Main Page

Welcome to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. 5,006,154 articles in English

Arts Biography Geography

History Mathematics Science

Society Technology All portals

From today's featured article The McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II is a single-engine ground-attack aircraft. A successor to the Harrier Jump Jet, it was designed in the late 1970s at McDonnell Douglas for vertical or short takeoff and landing. Primarily for light attack or multi-role missions, it is deployed by the United States Marine Corps, the Spanish Navy, and the Italian Navy. Development of the AV-8B started in the early 1970s. It made its maiden flight in 1981 and entered service with the US Marines in 1985. The UK rejoined the Harrier project as a partner in 1981; since corporate mergers in the 1990s, Boeing and BAE Systems have jointly supported the program. Around 340 aircraft, all powered by the Rolls-Royce Pegasus engine, were produced over 22 years. Typically operated from small aircraft carriers, large amphibious assault ships or forward operating bases, AV-8Bs have participated in numerous military and humanitarian operations. They have proved themselves versatile assets, although their accident rate during takeoffs and landings has been relatively high. (Full article...) Recently featured: St. Johns River Perovskia atriplicifolia Master System Did you know... Darejan Dadiani ... that Queen consort Darejan Dadiani (pictured) had 23 children with her husband, Heraclius II of Georgia? ... that Harveys Lake, the largest natural lake in Pennsylvania by volume, drained into Beaver Run and Bowman Creek in preglacial times, but no longer does so? ... that Nelle Morton is thought to have taught the first course on women and religion? ... that the video series Every Single Word depicts the lack of people of color in major Hollywood films? ... that the old-fashioned doughnut may be deep fried at a lower temperature compared to other styles? ... that Bibi Bourelly, who wrote Rihanna's "Bitch Better Have My Money", is the daughter of guitarist Jean-Paul Bourelly? ... that the placement of two fossil flies into the species Elephantomyia longirostris has been questioned? ... that some French fry vending machines cook frozen fries in hot oil and dispense condiments such as ketchup and mayonnaise?

In the news Ma Ying-jeou (left) and Xi Jinping (right) Chinese and Taiwanese presidents, Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou, formally meet for the first time (pictured). At least 41 people are killed when an Antonov An-12 cargo plane crashes near Juba, South Sudan. Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta resigns over the fatal Colectiv nightclub fire. Cyclone Chapala becomes the first hurricane-force storm on record to strike mainland Yemen. In horse racing, Michelle Payne becomes the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup, riding Prince of Penzance. Ongoing events: Metrojet Flight 9268 European migrant crisis Recent deaths: Tom Graveney Ahmed Chalabi On this day... November 9: Inventors' Day in Austria, Germany and Switzerland; Independence Day in Cambodia (1953); Muhammad Iqbal's Day in Pakistan Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu 1799 – The coup of 18 Brumaire led by Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès and Napoleon deposed the French government, replacing the Directory with the Consulate. 1867 – Tokugawa Yoshinobu (pictured), the last shogun of Japan, tendered his resignation to the Emperor Meiji. 1888 – Mary Jane Kelly was murdered in London; she was widely believed to be the fifth and final victim of the notorious unidentified serial killer Jack the Ripper. 1967 – The first issue of Rolling Stone, the American-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics and popular culture, was published. 1985 – At age 22, Garry Kasparov became the youngest-ever undisputed World Chess Champion by defeating then-champion Anatoly Karpov. More anniversaries: November 8 November 9 November 10

From today's featured list Lambert Airport Terminal 1 The light rail transit system MetroLink has 37 stations serving the Greater St. Louis area in the United States. The system is operated by the Bi-State Development Agency, which since 2003 has done business as Metro. With an average weekday ridership of 56,900 in 2014, MetroLink is the twelfth-busiest light rail system in the United States. Thirteen stations are served only by the Red Line, 9 stations only by the Blue Line, and 15 stations by both lines. Twelve stations are located in St. Louis, Missouri, 14 in St. Louis County, Missouri, and 11 in St. Clair County, Illinois. Central West End is the busiest station by daily ridership, while Sunnen is the least busy. MetroLink began service on July 31, 1993 with the opening of the Red Line segment from North Hanley to 5th & Missouri. An infill station at East Riverfront and an extension to Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (pictured) opened in 1994, followed by a second station at the airport in 1998. Since then, the system has had two major expansions. (Full list...) Recently featured: Members of the Parliament of Norway, 2005–09 Kanye West discography World Series champions

Today's featured picture A three-month old Spanish ibex (Capra pyrenaica) in Sierra de Gredos, Spain. These ibexes are strong mountain animals characterized by their large and flexible hooves and short legs. The two sexes of adults form separate social groups; juveniles stay with the female groups from birth until the following birth season, when they leave. Yearling males then join male groups, while females eventually return to their mothers' groups and stay several years. Photograph: J.Ligero & I.Barrios Recently featured: Wheat Field with Cypresses L'Umbracle Bastei

Other areas of Wikipedia

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

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		MediaWiki Wiki software development		Meta-Wiki Wikimedia project coordination
	Wikibooks Free textbooks and manuals		Wikidata Free knowledge base		Wikinews Free-content news
	Wikiquote Collection of quotations		Wikisource Free-content library		Wikispecies Directory of species
	Wikiversity Free learning materials and activities		Wikivoyage Free travel guide		Wiktionary Dictionary and thesaurus

Wikipedia languages

This Wikipedia is written in English. Started in 2001 (2001), it currently contains 5,006,154 articles. Many other Wikipedias are available; some of the largest are listed below.

• More than 1,000,000 articles:
  • Deutsch
  • Español
  • Français
  • Italiano
  • Nederlands
  • Polski
  • Русский
  • Svenska
  • Tiếng Việt
• More than 250,000 articles:
  • العربية
  • Bahasa Indonesia
  • Bahasa Melayu
  • Català
  • Čeština
  • فارسی
  • 한국어
  • Magyar
  • 日本語
  • Norsk bokmål
  • Português
  • Română
  • Srpski / српски
  • Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
  • Suomi
  • Türkçe
  • Українська
  • 中文
• More than 50,000 articles:
  • Bosanski
  • Български
  • Dansk
  • Eesti
  • Ελληνικά
  • English (simple)
  • Esperanto
  • Euskara
  • Galego
  • עברית
  • Hrvatski
  • Latviešu
  • Lietuvių
  • Norsk nynorsk
  • Slovenčina
  • Slovenščina
  • ไทย

Complete list of Wikipedias