Welcome to Wikipedia

,

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Statue of Julian outside Norwich Cathedral

Julian of Norwich (c. 1343 – after 1416) was an English mystic and anchoress of the Middle Ages. She lived in the English city of Norwich. During her lifetime, the city suffered the devastating effects of the Black Death, the Peasants' Revolt, and the suppression of the Lollards. In 1373, believing she was on her deathbed, Julian received a series of visions ("shewings") of the Passion of Christ. She recovered and wrote two versions of her experiences. These, now known as Revelations of Divine Love, are the earliest surviving English-language works known to have been written by a woman, and the only surviving English-language works by an anchoress. Julian lived in permanent seclusion in her cell, which was attached to St Julian's Church, Norwich. Details of Julian's family, her education, or her life before becoming an anchoress are not known. Preferring to write anonymously, she was nevertheless influential in her lifetime. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

Marie Meyer looping the loop, 1925

... that Marie Meyer's aerobatic stunts included standing on the upper wing of a biplane while it looped-the-loop (pictured)?
... that Japanese voice actors provided voice-overs to El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron for a domestic audience, although they were chosen for their "foreign"-sounding voices?
... that the owners of the Doll's Hospital building were the penultimate victims of the Acid Bath Murderer?
... that the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission listed former Council of State vice chair Isaac Musa among dead supposed perpetrators of human rights abuses and war crimes?
... that the 2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball championship game was the first to feature two teams from the Pac-12 Conference?
... that Ali Mufiz was named advisor, without his consent, to a candidate's campaign in the 2013 gubernatorial election for Central Java?
... that an attempted British-Norwegian attack on the German battleship Tirpitz was abandoned after two Chariot manned torpedoes were lost due to bad weather?
... that Matty Healy is banned from Dubai?

In the news

King Charles III and Queen Camilla

King Charles III and Queen Camilla (both pictured) of the United Kingdom are crowned at Westminster Abbey in London.
The World Health Organization ends its designation of the COVID-19 pandemic as a global health emergency.
Nineteen people are killed in two separate shootings in Belgrade, Serbia, at an elementary school and nearby.
At least 54 people are killed in violence between ethnic groups in Manipur, India.

On this day

May 8: Anniversary of the birth of Miguel Hidalgo in Mexico (1753); Victory in Europe Day (1945)

Lady Blanche Arundell

1643 – First English Civil War: The first siege of Wardour Castle ended after six days with the surrender of the Royalist garrison under Lady Blanche Arundell (pictured).
1842 – A train derailed and caught fire near Versailles, France, killing at least 52 people.
1945 – A parade in Sétif, French Algeria, celebrating the end of World War II in Europe became a riot and was followed by reprisals, carried out by colonial authorities over the following weeks, that killed thousands.
1963 – In Huế, South Vietnam, soldiers opened fire into a crowd of Buddhists protesting against a government ban on the flying of the Buddhist flag on Phật Đản, killing nine and sparking the Buddhist crisis.
1972 – Four members of Black September hijacked Sabena Flight 571 to demand the release of 315 Palestinians convicted on terrorism charges.

Thomas Drury (b. 1551)
Helena Blavatsky (d. 1891)
Beatrice Worsley (d. 1972)

More anniversaries:

From today's featured list

Brillante Mendoza, who directed two Philippine submissions

The Philippines has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film since the inception of the category in 1956. The Film Academy of the Philippines appoints a committee to choose one film among those released that year to be submitted as the Philippines's official entry to the Academy for a nomination for "Best International Feature Film" the following year. From 1956 until the establishment of the Film Academy in 1981, only four films were submitted for consideration: Child of Sorrow (1956), The Moises Padilla Story (1961), Because of a Flower (1967), and Ganito Kami Noon... Paano Kayo Ngayon? (1976). Afterwards, the Philippines submitted Of the Flesh in 1984 and This Is My Country in 1985, but made no further submissions until 1995's Harvest Home. Since then, a Filipino film has been submitted in most years. (Full list...)

Recently featured:

Today's featured picture

Abhayagiri Vihāra was a major monastery site of Mahayana, Theravada and Vajrayana Buddhism located in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. This photograph depicts the monastery's stupa as seen in 2020.

Photograph credit: A. Savin

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: