Welcome to Wikipedia

,

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

289,248 active editors
7,131,228 articles in English

The English-language Wikipedia is celebrating its 25th birthday! Learn how you can take part in the encyclopedia's continued improvement.

From today's featured article

Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz (3 February 1721 – 8 November 1773) was a Prussian officer, lieutenant general, and among the greatest of the Prussian cavalry generals. He commanded one of the first hussar squadrons of Frederick the Great's army and is credited with the development of the Prussian cavalry to its efficient level of performance in the Seven Years' War. His cavalryman father retired and then died while Seydlitz was still young. Subsequently, he was mentored by Frederick William, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt. Seydlitz's superb horsemanship and his recklessness combined to make him a stand-out subaltern, and he emerged as a redoubtable Rittmeister (cavalry captain) in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748) during the First and Second Silesian Wars. Seydlitz became legendary throughout the Prussian Army both for his leadership and for his reckless courage. During the Seven Years' War, he gained renown for his ability to assess an entire battlefield quickly. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

Jahangir with a Portrait of Akbar

... that a 17th-century painting (pictured) may depict the emperor Jahangir listening as a portrait of his dead father speaks to him?
... that Achmad Soebardjo said that he adopted a surname after hearing a voice while urinating in prison?
... that Munich's "Shirker's Alley" got its nickname in the 1930s because people used it to avoid giving the Hitler salute at a nearby Nazi memorial?
... that creation of wethers, castrated male sheep or goats, is recorded as far back as the Minoan civilization in the Bronze Age?
... that Allison Lanier traveled between New York and Los Angeles to film for her regular role on The Young and the Restless?
... that the writer of How to Survive from Nine to Five and Between the Covers was inspired by her 27 office jobs and her visit to a strip club, respectively?
... that the baritone Jubilant Sykes, active in spirituals, gospel and funk, recorded the role of the Celebrant in Leonard Bernstein's Grammy-nominated Mass?
... that Fluminense FM used to broadcast horse races before becoming "the gateway to Brazilian rock in the 80s"?

In the news

Laura Fernández Delgado

Laura Fernández Delgado (pictured) is elected as the president of Costa Rica.
Clashes between the Balochistan Liberation Army and the armed forces in several districts of Balochistan, Pakistan, leave at least 225 people dead.
A winter storm causes widespread damage across North America and leaves more than 140 people dead.
Vietnam's communist party congress re-elects Tô Lâm as general secretary, the most powerful position in the one-party state.

On this day

February 3: Feast day of Saint Laurence of Canterbury (Western Christianity); Four Chaplains' Day in the United States (1943)

Painting of the Battle of San Lorenzo

1266 – Mudéjar revolt: King James I of Aragon entered the formerly Muslim-held city of Murcia following its surrender three days earlier.
1813 – Argentine War of Independence: José de San Martín and the Mounted Grenadiers Regiment defeated Spanish royalist forces in the Battle of San Lorenzo (depicted).
1941 – World War II: Free French and British forces began the Battle of Keren to capture the strategic town of Keren in Italian East Africa.
1986 – Steve Jobs purchased Pixar from Lucasfilm and launched it as an independent computer-animation studio.
2006 – Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen: 23 convicts, including several militants associated with al-Qaeda, escaped from a prison administered by the Political Security Organization in Sanaa, Yemen.

Coloman, King of Hungary (d. 1116)
Horace Greeley (b. 1811)
Simone Weil (b. 1909)
Henri Claireaux (b. 1911)

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

The gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) is a species of bird in the mimid family, Mimidae. It is native to most of temperate North America east of the Rocky Mountains, mostly migrating to the southeastern United States, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean in winter. It is gray in color across most of its body, and with a length ranging from 20.5 to 24 cm (8.1 to 9.4 in) and a span of 22 to 30 cm (8.7 to 11.8 in) across the wings. The gray catbird's diet consists mainly of arthropods and berries, with foraging taking place on the ground in leaf litter, and also in shrubs and trees. This gray catbird was photographed in Brooklyn, New York City, United States.

Photograph credit: Rhododendrites

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: