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Welcome to Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.2,328,106 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 Red Dog was such a well-known and beloved dog in Western Australia’s Pilbara region that a statue (pictured) was built in his honour?…that Princess Margaret of Prussia had her jewels stolen by American soldiers in the aftermath of World War II?…that Jacqueline Audry was the first commercially successful woman film director of post-war France?…that his son’s infection with polio in 1930 led electrical engineer Reinhold Rudenberg to develop an electron microscope as a tool to study the poliovirus?…that Jewish American surfer Doc Paskowitz helped bring surf boards to Gaza to help promote peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?…that Dutch topologist Johannes De Groot is the academic grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather of his namesake via four different paths of academic supervision?…that, between 1945 and 1947, correspondent John Roderick spent seven months living with Mao Zedong and other Chinese Communist leaders in the caves of Yan’an?…that Dory Dean of the 1876 Cincinnati Reds was the first pitcher to include turning his back to the hitter in his delivery before pitching the ball?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 right, about 30 mm (1.2 in) in length, and the female is on the left, about 40 mm (1.6 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…