Welcome toWikipedia

thefree encyclopedia thatanyone can edit.

108,947 active editors
7,016,846 articles inEnglish

From today's featured article

Paul Creston

TheSonata for E♭ Alto Saxophone and Piano,Op. 19, was composed byPaul Creston(pictured) in 1939. Thesonata was commissioned by Creston's frequent collaborator, the American saxophonistCecil Leeson. Creston began composition by June; it was completed by the end of August and slated for publication in 1940, although this was postponed to 1945 due to World War II. The sonata is in threemovements and takes around thirteen minutes to perform. Its form follows a traditional,Classical-era structure. The sonata as a whole is of considerable difficulty for both players. Creston and Leeson premiered the sonata at theCarnegie Chamber Hall on February 15, 1940. No critics were present at the premiere, but the sonata's 1955 debut recording by Vincent Abato and Creston received a mixed response. Most found the sonata enjoyable, but there was criticism of a perceived simplistic andsalon-like styling. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

Costume parade at the McMenamins UFO festival

... that theMcMenamins Hotel Oregon UFO Festival(parade pictured) was established in 2000 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of theMcMinnville UFO hoax?
... thatgender-neutral grammatical forms used by some non-binary people in Poland originated from a science fiction novel aboutposthumans and are named after its author?
... that the Trump administration researched whether it couldincarcerate American citizens abroad?
... thatTaraxacum akteum was first identified in some parts of Britain in 2016, more than 40 years after it was described from Dutch coastal meadows?
... that while serving as anartilleryman in World War I,Herbert Morton Stoops sent sketches of soldiers and battles back to the US?
... that continental snowpacks are associated with more avalanche fatalities thanother types?
... that the Miley Cyrus song "Easy Lover" was intended for three different albums before its release?
... that ArchbishopLetard I died while trying to get his king married?
... that a 2018 film byDavid Wilcock has been described byVice as making the case that space aliens "occupy large swaths of Antarctica [and] are massing for an invasion"?

In the news

Trifid andLagoon nebulae

TheVera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile releases thefirst light images(example shown) from its new8.4-metre (28 ft) telescope.
In basketball, theOklahoma City Thunder defeat theIndiana Pacers to winthe NBA Finals.
An attack on aGreek Orthodox church inDamascus, Syria, kills at least 25 people.
The United States conductsmilitary strikes on three nuclear facilities in Iran.
In rugby union, theCrusaders defeat theChiefs to winthe Super Rugby Pacific final.

Ongoing:

Recent deaths:

Nominate an article

On this day

July 2

A demonstration against the Soviet blockade of Lithuania

1779 –American Revolutionary War: French troops landed nearSt. George's, Grenada, and began theircapture of the island.
1990 –Singing Revolution: TheSoviet economic blockade of Lithuania(pictured) was lifted when the Lithuanian parliament agreed to suspend the effects of theiract to re-establish Lithuania as a state.
1998 –Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets byJ. K. Rowling, the second novel of theHarry Potter series, was published.
2013 – In the Indonesian province ofAceh on the northern end ofSumatra,a M_w 6.1 strike-slip earthquake killed at least 35 people and injured 276 others.
2020 – Alandslide at a jade mine inHpakant killed 175–200 miners, the deadliest mining accident in Burmese history.

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

TheBoeing–Saab T-7 Red Hawk is an American–Swedishtransonic advancedjet trainer produced byBoeing withSaab. In September 2018, theUnited States Air Force (USAF) selected it for theT-X program to replace theNorthrop T-38 Talon as the service's advanced jet trainer. It is named the Red Hawk as a tribute to theTuskegee Airmen, who painted their airplane's tails bright red, and to theCurtiss P-40 Warhawk, the first aircraft flown in combat by the99th Fighter Squadron, the U.S. Army Air Force's first black fighter squadron. Its first flight took place in June 2023, and the first aircraft was delivered to the USAF in September 2023. Thisair-to-air photograph shows a T-7 Red Hawk on a test flight overEdwards Air Force Base in November 2023.

Photograph credit: Bryce Bennett

Recently featured:

Archive
More featured pictures

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 theWikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that also hosts a range of other volunteerprojects: