From today's featured article
Lord Mountbatten
On 27 August 1979 Lord Mountbatten was assassinated off the coast of Mullaghmore, Ireland. A bomb was planted on Mountbatten's boat by Thomas McMahon during Mountbatten's annual summer trip to Classiebawn Castle. McMahon was an Irish republican and volunteered for the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), which planned the attack for several months. A bomb team built a device that contained fifty pounds (23 kg) of gelignite. The bomb killed Mountbatten less than two hours after its detonation, along with his grandson Nicholas, Nicholas's grandmother Doreen, and crew member Paul Maxwell. Three other passengers were severely injured. McMahon was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the assassination. The event caused Margaret Thatcher, the British prime minister, to change the United Kingdom's strategy towards Northern Ireland, including implementing a more active role for intelligence agencies. (Full article...)
Recently featured:
Did you know ...
_(10773321993).jpg)
Old State House
- ... that crowds celebrated American independence by burning decorations on Boston's Old State House (pictured)?
- ... that an Argentine auto mechanic invented a medical device to assist with difficult childbirth?
- ... that the only American killed in an attack on the United States embassy in Sanaa was the cousin of an al-Qaeda member?
- ... that news aggregator site 47NEWS was launched by 52 newspapers across Japan?
- ... that Nicolae Moromete, who tortured prisoners of the Romanian communist regime in the 1950s, fought the Soviet Union in World War II?
- ... that characteristics of the penis valves of the columbine sawfly and its close relatives are among the few features that distinguish them from a related species group?
- ... that Serbian actress Tomanija Đuričko was widowed by the age of 17?
- ... that the lyrics of "Dream House" include some of George Clarke's drunken texts with his crush?
- ... that Robert Sataloff began harvesting bones from corpses at the age of eight?
In the news
.jpg)
Dolly Parton in 1977
- At least 160 people are killed and over a thousand missing after flash flooding in the Rasuwa and Nuwakot Districts of Nepal and along the China–Nepal border.
- American singer-songwriter and actress Dolly Parton (pictured) dies at the age of 80.
- The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria ends its autonomous rule following its full integration into Syria.
- President Hakainde Hichilema wins the Zambian general election for a second consecutive term.
On this day
August 27: Ghost Festival in China (2026); Independence Day in Moldova
Wreckage of Comair Flight 5191
- 1656 – The Netherlands and the Ahanta people sign the Treaty of Butre, creating a Dutch protectorate over the country of Upper Ahanta in modern-day Ghana.
- 1859 – Edwin Drake successfully drilled for oil in Titusville, Pennsylvania, resulting in the Pennsylvania oil rush, the first oil boom in the United States.
- 1896 – In the shortest recorded war in history, the Sultanate of Zanzibar surrendered to the United Kingdom after less than an hour of conflict.
- 2006 – Comair Flight 5191 crashed (wreckage pictured) while inadvertently attempting to take off from the wrong runway at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49 of the 50 people on board, and causing the Federal Aviation Administration to modify air traffic control rules.
- 2013 – Religious violence between Hindus and Muslims erupted in Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, India, leaving 62 people dead.
- Josquin des Prez (d. 1521)
- Giorgio Mitrovich (b. 1795)
- Rebecca Clarke (b. 1886)
- Zhang Zifeng (b. 2001)
Today's featured picture
 |
Pedro II (1825–1891) was the second and final emperor of Brazil, reigning from 1831 until his deposition in a military coup in 1889. He became emperor aged five after the abdication of his father, Pedro I, and was declared of age in 1840. His reign saw political stability, greater freedom of speech, economic growth and victories in the Platine War, the Uruguayan War and the Paraguayan War. Pedro supported the abolition of slavery in Brazil, and promoted education, science and culture. After being overthrown, he was sent into exile in Europe, where he lived modestly. He died in Paris in 1891, and his remains were returned to Brazil in 1921. This photograph of Pedro was taken in 1891, the year of his death, by the French photographer Nadar. Photograph credit: Nadar; 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:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
MediaWiki
Wiki software development -
Meta-Wiki
Wikimedia project coordination -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikifunctions
Catalog of computer functions -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikispecies
Directory of species -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
Wikipedia languages
This Wikipedia is written in English. Many other Wikipedias are available; some of the largest are listed below.
-
1,000,000+ articles
-
250,000+ articles
-
50,000+ articles