Main Page

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

2,024,884 articles in English

Contents · Categories · Featured content · A–Z index

Today's featured article

Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery was the daughter of Baron Mayer de Rothschild and his wife Juliana, née Cohen. On the death of her father in 1874 she became the richest woman in Britain. Her husband, the 5th Earl of Rosebery, was, during the final quarter of the nineteenth century, one of the most celebrated figures in Britain, an influential millionaire and politician, whose charm, wit, charisma and public popularity gave him such standing that he "almost eclipsed royalty". Her marriage into the aristocracy, while controversial at the time, gave her the social cachet in an anti-Semitic society that her vast fortune could not. She subsequently became a political hostess and philanthropist. Her charitable work was principally in the sphere of public health and causes associated with the welfare of working class Jewish women living in the poorer districts of London. Having firmly assisted and supported her husband on his path to political greatness, she suddenly died in 1890, aged 39, leaving him to achieve, bewildered and without her support, the political destiny which she had plotted alone. His premiership of the United Kingdom was shambolic, and lasted barely a year. (more...)

Recently featured: Inaugural games of the Flavian Amphitheatre – Blood Sugar Sex Magik – Ramón Emeterio Betances

Archive – By email – More featured articles...

Did you know...

From Wikipedia's newest articles:

...that the Trinitarian Church (pictured) in Bratislava was built on the place of an older settlement which was demolished in 1529 due to the Ottoman wars?
...that Hugo Award-winning science fiction fan and editor Earl Kemp served a year in prison for publishing an illustrated edition of the Presidential Report of the Commission on Obscenity and Pornography?
...that the last surrender of the American Civil War took place aboard the British HMS Donegal after the CSS Shenandoah completed a 9,000 mile voyage specifically to do so?
...that plant physiology is the subdiscipline of botany concerned with the function, or physiology, of plants?
...that a scathing obituary of British author Lord Michael Pratt in The Daily Telegraph called him "an unabashed snob and social interloper on a grand scale", who habitually outstayed his welcome?
...that during his tenure as curator at Université Laval, François-Xavier Bélanger built a thousand-specimen strong collection of Canadian birds from the ground up?
...that the 22,200 meter Shimizu Tunnel was the world's longest tunnel when it was completed in 1982?
...that even though the Norwegian Constitutional Assembly was held in the house of statesman Carsten Anker, he was not present himself?
...that Henri II's Edict of Châteaubriant (1551) assigned the regulation of the French press to the Faculty of Theology of the University of Paris?

Archive – Start a new article...

In the news

India's cricket team wins the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 held in South Africa after beating Pakistan in the last over.
Thousands of people participate in protests led by Buddhist monks (pictured) against the military regime of Myanmar (Burma).
Yasuo Fukuda wins the LDP leadership election, and will become the next Prime Minister of Japan.
Chile extradites former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori on charges of human rights abuses and corruption.
The American Arbitration Association finds American cyclist Floyd Landis guilty of using synthetic testosterone in his 2006 Tour de France victory. The International Cycling Union awards the title to Óscar Pereiro of Spain.
King Mohammed VI appoints Abbas El Fassi, whose Istiqlal Party won a plurality in the Assembly of Representatives at the recent elections, as Prime Minister of Morocco.

Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events...

On this day...

September 26: Sukkot begins at sunset (Judaism, 2007); European Day of Languages; Dominion Day in New Zealand.

1580 – The Golden Hind sailed into Plymouth, England, as Francis Drake completed his circumnavigation of the globe.
1687 – The Parthenon in Athens (pictured) was partially destroyed during an armed conflict between the Venetians under Francesco Morosini and Ottoman forces.
1907 – Newfoundland and New Zealand became dominions within the British Empire.
1957 – West Side Story, a musical based loosely on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet that was written by Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, and produced and directed by Jerome Robbins, made its debut on Broadway.
1983 – Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov of the Soviet Union averted a possible worldwide nuclear war by deliberately certifying what otherwise appeared to be an impending attack by the United States as a false alarm.

More events on this day...

Recent days: September 25 – September 24 – September 23

Archive – By email – More anniversaries...

Today's featured picture

Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata) is a small, stocky shorebird common to Canada and the northern United States. In appearance the bird is similar to the Common Snipe, which can be found in northern Europe and Russia. Normally shy, the bird prefers to remain hidden in marshy grasses and watered fields, probing for worms and other invertebrates with its sensitive beak. In spring and early summer the Snipe is heard and seen more frequently as male birds search for mates and pairs establish nesting locations.

Photo credit: Sean Breazeal

Recently featured: Philippine-American War - Fulmer Falls - Washington National Cathedral

Archive – More featured pictures...

Other areas of Wikipedia

Help desk — Ask questions about using Wikipedia.
Reference desk — Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
Village pump — For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.
Community portal — Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.
Site news — Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
Local embassy — For Wikipedia-related communication in languages other than English.

Wikipedia's sister projects

Wikipedia is hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that also hosts a range of other projects:

Commons Free media repository	Wikinews Free-content news	Wiktionary Dictionary and thesaurus
Wikiquote Collection of quotations	Wikibooks Free textbooks and manuals	Wikisource Free-content library
Wikispecies Directory of species	Wikiversity Free learning materials and activities	Meta-Wiki Wikimedia project coordination

Wikipedia languages

This Wikipedia is written in English. Started in 2001, it currently contains 2,024,884 articles. Many other Wikipedias are available; the largest are listed below.