Welcome to Wikipedia

,

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

107,583 active editors
7,025,866 articles in English

From today's featured article

Taylor Swift on the Red Tour in 2013

Red is the fourth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift (pictured). It was released in October 2012 by Big Machine Records. Swift designated Red as a breakup album and her last to be promoted as country music. The album incorporates styles of pop, rock, folk and country, and is composed of acoustic instruments, electronic synths and drum machines. Initial reviews mostly praised Swift's songwriting for its emotional exploration and engagement, but critics deemed the production inconsistent and questioned her identity as a country artist. Swift supported Red with the Red Tour (2013–2014). Red topped the charts and received multi-platinum certifications in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. In the United States it spent seven weeks atop the Billboard 200. Red was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2013 Country Music Association Awards, and Album of the Year and Best Country Album at the 2014 Grammy Awards. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

Trichogenes claviger

... that Trichogenes claviger (examples pictured) can climb nets using outgrowths from its head?
... that Philippe Housiaux took a law examination instead of competing in the 1972 Summer Olympics?
... that helical strakes can be used to reduce structural fatigue on structures such as chimneys and pipelines?
... that "Whistle" was composed because of a miscommunication between a film director and the songwriters?
... that Fletcher Ransom wrote and illustrated a book of satirical cartoons about Theodore Roosevelt titled My Policies in Jungleland?
... that art students designed the stained-glass windows of the Chapel at George Fox University?
... that Don Summers signed with an NFL team despite having gone more than 400 days without catching a football?
... that AHOF, a K-pop group formed on a reality show, includes two members who were not on the winning team?
... that Worrall Reed Carter wrote about beans, bullets and black oil?

In the news

Muhammadu Buhari

Former president of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari (pictured) dies at the age of 82.
Clashes between Druze militias and the Syrian Armed Forces result in hundreds of deaths.
The International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Taliban leaders Hibatullah Akhundzada and Abdul Hakim Haqqani over their alleged persecution of women in Afghanistan.
Flooding in Central Texas, United States, leaves at least 140 people dead.

On this day

July 21: Belgian National Day (1831), Marine Day in Japan (2025)

Sirimavo Bandaranaike

905 – Louis III, Holy Roman Emperor, was captured and blinded during his attempt to restore Carolingian power over Italy by King Berengar I.
1877 – Much of central Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was burned and looted during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877.
1960 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike (pictured) was sworn in as prime minister of Ceylon, becoming the world's first democratically elected female head of government.
1990 – The Taiwanese military ordered the deportation of dozens of illegal immigrants from mainland China in sealed boat holds, causing 25 deaths due to suffocation.
2007 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book in the popular Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, was released and sold 15 million copies in its first 24 hours, making it the fastest-selling book in history.

Nelson Dewey (d. 1889)
Fiammetta Wilson (d. 1920)
Johnny Peirson (b. 1925)
Erling Haaland (b. 2000)

More anniversaries:

From today's featured list

One Direction performing in 2015

The English–Irish boy band One Direction released five studio albums, seventeen singles, and numerous music videos between 2011 and 2015, becoming one of the most commercially successful groups of the 2010s. Formed during the seventh series of The X Factor in 2010 and signed to Simon Cowell's Syco Records, One Direction quickly rose to international fame. Their debut single, "What Makes You Beautiful", was a global hit, followed by chart-topping albums Up All Night, Take Me Home, and Midnight Memories. The latter made them the first band ever to have their first three albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200. They extended this streak with their fourth album, Four, and capped their discography with Made in the A.M. in 2015 before going on an indefinite hiatus. (Full list...)

Recently featured:

Today's featured picture

The southern scrub robin (Drymodes brunneopygia) is a species of bird in the family Petroicidae, the Australasian robins. It is endemic to Australia, where it occurs in mallee and heathland in the semi-arid southern parts of the continent. Its range includes several disjoint regions from central New South Wales through western Victoria and southern South Australia, through to the southwestern area of Western Australia. It is a relatively dull and large robin, with adults around 19 to 20 centimetres (7.5 to 7.9 in) in length, of which around a third are the tail feathers. Most of the plumage is grey. It breeds between July and December and has a nest on the ground, built of twigs and lined with twigs, grass and bark. Unusually for a passerine, it lays only a single egg. This southern scrub robin was photographed in the Nombinnie Nature Reserve in New South Wales.

Photograph credit: JJ Harrison

Recently featured:

Other areas of Wikipedia

Community portal – The central hub for editors, with resources, links, tasks, and announcements.
Village pump – Forum for discussions about Wikipedia itself, including policies and technical issues.
Site news – Sources of news about Wikipedia and the broader Wikimedia movement.
Teahouse – Ask basic questions about using or editing Wikipedia.
Help desk – Ask questions about using or editing Wikipedia.
Reference desk – Ask research questions about encyclopedic topics.
Content portals – A unique way to navigate the encyclopedia.

Wikipedia's sister projects

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