Welcome to Wikipedia

,

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

106,951 active editors
7,041,319 articles in English

From today's featured article

Fight for the bridge during the battle of Preston

The battle of Preston took place on 17 August 1648. It was part of the Second English Civil War, which began with a series of mutinies and Royalist uprisings. The Scots raised an army under the command of James, Duke of Hamilton, which marched into England to support King Charles I. It combined with English Royalists and continued south some 24,000 strong. Oliver Cromwell concentrated 9,000 Parliamentarians in north Yorkshire and fell on the flank of the much larger Royalist army. Not anticipating this reckless assault, Hamilton was caught with his army dispersed. A blocking force of Royalist infantry was outflanked after a ferocious hour-long fight. A second round of prolonged infantry hand-to-hand fighting took place for control of the bridge south of Preston (pictured); the Parliamentarians fought their way across as night fell. In total 1,000 Royalists were killed and 4,000 captured; Parliamentary casualties were low. (This article is part of a featured topic: Scottish invasion of England (1648).)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

Iblis guarding the divine garden

... that the dispute over the fundamental nature of the leader of the devils in Islam (pictured) dates back to the religion's formative stages?
... that 223 East 25th Street was auctioned off in 1973, triggering a bidding war that drove the price up ninefold?
... that Sudanese politician Mohammed Hassan al-Ta'ishi is the prime minister of a government that opposes a council on which he once served?
... that the teams of five countries set seven national records during a women's 4 × 400 metres relay event in 2024?
... that Pope Leo XIV planned to attend Tolentine College, but it closed before he could enroll?
... that Tomoya Machino ate five pounds (2.3 kg) of rice daily for a year to put on the necessary weight to be an American football lineman?
... that a hermit lived at the hermitage and chapel of Saint-Thibaut until 1968?
... that eight poems to the 6th-century Brittonic king Urien Rheged may be among the oldest works of vernacular literature in post-classical Europe?
... that the Strong Court had a weak leader?

In the news

Miguel Uribe Turbay

Colombian senator Miguel Uribe Turbay (pictured), a pre-candidate in the 2026 presidential election, dies two months after being shot.
Azerbaijan and Armenia sign a declaration to formalize a future peace treaty to end the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
American astronaut Jim Lovell, the commander of Apollo 13, dies at the age of 97.
A helicopter crash in the Ashanti Region, Ghana, kills eight people on board including ministers Edward Omane Boamah and Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed.

On this day

August 17: Independence Day in Indonesia (1945)

Pike Place Market

986 – Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: The Bulgarians defeated Byzantine forces at the battle of the Gates of Trajan near present-day Ihtiman, with Emperor Basil II barely escaping.
1560 – The Scottish Reformation Parliament approved a Protestant confession of faith, initiating the Scottish Reformation and disestablishing Catholicism as the national religion.
1907 – Pike Place Market (pictured), one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the U.S. and a popular tourist attraction, opened in Seattle, Washington.
1950 – Korean War: Forty-two American prisoners of war were massacred by the Korean People's Army on a hill above Waegwan, South Korea.
2008 – Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal of the Summer Olympics in Beijing, setting the record for the most gold medals won by an athlete at a single games.

Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen (d. 1676)
Billy Fiske (d. 1940)
Larry Ellison (b. 1944)
Saraya Bevis (b. 1992)

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

The little corella (Cacatua sanguinea) is a white bird species in the cockatoo family, Cacatuidae. It is native to mainland Australia, in a broad arc from eastern South Australia through Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory around to coastal Western Australia. The species is also native to southern New Guinea and has been introduced to Tasmania. Its habitat includes savanna, shrubs and grasses as well as urban settings. It grows to a length between 35 and 41 centimetres (14 and 16 in), with a mass between 370 and 630 grams (13 and 22 oz). This little corella of the subspecies C. s. gymnopsis was photographed perching on a tree branch near the Murray River in Paisley, South Australia, across the river from Blanchetown.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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: