The article is listed in Category:Articles created via the Article Wizard under L.  DEFAULTSORT is a magic word that sorts the page list in a category using the sort key provided.  Because Robert C. Lautman has {{DEFAULTSORT:Lautman, Robert C.}}, it will be sorted under L in all categories it appears in by default.
I don't think the missing date changed whether or not the article was reviewed by someone.  Adding the date parameter put the page in the Category:Unreviewed new articles from December 2009 instead of the undated Category:Unreviewed new articles.  I see now there is a backlog of unreviewed articles going back as far as October, so I don't think people looking at those categories would get to it any earlier just because the template was dated or not.   talk