Main Page

Welcome to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. 3,824,494 articles in English

Arts Biography Geography

History Mathematics Science

Society Technology All portals

Today's featured article David Lewis (1909–1981) was a Russian-born Canadian Rhodes Scholar, labour lawyer and social democratic politician. He was national secretary of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation from 1936 to 1950. As the United Steelworkers of America’s legal counsel in Canada, he played a central role in the creation of the Canadian Labour Congress in 1956 and in the New Democratic Party (NDP)'s formation in 1961. In 1962, he was elected as a Member of Parliament. He was the NDP's leader from 1971 to 1975. After his defeat in the 1974 Canadian election, he retired from politics. He spent his last years as a university professor and a newspaper travel correspondent. In retirement, he was named to the highest level of the Order of Canada for his political service. After a lengthy battle with cancer, he died in 1981. (more...) Recently featured: True at First Light – Andalusian horse – Amundsen's South Pole expedition Did you know... From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that Dutch clergyman W.R. van Hoëvell (pictured), after being forced to resign his post in Batavia in 1848, became a radical and eloquent spokesman against Dutch colonialism and slavery in the East and West Indies? ... that the British destroyer HMS Hurricane rescued 451 survivors from the passenger-cargo liner SS City of Nagpur and landed them at Greenock, Scotland, on 1 May 1941? ... that the aerial photograph of Palembang taken in 1984 revealed the ancient canal network that is now Srivijaya archaeological park? ... that Max Gresham, the 18-year-old 2011 NASCAR East Series champion, started racing at the age of 8? ... that the perennial herb Frasera caroliniensis can take up to thirty years to flower? ... that "Red Lipstick" was reminiscent of songs featured on Rihanna's fourth studio album Rated R (2009), with specific comparisons to "G4L" and "Wait Your Turn"?

In the news British–American author and journalist Christopher Hitchens (pictured) dies at the age of 62. Former French President Jacques Chirac receives a two-year suspended sentence after being convicted of embezzlement. The United States formally declares an end to the Iraq War. At least five people are killed and more than one hundred are wounded in a murder–suicide attack in Liège, Belgium. The Constituent Assembly of Tunisia elects Moncef Marzouki as the President of Tunisia. On this day... December 17: National Day in Bhutan (1907) 1862 – American Civil War: Union General Ulysses S. Grant (pictured) issued General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky. 1918 – About 1,000 demonstrators marched on Government House in Darwin, Australia, where they burnt an effigy of Administrator John Gilruth and demanded his resignation. 1935 – The Douglas DC-3, one of the most significant transport aircraft ever built, made its maiden voyage to coincide with the anniversary of the Wright Flyer's first flight. 1970 – Soldiers fired at workers emerging from trains in Gdynia, Poland, beginning the government's brutal crackdown on mass anti-communist protests across the country. 2009 – The livestock transport ship MV Danny F II capsized and sank in bad weather off the coast of Lebanon, resulting in 40 human and over 28,000 animal deaths. More anniversaries: December 16 – December 17 – December 18 It is now December 17, 2011 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture The Crested Pigeon (Ocyphaps lophotes) is found widely throughout mainland Australia except for the tropical northern areas. It is larger than the Spinifex Pigeon, the other Australian pigeon with an erect crest. The Crested Pigeon grows 30–34 cm (12–13 in) long and is coloured grey with tinges of brown, with striped wings that are bronzed. Photo: Benjamint444 Recently featured: Cymatium lotorium shell – Satellite imagery of Africa – Chromium crystals and cube

Other areas of Wikipedia

• Community portal – Bulletin board, projects, resources and activities covering a wide range of Wikipedia areas.
• Help desk – Ask questions about using Wikipedia.
• Local embassy – For Wikipedia-related communication in languages other than English.
• Reference desk – Serving as virtual librarians, Wikipedia volunteers tackle your questions on a wide range of subjects.
• Site news – Announcements, updates, articles and press releases on Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation.
• Village pump – For discussions about Wikipedia itself, including areas for technical issues and policies.

Wikipedia's sister projects

Wikipedia is hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that also hosts a range of other projects:

	Commons Free media repository		Wikiquote Collection of quotations		Wikiversity Free learning materials and activities
	Wikibooks Free textbooks and manuals		Wikisource Free-content library		Wiktionary Dictionary and thesaurus
	Wikinews Free-content news		Wikispecies Directory of species		Meta-Wiki Wikimedia project coordination

Wikipedia languages

This Wikipedia is written in English. Started in 2001 (2001), it currently contains 3,824,494 articles. Many other Wikipedias are available; some of the largest are listed below.

• More than 700,000 articles: Deutsch · Español · Français · Italiano · Nederlands · 日本語 · Polski · Português · Русский
• More than 150,000 articles: العربية · Bahasa Indonesia · Català · Česky · Dansk · Esperanto · فارسی · 한국어 · Magyar · ‪Norsk (bokmål)‬ · Română · Српски / Srpski · Suomi · Svenska · Tiếng Việt · Türkçe · Українська · 中文
• More than 50,000 articles: Bahasa Melayu · Български · Eesti · Ελληνικά · Simple English · Euskara · Galego · עברית · Hrvatski · Lietuvių · ‪Norsk (nynorsk)‬ · Slovenčina · Slovenščina · Srpskohrvatski / Српскохрватски · ไทย

Complete list of Wikipedias