Welcome to Wikipedia

,

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Margaret Murray (13 July 1863 – 13 November 1963) was an Anglo-Indian Egyptologist, archaeologist, historian, and folklorist. The first female archaeology lecturer in the United Kingdom, she worked at University College London and served as president of the Folklore Society. Encouraged in her research by the department head Flinders Petrie, she established a reputation in Egyptology for her excavations of the Osireion temple and Saqqara cemetery. She taught at the British Museum and also the Manchester Museum, where she led the unwrapping of one of the mummies from the Tomb of the Two Brothers. A first-wave feminist, Murray joined the Women's Social and Political Union. She also focused her research on the witch-cult hypothesis, a theory that the witch trials of early modern Christendom were targeted at a pre-Christian religion devoted to a Horned God; this theory was later discredited, but it gained widespread attention and provided the basis for Wicca. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

G. E. Clements

... that during World War II, pilot G. E. Clements (pictured) was removed from training for secret missions associated with the Manhattan Project when senior officers realized she was a woman?
... that the Japanese Buddhist temple of Gansen-ji has a 275-centimeter-tall (9.02 ft) statue of Amitābha Buddha that was created in the year 946?
... that Astrid Lindgren can be read in 100 languages?
... that an underground hip hop album was funded by James Murdoch, the son of billionaire Rupert Murdoch?
... that prior to his career in the CIA, Dick Linthicum played basketball at UCLA and became the university's first All-American in any sport?
... that three days after announcing their ROG Ally handheld computer, Asus had to clarify that it was not an April Fools' prank?
... that Precious Brady-Davis and her husband were the first transgender couple to have their gender identities listed correctly on an Illinois birth certificate?
... that during the sinking of the Costa Concordia, Gregorio de Falco told Francesco Schettino "Vada a bordo, cazzo!" which loosely translates to "Get back on board, for fuck's sake"?

In the news

Mark Rutte

In the Netherlands, the governing coalition collapses and Prime Minister Mark Rutte (pictured) resigns.
In Brazil, the Superior Electoral Court bars former president Jair Bolsonaro from running for political office until 2030 for abuse of power before the 2022 general election.
Riots break out across France after a 17-year-old is fatally shot by police in Paris.
In Russia, the Wagner mercenary group stands down after rebelling against the government.

On this day

July 13

A tape recorder from Nixon's Oval Office

1260 – Livonian Crusade: Samogitian forces defeated Teutonic knights and the Livonian Order at the Battle of Durbe.
1643 – English Civil War: Royalist forces defeated the Parliamentarians at the Battle of Roundway Down near Devizes, Wiltshire.
1913 – While on a campaign in Bulgaria, the Romanian Army suffered a cholera outbreak that led to 1,600 deaths.
1973 – Watergate scandal: Under questioning by Senate investigators, White House deputy chief of staff Alexander Butterfield revealed the existence of a secret taping system (tape recorder pictured) in the Oval Office.
2003 – French Directorate-General for External Security personnel aborted an operation to rescue Colombian politician Íngrid Betancourt from FARC guerrillas, resulting in a political scandal.

Wu Yuanheng (d. 815)
Cataldo Amodei (d. 1693)
Ba Cụt (d. 1956)
Leda Valladares (d. 2012)

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

Simone Veil (née Jacob; 13 July 1927 – 30 June 2017) was a French magistrate and politician who served as Health Minister in several governments and was President of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1982, the first woman to hold that office. As health minister, she is best remembered for advancing women's rights in France, in particular for the 1975 law that legalized abortion in France, today known as Veil Act (French: Loi Veil). From 1998 to 2007, she was a member of the Constitutional Council, France’s highest legal authority. She is shown here receiving the Centennial Award at the first Four Freedoms Award ceremony in 1982.

Photograph credit: Rob C. Croes, Anefo; restored by Adam Cuerden

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: