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Welcome to Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.2,327,728 articles in EnglishArtsBiographyGeographyHistoryMathematicsScienceSocietyTechnologyAll portalsOverview · Editing · Questions · HelpContents · Categories · Featured content · A–Z indexToday’s featured articleJ. K. Rowling is a British writer and author of the Harry Potter fantasy series. The Potter books have gained worldwide attention, won multiple awards, and sold nearly 400 million copies. The 2007 Sunday Times Rich List estimated Rowling’s fortune at £545 million, ranking her as the 136th richest person and the 13th richest woman in Britain. Forbes has named Rowling the second-richest female entertainer in the world, and ranked her as the 48th most powerful celebrity of 2007. Time named Rowling as a runner-up for their 2007 Person of the Year, noting the social, moral, and political inspiration she has given her fandom. She has become a notable philanthropist, supporting such charities as Comic Relief, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain and One Parent Families. Harry Potter is now a global brand worth an estimated $15 billion (£7 billion), and the last four Harry Potter books have consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history. The series, totalling 4,195 pages, has been translated, in whole or in part, into 65 languages. (more…)Recently featured: Chrono Trigger – Victoria Cross – Suleiman the MagnificentArchive – By email – More featured articles…Did you know…From Wikipedia’s newest articles:…that Comfort Stations No. 68 (pictured) and No. 72 in the Rim Village Historic District of Oregon, listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1988, are public restrooms built in the 1930s?…that Rev. Thomas Dyche is credited with writing the first book in English published in Asia?…that the Battle of Sugar Point was the last major battle fought between Native Americans and the United States Army?…that Cyclone Jokwe killed 16 people in Mozambique and left at least 55,000 homeless?…that the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers ice hockey team is the only Division I collegiate hockey team located south of the Mason-Dixon Line?…that kimchi bokkeumbap is a Korean fried rice made with kimchi and any available ingredients?…that Quilceda Creek Vintners Cabernet Sauvignon is the first American wine from outside California to earn perfect 100-point score reviews from wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr. in The Wine Advocate?…that a horreum was a type of public warehouse used in Ancient Rome to store foodstuffs such as grain and olive oil?…that despite writing a full action-and-dialogue screenplay for his film Raising Victor Vargas, Peter Sollett never showed the actors a script, so as to encourage authenticity through improvisation when filming?Archive – Start a new article…In the newsSoyuz TMA-12 is launched, carrying Yi So-yeon (pictured), the first Korean in space, for a mission to the International Space Station.The Olympic torch relay is disrupted in London, Paris and San Francisco by protesters objecting to China’s human rights record.At its summit in Bucharest, NATO invites Albania and Croatia to join the alliance.Jules Verne, the first European Automated Transfer Vehicle, successfully performs a fully automated docking with the International Space Station.Greek and Turkish Cypriots open a crossing at Ledra Street, a main shopping street in Nicosia, the divided capital of Cyprus.The Movement for Democratic Change secures a plurality of seats in the Zimbabwean parliamentary election, defeating incumbent President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF. Results in the presidential election remain unclear.Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events…On this day…April 11: Juan Santamaría Day in Costa Rica.1241 – Mongol invasion of Europe: Mongols led by Batu Khan and Subutai crushed the Hungarian army of King Béla IV at the Battle of Mohi near the Sajó River in Hungary.1713 – The main agreements of the Treaty of Utrecht were signed in the Dutch city of Utrecht, helping to end the War of the Spanish Succession.1888 – The Concertgebouw concert hall in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, was inaugurated.1945 – World War II: American forces liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp near Weimar, Germany.1979 – Ugandan–Tanzanian War: The Uganda National Liberation Army and Tanzanian forces captured Kampala, forcing Ugandan President Idi Amin to flee.2002 – In a coup attempt, members of the Venezuelan military detained President Hugo Chávez (pictured) and demanded his resignation.More events on this day…Recent days: April 10 – April 9 – April 8Archive – By email – More anniversaries…Today’s featured pictureA pair of rice grasshoppers (Oxya yezoensis), a pest of rice in Asia. The male is on the left, about 40 mm (1.6 in) in length, and the female is on the right, about 30 mm (1.2 in) long. This species is one of many species of grasshopper around the world which, in its swarming phase, is known as a locust. These are species that can breed rapidly under suitable conditions and subsequently become gregarious and migratory. They form bands as nymphs and swarms as adults—both of which can travel great distances, rapidly stripping fields and greatly damaging crops.Photo credit: LaitcheRecently featured: Lilac panicle – Notre Dame de Paris – BlackfaceArchive – More featured pictures…