Welcome to Wikipedia

,

the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.

251,329 active editors
7,206,412 articles in English

From today's featured article

Model of a SARS-CoV-2 virion

A virus is a pathogen that replicates inside the cells of an organism. They are found in almost every ecosystem on Earth and infect all life forms. Since the discovery of the tobacco mosaic virus in 1898, more than 16,000 of the millions of virus species have been described. When infected, a host cell is often forced to produce thousands of copies of the virus. Outside an infected cell, viruses exist as virions, which consist of genetic material, the capsid that surrounds and protects the genetic material, and sometimes an outside envelope of lipids. Viruses can spread through disease-bearing organisms, airborne transmission, hand-to-mouth contact, ingesting food or water, and other means. Viral infections in animals provoke an immune response that usually eliminates the virus; viruses that evade immune responses result in chronic infections. Immune responses can be produced by vaccines, while antiviral drugs can be used to treat infections. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

Pizza Cat with a morale patch bearing her likeness

... that Pizza Cat (pictured), a cat living at Al Udeid Air Base, was awarded the rank of "Senior Meowster Sergeant" by the United States Air Force?
... that Ælfhun, Bishop of London, was accused of trying to remove the body of St Edmund, but the bier was said to have miraculously refused to move?
... that a local official of the Joseon dynasty secretly buried the body of King Danjong despite King Sejo's threats to kill the family of anyone who did so?
... that Ariana Grande claimed that she would need two brains and six arms to produce her eighth album before announcing Petal?
... that a type of ballad details the fictionalized last words of executed people?
... that a fixture of Madrid nightlife in the 1990s was a trans girl who was often seen at concerts wearing a large picture hat?
... that Gambit Digital acquired the rights to the 2023 video game Fae Farm five days after the original developer ended online support in September 2025?
... that a dog chasing its master and a crab sidestepping an intruder can both be modeled mathematically by motion along a Tschirnhausen cubic?
... that soon after the general Hushahu, fearing harsh punishment, assassinated his emperor, another general, also fearing harsh punishment, murdered him?

In the news

Beth Mooney

In cricket, the Women's T20 World Cup concludes with Australia defeating England in the final (player of the match Beth Mooney pictured).
Keiko Fujimori is elected President of Peru.
The Catholic Church declares the Society of Saint Pius X to be in schism and excommunicates its members following a consecration dispute.
Heatwaves affect Europe, leading to several thousand deaths.

On this day

July 9

Italy players celebrating their 2006 World Cup victory

551 – An estimated 30,000 people died when a massive earthquake struck the Roman province of Phoenice.
1763 – The Mozart family grand tour began, presenting the child prodigies Maria Anna and Wolfgang Amadeus across Western Europe.
1981 – Nintendo released the arcade game Donkey Kong, which featured the debut of Mario, one of the most famous characters in video-game history.
2006 – Italy won their fourth FIFA World Cup title, defeating France 5–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time (players pictured).
2008 – Under the belief that Israel and the United States were planning to attack its nuclear program, Iran conducted the Great Prophet III missile test and war games.

Elizabeth of Austria (b. 1526)
Courtney Love (b. 1964)
Shin Jae-chul (d. 2012)
Fernando de la Rúa (d. 2019)

More anniversaries:

Today's featured picture

Dictyophorus spumans, also known as the koppie foam grasshopper, is a species of grasshopper in the family Pyrgomorphidae, indigenous to southern Africa. The name "foam grasshopper" derives from the insect's ability to produce a toxic foam from its thoracic glands, using a combination of hemolymph with air from the grasshopper's spiracles. Adult males are typically 4.5 to 5 cm (1.8 to 2.0 in) long and females typically 5 to 7 cm (2.0 to 2.8 in), but can grow up to a length of 8 cm (3.1 in). This nymph of the subspecies D. s. spumans was photographed in the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden in Roodepoort, South Africa.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

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: