Welcome to Wikipedia,
6,835,674 articles in English

Today's featured article

Conway Hall, London
Conway Hall, London

Kevin Gately died on 15 June 1974 as the result of a head injury received in the Red Lion Square public disorder in London while protesting against the National Front, a far-right, British fascist party. Gately, a 20-year-old student, was not a member of any organisation. On 15 June, the National Front held a march through central London in support of the expulsion of immigrants. A counter-demonstration was planned by Liberation, an anti-colonial pressure group. When the Liberation march reached Red Lion Square, the International Marxist Group twice charged the police cordon blocking access to Conway Hall (pictured). Police reinforcements forced the demonstrators out of the square. Gately was found unconscious on the ground. He was taken to hospital and died later that day. A public inquiry into the events was conducted by Lord Scarman, who found no evidence that Gately had been killed by the police, although he found fault with some police actions. There was further violence associated with National Front marches and the counter-demonstrations they faced, including in Birmingham, Manchester, and the East End of London (all in 1977), and in Southall in 1979, which led to the death of Blair Peach. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know...

"Chinese character" written in traditional (left) and simplified (right) forms
"Chinese character" written in traditional (left) and simplified (right) forms

Help us make Wikipedia better

Sue Gardner, CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation

Wikipedia is written by people like you and me.

  • We invite both formal and informal experts - as well as people who can check for typos, provide images and copy edit the texts.
  • We work together, and decide things by consensus.
  • We invite you to talk to us and point out what we can do better - but even better, we want you to edit the pages yourself.
  • Take your first steps by clicking here!

    About Wikipedia

  • We believe that the entire world working together to collect the sum of all human knowledge leads to better quality than if a small group of experts do all the writing. That's why we want everybody to contribute to Wikipedia.
  • We believe that knowledge is as dynamic and changing as the world. That's why we let Wikipedia evolve constantly.
  • We believe that true knowledge comes from standing on the shoulders of giants. That's why we aim to lead you to our sources.
  • We believe that you will want to be able to use Wikipedia tomorrow too. That why we only use freely licensed material. And we want you to join us. It's fun, it's educational, it's inspiring, and you will help countless others finding the right information, just as you have been helped by Wikipedia in the past.
  • Get an account now.

    Trithemis annulata

    Trithemis annulata, commonly known as the violet dropwing, is a species of dragonfly in the family Libellulidae. It is found in most of Africa, the Middle East, and southern Europe. Males of this species are violet-red with red veins in the wings, while females are yellow and brown. Both sexes have red eyes. This female violet dropwing was photographed near Kalopanagiotis in Cyprus.

    Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

    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:

    Wikipedia languages