Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Thomas Erpingham (c. 1355 – 27 June 1428) was an English soldier and administrator who served three generations of the House of Lancaster including two English kings. Through his access to royal patronage he acquired great wealth and influence. During the reign of Richard II he served under the King's uncle John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, in Spain and Scotland, and with his son Henry Bolingbroke on crusades in Lithuania, Prussia and the Holy Land. On becoming king, Bolingbroke rewarded Erpingham with senior appointments. Erpingham later helped suppress the Epiphany Rising and was appointed guardian of Henry's second son Thomas. He was a member of the Privy Council, acting at one point as marshal of England. In 1415 Erpingham served as a knight banneret in Henry's campaign in France and commanded the archers at the Battle of Agincourt. He was a benefactor to the city of Norwich, where he had built the main cathedral gate which bears his name. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

488 Madison Avenue

... that Esquire magazine, a tenant of 488 Madison Avenue (pictured), tried to prevent the building from being named after Look, its competitor in the same building?
... that Soman Chainani wrote The School for Good and Evil to "give young readers a taste of what a real fairy tale is"?
... that Alli Lahtinen, the first woman to lead a central government agency in Finland, helped establish the country's national child care system?
... that the 2007 Heineken Cup Final was the last rugby union match for coach Pat Howard before he returned to Australia to take over the family pharmacy business?
... that the Black Keys' 10th album Delta Kream comprises cover versions of hill country blues songs, a genre that strongly influenced the band's early works?
... that the neighborhood of Eastport in Annapolis, Maryland, declared independence in mock secession after the state highway administration temporarily shut down the drawbridge connecting it with the rest of Annapolis?
... that Max Emanuel Stern published a two-part epic poem on the life of Elijah?
... that although Justin Peck's ballet In the Countenance of Kings is plotless, the dancers are credited with superhero names?

In the news

Security forces enter after school shooting.

The China National Space Administration's Tianwen-1 lander-rover vehicle successfully lands on Mars.
In association football, Manchester City win the Premier League.
A school shooting (security response pictured) in Kazan, Russia, leaves nine people dead.
Clashes between Israelis and Palestinians, escalating to airstrikes and rocket attacks, kill more than a hundred people and injure several hundred others.

On this day

May 17: Galician Literature Day in Galicia, Spain

Dalia Grybauskaitė

1521 – English nobleman Edward Stafford, whose father had been beheaded for rebelling against King Richard III, was himself executed for treason against King Henry VIII.
1865 – The International Telecommunication Union, which standardizes and regulates international radio and telecommunications, was founded as the International Telegraph Union in Paris.
1900 – The first copies of the children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum were printed.
1914 – Under the Protocol of Corfu, the Principality of Albania officially recognized Northern Epirus as an autonomous self-governing region.
2009 – Dalia Grybauskaitė (pictured) became the first woman to be elected as president of Lithuania, receiving 69.1 percent of the vote.

Sebastian Kneipp (b. 1821)
Clara Ayres (d. 1917)
Enya (b. 1961)

More anniversaries:

From today's featured list

Adèle Exarchopoulos

The 2013 French romantic coming-of-age drama film Blue Is the Warmest Colour garnered awards and nominations in a variety of categories. In the film, Adèle Exarchopoulos (pictured) stars as a teenager who falls in love with an older woman played by Léa Seydoux. The film premiered at the 66th Cannes Film Festival in May 2013, where it won the Palme d'Or. For the first time, the jury at Cannes presented the award to three recipients: director Abdellatif Kechiche, Exarchopoulos, and Seydoux. At the age of 19, Exarchopoulos became the youngest recipient of the award. At the 39th César Awards, the film received eight nominations, including Best Film, Best Director for Kechiche, and Best Actress for Seydoux. Exarchopoulos was the sole winner for Most Promising Actress. (Full list...)

Recently featured:

Today's featured picture

The red rock crab (Grapsus grapsus), also known as "Sally Lightfoot", is one of the commonest crabs along the western seaboard of the Americas. John Steinbeck wrote of them, "Everyone who has seen them has been delighted with them ... These little crabs, with brilliant cloisonné carapaces, walk on their tiptoes, they have remarkable eyes and an extremely fast reaction time." He tried to catch them but to little avail. "If you walk slowly, they move slowly ahead of you in droves. If you hurry, they hurry. When you plunge at them, they seem to disappear in a puff of blue smoke."

Photograph credit: Diego Delso

Recently featured:

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.