Welcome to Wikipedia

,

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

252,948 active editors
7,229,968 articles in English

From today's featured article

Brochfael ap Meurig (ruled c. 872 – c. 910) was the king of Gwent in south-east Wales. He ruled jointly with his brother, Ffernfael ap Meurig. Gwent and Glywysing, the neighbouring territory to the west, were ruled as a single kingdom in some periods; at other times they were separate and the king of Glywysing had the higher status. Brochfael's father, Meurig ab Arthfael, ruled both territories with the title of King of Glywysing, but Brochfael and Ffernfael were only kings of Gwent, and had a lower status than their cousin Hywel ap Rhys, the king of Glywysing. The Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia claimed dominion over most of Wales, but in the late 880s Brochfael, Ffernfael and Hywel submitted voluntarily to Alfred the Great, the king of Wessex, in order to gain protection from the oppression of Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians. A number of Brochfael's charters survive, mainly grants to Bishop Cyfeilliog and settlements of Brochfael's disputes with the bishop. Brochfael was the last of his line and was succeeded by Hywel's son, Owain ap Hywel. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

Before and after images of the impact crater taken by the LRO

... that part of a Falcon 9 rocket recently collided with the Moon, making a new crater (pictured)?
... that decades before Venus and Serena Williams, tennis players Margaret and Roumania Peters were "tennis's original sister act"?
... that it took Belgium 41 years to apologize for the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, and then another 20 years to return his tooth?
... that Randy Newman's song "The Blues" has been interpreted as a parody of Paul Simon's work, but Simon provided some of the vocals?
... that Boston's Old North Church lacked the space for a graveyard, so 1,100 people were entombed under it instead?
... that, in Steve Brusatte's book The Rise and Reign of the Mammals, humans are given "about the same attention as horses and whales and elephants"?
... that Toluca FC is the only team in Liga MX to have scored more than 100 goals in a calendar year?
... that the Industrial Arbitration Court made it mandatory in 1993 for all collective agreements to be submitted on a 5.25-inch (130 mm) floppy disk?
... that it took more than 50 years to prove that Lake Flixton contained fish?

In the news

Hakainde Hichilema

The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria ends its autonomous rule following its full integration into Syria.
President Hakainde Hichilema (pictured) wins the Zambian general election for a second consecutive term.
A magnitude-7.7 earthquake strikes off the coast of Flores, Indonesia, causing at least 100 deaths.
Former premier of China Zhu Rongji dies at the age of 97.
A solar eclipse causes totality from Siberia to Iberia.

On this day

August 24: Feast day of Saint Bartholomew (Western Christianity); Independence Day in Ukraine (1991)

Dutch expedition to Valdivia

1643 – A Dutch expedition (depicted) arrived at the mouth of the Valdivia River, in present-day Chile, to establish a new colony in the ruins of the abandoned Spanish settlement of Valdivia.
1814 – War of 1812: British forces invaded Washington, D.C., setting fire to various U.S. government buildings, including the White House.
1942 – World War II: At the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, bombers from the U.S. aircraft carrier Saratoga sank the Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō near Santa Isabel Island, contributing to an Allied victory.
1992 – Hurricane Andrew, the third-most intense Category 5 cyclone to impact the United States in the 20th century, made landfall in southern Florida.

Lavinia Fontana (bapt. 1552)
John Green (b. 1977)
Charlie Watts (d. 2021)
Verónica Echegui (d. 2025)

More anniversaries:

From today's featured list

Jon Bernthal, Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series winner

The 76th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards honored the best artistic and technical achievements in American primetime television programming from June 1, 2023, to May 31, 2024, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The awards were presented on September 7 and 8, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, California. A total of 106 Creative Arts Emmys were presented across 99 categories. The ceremonies were broadcast in the United States by FXX on September 14. Shōgun won 14 awards, the most of any program, followed by The Bear, with 7 awards. Shōgun also received the greatest number of nominations, with 17, followed by Only Murders in the Building and Saturday Night Live, with 15 nominations each. Among networks and platforms, FX earned the most awards, with 27 wins; Netflix received the most nominations, with 83. (Full list...)

Recently featured:

Today's featured picture

Erzi is a medieval aul (fortified village) in Dzheyrakhsky District in Ingushetia, Russia. Situated at an elevation of 1,315 metres (4,314 ft) above sea level on the right bank of the Armkhi, it is known for its complex of Ingush towers, used for combat and accommodation, which was reconstructed between 2012 and 2015. The settlement's name means 'eagle' in the Ingush language, and local tradition associates its foundation with an eagle's nest. In 1931, the 8th-century bronze Suleyman's Eagle was discovered at Erzi; it is now in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. This photograph shows the site of Erzi, with its reconstructed towers, in 2017.

Photograph credit: Vyacheslav Argenberg

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: