Main Page

Welcome to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. 5,173,569 articles in English

Arts Biography Geography

History Mathematics Science

Society Technology All portals

From today's featured article The 2003 Sri Lanka cyclone produced the worst flooding in that country in 56 years. The first storm of the 2003 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, it developed over the Bay of Bengal on May 10 and reached peak maximum sustained winds of 140 km/h (85 mph) on May 13, making it a very severe cyclonic storm according to the India Meteorological Department. In the wake of prolonged precipitation during the first half of May, the stationary cyclone in the central Bay of Bengal produced torrential rains across southwest Sri Lanka, especially in the mountains. A station at Ratnapura recorded 366.1 millimetres (14.41 in) of rainfall in 18 hours on May 17, including 99.8 mm (3.93 in) in one hour. Flooding and landslides destroyed 24,750 homes and damaged 32,426 others, displacing about 800,000 people. Damage totaled about US$135 million, and there were 260 deaths. The cyclone also produced some rainfall in the Indian Andaman and Nicobar Islands and along India's eastern coast. The storm funneled moisture away from the mainland, possibly contributing to a heat wave that killed 1,900 people. (Full article...) Recently featured: North Carolina-class battleship James B. Weaver Portrait of Monsieur Bertin Did you know... Blackbuck ... that blackbuck (pictured) could play a role in the dispersal of Prosopis juliflora fruits? ... that Ora Mendelsohn Rosen and her colleagues achieved a scientific breakthrough by cloning the human insulin receptor gene? ... that triple parentheses have been used on Twitter to signify targets for antisemitic harassment? ... that in 1761, the crew of the 26-gun frigate HMS Aquilon rowed for 26 hours straight to escape an enemy ship of the line? ... that George Waschkies, a German member of the Lithuanian parliament, had 14 children? ... that the soundtrack of the 1971 film Ekeino to kalokairi featured the song "San Me Koitas", which has been described as "one of the most beautiful erotic songs of all time"? ... that after Mike Ditka, head coach of the New Orleans Saints, traded for running back Ricky Williams, the two posed together as bride and groom?

In the news Sidney Crosby A shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, kills 49 people. In ice hockey, the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the San Jose Sharks to win the Stanley Cup (MVP Sidney Crosby pictured). Peruvians for Change candidate Pedro Pablo Kuczynski is elected President of Peru. The IUPAC proposes the final names of four new chemical elements: nihonium, moscovium, tennessine, and oganesson. A car bomb targeting a police bus kills at least 11 people in Istanbul. Ongoing events Recent deaths: Christina Grimmie Gordie Howe On this day... June 14: Liberation Day in the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (1982); Flag Day in the United States Thabo Mbeki 1645 – English Civil War: In the Battle of Naseby, the main army of King Charles I was defeated by the Parliamentarian New Model Army under Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell. 1800 – War of the Second Coalition: In the Battle of Marengo, Napoleonic forces secured victory over the Habsburgs when defeat had appeared inevitable until the arrival of French troops led by Louis Desaix. 1846 – Anglo-American settlers in the Town of Sonoma began a rebellion against Mexico, proclaiming the California Republic and eventually raising a homemade flag with a bear and star. 1966 – The Vatican formally abolished its 427-year-old list of prohibited books. 1999 – Thabo Mbeki (pictured) took office as the second President of South Africa. More anniversaries: June 13 June 14 June 15

Today's featured picture During the Battle of Seven Pines, part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War, Confederate troops under General Joseph E. Johnston attempted to overwhelm two Union corps. These corps, located south of the swollen Chickahominy River, appeared isolated as most bridges across the river were out. Upon hearing the sounds of battle, Union Maj. Gen. Edwin V. Sumner of II Corps ordered a division, under Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick, to cross the Grapevine Bridge. Though unstable in the raging river, the bridge held long enough for Sedgwick's men to successfully cross and help fight away the Confederate forces. Painting: William McIlvaine; restoration: Adam Cuerden Recently featured: Nice tramway Whimbrel Corpus Christi College, Oxford

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 5,173,569 articles. Many other Wikipedias are available; some of the largest are listed below.

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

Complete list of Wikipedias