Welcome to Wikipedia

,

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

From today's featured article

Complete set of snooker balls

Snooker is a cue sport played on a rectangular billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six pockets. First played by British Army officers stationed in India circa 1875, the game uses twenty-two balls (pictured) – a white cue ball, fifteen red balls, and six other balls collectively called "the colours". Using a snooker cue, individual players (or teams) take turns to strike the cue ball to pot the other balls in a predefined sequence, accumulating points for each successful pot and for each foul committed by the opposing player/team. An individual frame of snooker is won by the player or team that has scored the most points. A snooker match ends when a player/team has won a predetermined number of frames. The standard rules of snooker were first established in 1919. As a professional sport, snooker is governed by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. Top players of many nationalities compete in regular tournaments around the world, earning millions of pounds on the World Snooker Tour. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

Tomb of Joseph Crocé-Spinelli and Théodore Sivel

... that the two victims of the Zénith balloon incident are depicted on their tomb (pictured) holding hands?
... that Lionel Haward applied an early example of offender profiling to help identify high-ranking Nazis disguised as ordinary troops?
... that the adventure game Until Then has an in-universe version of Facebook where the player can like and comment on other characters' posts?
... that Lisa M. Corrigan used the prison memoirs of black activists to show how incarceration impacted the black power movement?
... that a shipwreck in the eastern Mediterranean, dating from the Late Bronze Age, is the earliest deep-sea shipwreck to be discovered?
... that Johann Joseph Dömling suggested in 1803 that venous blood contained carbon monoxide?
... that Togo's abortion law was one of the first in Africa to allow abortion in the case of rape?
... that Dissolution Grip by KMRU uses recordings of the artist's shack being struck by strong winds?
... whether you just fell out of a coconut tree?

In the news

Srettha Thavisin

Thailand's Constitutional Court dismisses Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin (pictured) due to his appointment of a minister who had served time in jail.
The World Health Organization declares the African mpox epidemic to be a global health emergency.
Voepass Linhas Aéreas Flight 2283 crashes in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, killing all 62 people on board.
Sheikh Hasina resigns as Prime Minister of Bangladesh following anti-government protests, and Muhammad Yunus is appointed leader of an interim government.

On this day

August 16

San Sebastian Church in Manila

1777 – American Revolutionary War: American forces routed British and German troops at the Battle of Bennington in Walloomsac, New York.
1819 – Around 15 people were killed and 400 to 700 others injured when cavalry charged into a crowd demanding the reform of parliamentary representation in Manchester, England.
1891 – San Sebastian Church (pictured) in Manila, the only all-steel church in Asia, was officially consecrated.
1920 – Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians was hit by a pitch and died the following day, becoming the only Major League Baseball player to die directly as a result of injuries sustained during a game.
1929 – A long-running dispute between Muslims and Jews over access to the Western Wall in Jerusalem escalated into a week-long period of violent riots throughout Palestine.

George Meany (b. 1894)
Robert Bunsen (d. 1899)
James Cameron (b. 1954)
Dorival Caymmi (d. 2008)

More anniversaries:

From today's featured list

Ulrich Salchow

World Figure Skating Championships medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. The championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union. Generally held in March, the World Championships are considered the most prestigious of the ISU Figure Skating Championships. With the exception of the Olympic title, a world title is considered to be the highest competitive achievement in figure skating. Ulrich Salchow of Sweden (pictured) currently holds the record for the most gold medals won in men's singles (at ten), while Sonja Henie of Norway holds the record for the most gold medals won in women's singles (also at ten). Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev of the Soviet Union hold the record for the most gold medals won by a pairs team (at six). (Full list...)

Recently featured:

Today's featured picture

Ceramica pisi, the broom moth, is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in a range covering the whole of Europe from the Arctic Circle to northern Spain, and across to the Russian Far East. It lives at heights of up to 2,000 metres. This photograph shows a broom moth caterpillar in Estonia.

Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus

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: