goldeneye estate, where the book was written

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the tenth novel and eleventh book in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. First published in 1963, the novel centres on Bond's search to find Ernst Stavro Blofeld after the events depicted in Thunderball (1961). Bond falls in love with Tracy di Vicenzo during the story. The pair marry, but hours afterwards, Blofeld and his partner, Irma Bunt, attack them, killing Tracy. Fleming developed Bond's character within the book, showing an emotional side that was not previously present. The novel is one of three Bond stories to deal with the disruption of markets and the economy, in this case Blofeld's planned disruption to the food supply by bioterrorism. The novel received broadly positive reviews. In 1969 it was adapted as the sixth film in the Eon Productions James Bond film series and was the only film to star George Lazenby as Bond. (This article is part of a featured topic: Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and short stories.)

July 4

The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper statue, a gift to the U.S. from the people of France, was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and its metal framework was built by Gustave Eiffel. The statue was dedicated on October 28, 1886. (Full article...)

July 5

Ed Bradley (1941–2006) was an American broadcast journalist and news anchor who is best known for reporting with 60 Minutes and CBS News. After graduating from Cheyney State College, Bradley became a teacher and part-time radio disc jockey and reporter in Philadelphia, where his first major story was covering the 1964 Philadelphia race riot. (Full article...)

July 6

Taylor Swift on the Eras Tour

"Wildest Dreams" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift; it is the fifth single from her fifth studio album, 1989 (2014). (This article is part of a featured topic: 1989 (Taylor Swift album).)

July 7

The featured article for this day has not yet been chosen. The final selection is made by the TFA coordinators (Wehwalt, Dank and Gog the Mild).