Welcome to Wikipedia

,

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Bust of Hannibal

The Battle of Lake Trasimene was fought when a Carthaginian force under Hannibal (bust pictured) ambushed a Roman army on the Italian Peninsula commanded by Gaius Flaminius on 21 June 217 BC, during the Second Punic War. The Romans had an army on each side of the Apennine Mountains, but were surprised when a 50,000-strong Carthaginian army crossed by a difficult but unguarded route. Flaminius, in charge of the nearest Roman army, set off in pursuit. Hannibal sprung his ambush south of Cortona, on Lake Trasimene's north shore. With the Carthaginians attacking unexpectedly from the flank and the rear, possibly in poor visibility, the Romans had no chance to form even a rudimentary fighting line; they were defeated after three hours of hard fighting. The trap failed to close on 6,000 Romans, but they surrendered later in the day and so all 25,000 Romans engaged were killed or captured. This destruction of an entire army due to an ambush by another is widely considered to be a unique occurrence. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

Impossible Whopper

... that Burger King was taken to court over the Impossible Whopper (example pictured)?
... that in ancient China, Xiazhi was the day to sprinkle chrysanthemum ashes on wheat plants?
... that Evelyn Pruitt was the highest-ranking woman scientist in the United States Navy when she retired in 1973?
... that 104 miners were killed in the 1995 Vaal Reefs mining disaster when a locomotive fell on an elevator, making it history's deadliest elevator disaster?
... that Norma Hunt, known as the "First Lady of Football", never missed a Super Bowl?
... that Come On Over is the best-selling country album and the best-selling album by a female artist?
... that Falaki Shirvani may have died from stress that he endured during his imprisonment?
... that angels are perched atop the Bayard–Condict Building?

In the news

Jonathan Marchessault

In the Atlantic, a submersible carrying five people goes missing while attempting to view the wreck of the Titanic.
In Uganda, the Allied Democratic Forces kill 42 people at a school in Mpondwe.
In Canada, 15 people die after a bus collides with a semi-truck along the Trans-Canada Highway near Carberry, Manitoba.
At least 78 people are killed and hundreds of others are missing after a migrant boat sinks off the coast of Pylos, Greece.
In ice hockey, the Vegas Golden Knights defeat the Florida Panthers to win the Stanley Cup Finals (Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jonathan Marchessault pictured).

On this day

June 21: Fête de la Musique; International Day of Yoga; National Indigenous Peoples Day in Canada

Charles Davis Lucas

1575 – French Wars of Religion: Catholic forces defeated an armed group of Huguenots attempting to capture Besançon, from which they had previously been expelled.
1854 – Crimean War: During the Battle of Bomarsund, Irish sailor Charles Davis Lucas (pictured) threw an artillery shell off his ship before it exploded, earning him the first Victoria Cross.
1890 – Rudyard Kipling's poem Mandalay was published.
1921 – Irish War of Independence: Most of the village of Knockcroghery in County Roscommon was burned by British forces.
1957 – Ellen Fairclough became the first woman to be appointed to the cabinet of Canada.

Niccolò Machiavelli (d. 1527)
Joko Widodo (b. 1961)
Kathleen O'Kelly-Kennedy (b. 1986)
Soad Hosny (d. 2001)

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

The Jane Byrne Interchange (previously known as the Circle Interchange) is a major freeway interchange in Chicago, in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located just outside the Chicago Loop, it is the junction between the Dan Ryan Expressway, the Kennedy Expressway, the Eisenhower Expressway, and the Ida B. Wells Drive. In a dedication ceremony held on August 29, 2014, the interchange was renamed in honor of Jane Byrne, a former mayor of Chicago. This video shows a moving aerial view of traffic on the Jane Byrne Interchange, shortly before the completion of a reconfiguration of the junction that was begun in 2013.

Video credit: Sea Cow

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: