Wikipedia:Picture of the day/Archive
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These featured pictures, as scheduled below, appeared as the picture of the day (POTD) on the English Wikipedia's Main Page in the last 30 days.
You can add an automatically updating POTD template to your user page using {{Pic of the day}} (version with blurb) or {{POTD}} (version without blurb). For instructions on how to make custom POTD layouts, see Wikipedia:Picture of the day.
August 21
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An aurora is a natural light display in Earth's upper atmosphere, caused by charged particles from the Sun colliding with atmospheric atoms. The collisions excite oxygen and nitrogen, producing colours including green, red and purple. Auroras occur mainly in high-latitude regions: the Arctic aurora is called the aurora borealis or the northern lights, while its Antarctic counterpart is the aurora australis or the southern lights. They can also occasionally appear at much lower latitudes. Forms of aurora include glows, patches, arcs, rays and coronas, consistent with auroras being shaped by Earth's magnetic field. This photograph shows an aurora borealis over Tuntorp in Lysekil Municipality, Sweden, caused by a geomagnetic storm in May 2024. Photograph credit: Ann-Sophie Qvarnström
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August 20
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Calumma fallax, also known as the deceptive chameleon, is a species of chameleon endemic to eastern Madagascar. It is a medium-sized species, with males measuring 43 to 51 mm (1.7 to 2.0 in) and females 41 to 51 mm (1.6 to 2.0 in) in snout–vent length. First described by François Mocquard in 1900, it was transferred to the genus Calumma in 1986. Its population size and trend are unknown, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies it as data deficient. Its habitat is affected by slash-and-burn agriculture, bushfires and logging. This C. fallax chameleon was photographed on a branch in Ranomafana National Park in southeastern Madagascar. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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August 19
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The Kid is a 1921 American silent comedy-drama film written, produced and directed by Charlie Chaplin, who stars alongside Jackie Coogan. Chaplin plays The Tramp, who finds an abandoned baby and raises him as his son. Five years later, the pair support themselves through a scheme in which the boy breaks windows and the Tramp repairs them. The film was Chaplin's first feature-length work as a director and made Coogan a major child star. A commercial and critical success, The Kid is considered one of the greatest films of the silent era. It was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2011. Film credit: Charlie Chaplin
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August 18
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The Scream is an art composition first created by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch in 1893. Its imagery has been interpreted as expressing the anxiety of modern humanity and influenced the Expressionist movement. Munch described walking at sunset when the sky turned blood red and sensing an "infinite scream passing through nature". He produced four versions, two in paint and two in pastel, as well as a lithograph. The 1895 pastel sold at auction for nearly US$120 million in 2012. Versions of The Scream were stolen from museums in Oslo in 1994 and 2004; both were later recovered. This 1893 painted version of The Scream features the barely visible pencil inscription Kan kun være malet af en gal Mand! ('could only have been painted by a madman'), and is in the collection of the National Museum of Norway in Oslo. Painting credit: Edvard Munch
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August 17
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The western reef heron (Egretta gularis), also known as the western reef egret, is a medium-sized bird in the heron family, Ardeidae. It is found mainly along coasts in Africa and parts of Europe and Asia. The species occurs in white, dark grey and intermediate plumage forms. It feeds on fish, crustaceans and molluscs, stalking or ambushing prey in shallow water. The western reef heron breeds in coastal wetlands, nesting colonially on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs and typically laying three or four eggs. Two subspecies are commonly recognised: E. g. gularis and E. g. schistacea. It was first described by Louis Augustin Guillaume Bosc in 1792. This western reef heron of the subspecies schistacea was photographed at Dohat Arad Lagoon, Muharraq, Bahrain. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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August 16
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The Royal Palace of Amsterdam is a royal residence in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Opened in 1655 as a town hall, its main architect was Jacob van Campen, who designed the building in the Dutch Baroque style. Louis Bonaparte became King of Holland in 1806 and established his court in Amsterdam, turning the town hall into a palace; it has been used by Dutch monarchs since then, although their main residence is Huis ten Bosch in The Hague. The Royal Palace of Amsterdam is used for entertaining and official functions during state visits and other official receptions, such as New Year receptions. This photograph shows the facade of the Royal Palace as seen from Dam Square in 2016. Photograph credit: Diego Delso
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August 15
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Keir Hardie (15 August 1856 – 26 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party, and was the first parliamentary leader of the Labour Party from 1906 to 1908. Hardie was born in Newhouse, Lanarkshire. He started working at the age of seven, and from the age of ten worked in the Lanarkshire coal mines. With a background in preaching, he became known as a talented public speaker and was chosen as a spokesman for his fellow miners. Hardie initially supported William Ewart Gladstone's Liberal Party, but later concluded that the working class needed its own party. He first stood for election to Parliament in 1888 as an independent, and later that year helped form the Scottish Labour Party. Hardie won the English seat of West Ham South as an independent candidate in 1892, and helped to form the Independent Labour Party the following year. He lost his seat in 1895, but was re-elected to Parliament in 1900 for Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales. During the same year, he helped to form the union-based Labour Representation Committee, which was later renamed the Labour Party. This photograph of Hardie was taken by George Grantham Bain in 1909. Photograph credit: George Grantham Bain; restored by Adam Cuerden
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August 14
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Saint Patrick's Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi, and is located near the Empress Market in Saddar, a neighbourhood of Karachi, Pakistan. The cathedral was completed in 1881 and can accommodate 1,500 worshippers. It celebrated its centenary in 1978. In December 1998, the interior of the cathedral was partially damaged in a bomb attack that also injured one woman. This photograph of the interior of Saint Patrick's Cathedral, looking towards the high altar, was taken in 2020. Photograph credit: Alexander Savin
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August 13
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The addax (Addax nasomaculatus), also known as the white antelope, is a species of antelope in the subfamily Hippotraginae, native to the Sahara. It is adapted to some of the world's most arid environments and can survive for long periods without drinking water. The addax has a pale coat, distinctive facial markings, and long, spirally twisted horns. It lives in small herds and feeds mainly on grasses and other desert vegetation. Once widespread across North Africa, the species has declined drastically because of overhunting, drought, and habitat loss, and is classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Wild populations are now concentrated in Chad, Mauritania, and Niger. This male addax was pictured in the Safia Acclimatization Station, south of Dakhla, Western Sahara. Photograph credit: Haytem Bouchri
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August 12
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The clementine (Citrus × clementina) is a sweet citrus fruit that is a hybrid of the willowleaf mandarin and the orange. It was discovered in the late 19th century in Misserghin, Algeria, in the garden of the French missionary Clément Rodier, after whom it was named. Clementines have smooth, glossy, deep-orange skin, and are typically juicy, easy to peel, and divided into seven to fourteen segments. Major varieties include clemenules, Fina, Algerian, and Italian cultivars such as Clementine del Golfo di Taranto and Clementine di Calabria. Clementines are cultivated in many countries around the world and are sometimes sold as "easy-peelers". The fruit's essential oils contain mostly limonene. This composite focus-stacked photograph shows two seedless clementines, one unpeeled (left) and one peeled (right). Photograph credit: Rhododendrites
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August 11
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Shiva is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. In the Shaivite tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is the supreme lord who creates, protects and transforms the universe. He is also significantly important to the Shakta and Smarta traditions, and is known as the Destroyer within the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity which also includes Brahma and Vishnu. This three-headed standing Shiva sculpture has a three-eyed yogi-king front-facing form, with his consort Parvati as the left head, and a three-eyed Bhairava as the right head. Shiva's sons Ganesha and Kumara stand at his feet, and a three-eyed Vrishabha, his mount, stands behind. The statue, which is 53 cm (20+7⁄8 in) in height, was made of grey schist in Kashmir, India, in the 8th century, and is now in the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio. Sculpture credit: unknown; photographed by the Cleveland Museum of Art
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August 10
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The palm warbler (Setophaga palmarum) is a small songbird in the New World warbler family, Parulidae. It breeds in the United States, Canada and Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and is also found in non-breeding populations throughout eastern North America, Central America and the Caribbean, as far south as Panama. Its habitat includes shrublands, forests, grasslands, wetlands, and human-modified environments. The species comprises two subspecies, which differ in plumage and migration patterns. The palm warbler mainly eats insects and berries and forages on the ground. Its tail bobbing is an identifying characteristic, and its song is a monotonous buzzy trill. This palm warbler of the subspecies S. p. hypochrysea, in breeding plumage, was photographed in Green-Wood Cemetery, New York City, United States. Photograph credit: Rhododendrites
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August 9
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Willa Beatrice Player (August 9, 1909 – August 29, 2003) was an American educator, college administrator, college president, civil-rights activist, and federal appointee. Player was the first African-American woman to become president of a four-year, fully accredited liberal arts college when she took the position at Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina. From 1955 to 1966, Player served as president of the historically black college during a period of heightened civil-rights activism in the South. She supported Bennett students who took part in the lengthy sit-ins started by the Greensboro Four to achieve integration of lunch counters in downtown stores. After leaving the Bennett presidency, Player was appointed in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson as the first female director of the Division of College Support in the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, serving in that role until 1986. This 1930 photograph of Player is from the archives of The Crisis. Photograph credit: unknown; restored by Adam Cuerden
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August 8
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The small red scorpionfish (Scorpaena notata) is a species of scorpionfish found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. First described by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1810, it typically grows to a length of around 15 cm (6 in), although individuals can reach 20 cm (8 in). It is typically reddish-brown, with a distinctive black spot on the spiny dorsal fin. A benthic predator, it rests on rocky seabeds and feeds on small fishes, crustaceans and other invertebrates. The species has venomous fin spines and is assessed as a least-concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This small red scorpionfish was photographed in the Mediterranean off the coast of Catania, Sicily. Photograph credit: Diego Delso
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August 7
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Nils Torvalds (b. 7 August 1945) is a Swedish-speaking Finnish broadcast journalist, writer and politician, who served as a Member of the European Parliament. Born in Ekenäs, Torvalds has been active in politics since he was a college student in the 1960s. He is the son of Ole Torvalds and the father of Linus Torvalds. This photograph shows Torvalds in 2014. Photograph credit: David Iliff
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August 6
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The rufous hornero (Furnarius rufus) is a medium-sized ovenbird native to South America. Four subspecies are recognised across Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. It was first scientifically described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, and later placed in the genus Furnarius by Louis Pierre Vieillot. Its closest relative is the crested hornero. The species has benefited from human modification of the environment, and abandoned mud "oven" nests are often reused by other birds, including the saffron finch. It is Argentina's national bird, and is classified as a least-concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This photograph shows a rufous hornero in its nest near Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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August 5
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Neil Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut who was the commander of NASA's Apollo 11 mission and the first person to walk on the Moon, in July 1969. He spent two and a half hours outside the spacecraft on the lunar surface, along with Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin. Armstrong joined the NASA Astronaut Corps in 1962 after participating in the United States Air Force's Man in Space Soonest and X-20 Dyna-Soar human spaceflight programs. Apollo 11 was his second and final spaceflight, his first being the Gemini 8, an Earth orbital mission, in 1966. This photograph, taken by Aldrin on the lunar surface, shows Armstrong in the cabin of the Lunar Module Eagle after completing the first moonwalk. Photograph credit: Buzz Aldrin
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August 4
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Louis Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971) was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz, with a career spanning five decades and several eras in the history of jazz. Armstrong received numerous accolades, including the Grammy Award for Best Male Vocal Performance for "Hello, Dolly!" in 1965, as well as a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1972. His influence crossed musical genres, with inductions into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, among others. This photograph, taken in 1947 by Harry Warnecke and Gus Schoenbaechler, shows Armstrong playing the trumpet in a blue suit against a yellow background. The image is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery. Photograph credit: Harry Warnecke and Gus Schoenbaechler; restored by Yann Forget
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August 3
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The 2014 edition of the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field, a composite image of separate exposures taken from 2003 to 2012 with the Hubble Space Telescope, and showing the full range of ultraviolet to near-infrared light. Made from 841 orbits of telescope viewing time, the image contains approximately 10,000 galaxies, extending back in time to within a few hundred million years of the Big Bang. Photograph credit: NASA, ESA, IPAC/Caltech, STScI, ASU
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August 2
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The Otoe–Missouria Tribe of Indians is a federally recognized tribe in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, comprising the Otoe and Missouria peoples. Their language, Chiwere, is part of the Siouan–Catawban language family. In 2011, they had 3,089 enrolled tribal citizens. This oil portrait on canvas by George Catlin, painted around 1832, shows Wah-ro-née-sah (The Surrounder), an Otoe chief. He was described by Catlin as "quite an old man; his shirt made of the skin of a grizzly bear, with the claws on". The painting is in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Painting credit: George Catlin
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August 1
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Hendrick Goltzius (1558–1617) was a German-born Dutch printmaker, draftsman and painter, associated with Northern Mannerism and noted for his use of the burin. He has been described as the leading Dutch engraver of the early Baroque period. Trained by Dirck Coornhert, he had an unusual drawing style due to a childhood hand injury. He spent most of his career in Haarlem. Goltzius produced this self-portrait, dating from around 1593–1594, with chalk, pen, grey ink and watercolours. The portrait is in the collection of the Albertina in Vienna, Austria. Illustration credit: Hendrick Goltzius
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July 31
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The streaked spiderhunter (Arachnothera magna) is a species in the family Nectariniidae, the sunbirds, found in forests from the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia. About the size of a sparrow, it has olive-yellow plumage with dark streaking and a long, curved black beak adapted for feeding on nectar. Its nest is made by binding leaves together with cobwebs. This streaked spiderhunter was photographed in Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand. Photograph/ credit: JJ Harrison
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July 30
