Main Page

Welcome to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. 5,406,620 articles in English

Arts Biography Geography

History Mathematics Science

Society Technology All portals

From today's featured article Edward III (1312–1377), King of England from 1327 until his death, restored royal authority after the unorthodox and disastrous reign of his father, Edward II. Edward III transformed the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe. His reign of fifty years, the second longest in medieval England, saw vital developments in legislation and government—in particular the evolution of the English parliament—as well as the ravages of the Black Death. Edward was crowned at age fourteen after his father was deposed by his mother, Isabella of France, and her lover Roger Mortimer. At age seventeen he led a successful coup against Mortimer, the de facto ruler of the country, and began his personal reign. After a successful campaign in Scotland he declared himself the rightful heir to the French throne in 1337, but his claim was denied, starting the Hundred Years' War. Following some initial setbacks the war went well for England; victories at Crécy and Poitiers led to the favourable Treaty of Brétigny. Edward's later years were marked by international failure and domestic strife, largely as a result of his inactivity and poor health. (Full article...) Recently featured: Apatosaurus The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction John Gielgud Did you know... McLoughlin Promenade ... that the McLoughlin Promenade (pictured) sits on a bluff in Oregon that was occupied by the Molala people thousands of years before the arrival of settlers of European ancestry? ... that Max Thurn, who founded the NDR Chor in 1946, conducted a series of Bach cantatas and prepared the choir for a live recording of Isang Yun's Om mani padme hum in 1964? ... that Five Nights at Freddy's appeared in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition, breaking the record for the most sequels released in a year? ... that astronomer Sidney C. Wolff was the first woman to direct a major observatory in the United States? ... that a cryptic crossword central to "The Riddle of the Sphinx", an episode of Inside No. 9, was published in The Guardian the same day the episode aired? ... that when the Red Rock Bridge was no longer needed for trains, it was converted to carry the auto traffic of U.S. Route 66 over the Colorado River? ... that although socialism is one of its four fundamental principles, the Constitution of Bangladesh also allows cooperative and private ownership alongside state ownership? ... that Leon Day pitched a no-hitter on Opening Day after a nearly three-year absence from the Negro leagues?

In the news Salvador Sobral Salvador Sobral (pictured), representing Portugal, wins the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Amar pelos dois". A large-scale cyber attack involving ransomware causes severe disruption around the world. At least 28 people are killed in Mastung, Pakistan, in a suicide attack targeting Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, the Senate Deputy Chairman. The Free National Movement, led by Hubert Minnis, wins the Bahamian general election. Remains of Homo naledi are dated to the Middle Pleistocene, suggesting coexistence with early Homo sapiens in southern Africa. Moon Jae-in is elected President of South Korea. Ongoing: Battle of Mosul Venezuelan protests Recent deaths: Ian Brady Mark Colvin Qian Qichen On this day... May 17 Anne of Denmark in 1612 1395 – An outnumbered Wallachian army repulsed an Ottoman invasion force in the Battle of Rovine. 1590 – Anne of Denmark (pictured) was crowned Queen consort of Scotland in the abbey church at Holyrood Palace. 1914 – Albania officially recognized the area of Northern Epirus as an autonomous region within the Albanian state, which was never established due to World War I. 1947 – After renegotiating the contract with the makers of her signature Chanel No. 5 perfume, Coco Chanel received her share of wartime profits from its sale, making her one of the richest women in the world. 1997 – The First Congo War came to an end when Laurent-Désiré Kabila proclaimed himself president of Zaire, which was also renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mary, Queen of Hungary (d. 1395) · Cool Papa Bell (b. 1903) · Maggie Laubser (d. 1973) More anniversaries: May 16 May 17 May 18

Today's featured picture The Namaqua chameleon (Chamaeleo namaquensis) is a lizard found in the western desert regions of Namibia, South Africa, and southern Angola. This species, which can reach 25 cm (9.8 in) in length, is common in the Namib Desert. It has evolved several adaptations which allow it to thrive in hot and arid areas, such as the ability to change color to control temperature. Photograph: Yathin S Krishnappa Recently featured: William H. Seward Dome of the Chain Roses

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 5,406,620 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
  • Euskara
  • 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
  • Galego
  • עברית
  • Hrvatski
  • Latviešu
  • Lietuvių
  • Norsk nynorsk
  • Slovenčina
  • Slovenščina
  • ไทย

Complete list of Wikipedias