Wikipedia:Today's featured article
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Today's featured article  Each day, a summary (roughly 975 characters long) of one of Wikipedia's featured articles (FAs) appears at the top of the Main Page as Today's Featured Article (TFA). The Main Page is viewed about 4.7 million times daily. TFAs are scheduled by the TFA coordinators: Wehwalt, Gog the Mild and SchroCat. WP:TFAA displays the current month, with easy navigation to other months. If you notice an error in an upcoming TFA summary, please feel free to fix it yourself; if the mistake is in today's or tomorrow's summary, please leave a message at WP:ERRORS so an administrator can fix it. Articles can be nominated for TFA at the TFA requests page, and articles with a date connection within the next year can be suggested at the TFA pending page. Feel free to bring questions and comments to the TFA talk page, and you can ping all the TFA coordinators by adding " |
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From today's featured article
Gott der Herr ist Sonn und Schild ('God the Lord is sun and shield'), is a church cantata for Reformation Day by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in 1725 while Thomaskantor in Leipzig, and led the first performance on 31 October that year. It is possibly his first cantata for the occasion; the text was written by an unknown poet. Bach structured the work in six movements, with an aria following the opening chorus, and a recitative and duet following the first chorale. He scored the work for three vocal soloists, a four-part choir, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble. He achieved a unity within the structure by using two horns not only in the opening but also as obbligato instruments in the two chorales, the first time even playing the same motifs. He performed the cantata again, probably in 1730. He later reworked the music of the opening chorus and a duet again for his Missa in G major and the music of an alto aria for his Missa in A major. (Full article...)
From tomorrow's featured article
The African striped weasel (Poecilogale albinucha) is a small mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa, where its range stretches from as far north as Kenya south to South Africa. It belongs in the family Mustelidae and is the lone member of the genus Poecilogale. It has a long, slender body with short legs and a bushy tail. One of the smallest carnivorans in Africa, it measures 24 to 35 cm (9.4 to 13.8 in) long excluding the tail, with males generally larger than females. It has black fur over most of its body, with distinctive white bands running from the top of its head down its back, with the tail being completely white. The closest living relative of this species is the striped polecat, and it may also be related to the extinct Propoecilogale bolti. The African striped weasel is most commonly seen in savanna and veld grasslands with termite mounds, but has also been recorded in semideserts, rainforests, fynbos and even areas used by humans such as pine plantations and agricultural land. (Full article...)
From the day after tomorrow's featured article
Allan Walters (2 November 1905 – 19 October 1968) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Over the course of World War II, Walters led No. 1 (General Reconnaissance) Squadron in Singapore, No. 1 (Fighter) Wing in Darwin, No. 72 Wing in Dutch New Guinea, and Northern Command in Papua New Guinea. He was decorated with the Air Force Cross in 1941 for his work with No. 1 Squadron, and mentioned in despatches in 1944 for his service with No. 72 Wing. Walters was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1946 for his service with Northern Command and later air officer commanding (AOC) Southern Area Command, AOC RAAF Overseas Headquarters in London, Head of the Australian Joint Services Staff in Washington, DC, AOC Home Command, Air Member for Personnel, and AOC Support Command. He was promoted to acting air vice-marshal in 1952 (substantive in 1954), and appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1956 before retiring in 1962. (Full article...)