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The Battle of the Somme was fought between 1 July and 18 November 1916 by the armies of the British and French empires against the German Empire. The largest battle of World War I on the Western Front, it was fought on both sides of upper reaches of the river Somme in France. The battle was intended to hasten a victory for the Allies. More than three million men fought in the battle, of whom more than one million were either wounded or killed, making it one of the deadliest battles in human history. It illustrated the deadly potential of mechanized warfare that began in the mid–19th century. This map, adapted from an original published by the United States Military Academy, shows the situation during the first day on the Somme (1 July), as well as Allied gains up to 19 November, immediately after the end of the battle. Map credit: United States Military Academy, edited and vectorised by Grandiose; inset map by Giro720
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July 29
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Fernando Alonso (born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver who currently competes in Formula One for Aston Martin. He is Spain's first Formula One World Drivers' Champion, having won the title with Renault in 2005 and 2006. Often named as one of the sport's greatest drivers, Alonso has also won the 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship, the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice and the 24 Hours of Daytona. This photograph shows Alonso in the colours of United Autosports in 2017. Photograph credit: Jakob Ebrey
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July 28
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The burrowing owl (Athene cunicularia) is a small, long-legged owl in the family Strigidae. It is native to the open landscapes of North and South America, where it inhabits grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, and other open habitats with low vegetation, nesting and roosting in burrows usually excavated by other animals. When threatened, it retreats underground and produces rattling and hissing sounds resembling those of a rattlesnake, an example of acoustic Batesian mimicry. This southern burrowing owl (subspecies A. c. cunicularia) was photographed near Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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July 27
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Hafnium is a chemical element; it has symbol Hf and atomic number 72. A lustrous, silvery gray, tetravalent transition metal, hafnium chemically resembles zirconium and is found in many zirconium minerals. Its existence was predicted by Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869, though it was not identified until 1922, by Dirk Coster and George de Hevesy. Hafnium is named after the Latin name for Copenhagen, where it was discovered. The element is obtained only by separation from zirconium, with most of the world's hafnium production coming from processes that also produce zirconium. These processes make use of heavy mineral sands ore deposits, which include the minerals zircon, rutile, and ilmenite, among others. This photograph shows the front and back sides of four pellets of 99.9%-pure argon-arc remelted hafnium ingots, with visible crystalline structures. Each pellet is about 3 centimetres (1.2 in) in diameter. The visible colours are caused by a thin-film effect in the surface oxide layer. Photograph credit: Heinrich Pniok
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July 26
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The tiger bee fly (Xenox tigrinus) is a species of insect in the family Bombyliidae, the bee flies. It is found in parts of the United States and Canada. Its black-and-white body and patterned wings resemble the coloration of a large bee, an example of Batesian mimicry, which helps to deter predators. Females lay their eggs near the nests of carpenter bees, particularly the eastern carpenter bee, and the developing larvae parasitize the bee's young. Adult tiger bee flies are also pollinators. This tiger bee fly was photographed on a leaf in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, New York City. Photograph credit: Rhododendrites
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July 25
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Lavaux is a region in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, in the district of Lavaux-Oron. The region consists of 830 hectares (2,100 acres) of terraced vineyards that stretch for about 30 kilometres (19 mi) along the south-facing northern shores of Lake Geneva. The region is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site with the formal name Lavaux, Vineyard Terraces. The vine terraces in the area date to the 11th century, under the rule of Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries. The main variety of wine grape grown here is Chasselas. This photograph shows an aerial view of the terraced vineyards of Lavaux near the village of Rivaz, overlooking Lake Geneva. Photograph credit: Lorenz Poffet
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July 24
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Alexandre Dumas (24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870) was a French novelist and playwright who is celebrated for historical adventure fiction. His best-known works include The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. The son of General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, he began his career writing successful plays before turning to novels and travel books. Exceptionally prolific, Dumas produced about 100,000 pages and founded Paris's Théâtre Historique. He also wrote many plays, his works have inspired film adaptations, and in 2002 his remains were reinterred alongside other French luminaries in the Panthéon. This portrait of Dumas was created by the French photographer Nadar in 1855. Photograph credit: Nadar
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July 23
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The West Indian whistling duck (Dendrocygna arborea) is a species of bird in the family Anatidae. The largest and darkest of the whistling ducks, it is roughly the size of a mallard, growing to 48 to 58 centimetres (19 to 23 inches) in length. Widely scattered across the West Indies, the species was first formally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758 as Anas arborea, based on earlier accounts. The species is now placed in the genus Dendrocygna, introduced by William Swainson in 1837, and has no recognised subspecies. This photograph shows the head of a West Indian whistling duck in George Town, on the island of Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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