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Welcome to Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.2,342,757 articles in EnglishArtsBiographyGeographyHistoryMathematicsScienceSocietyTechnologyAll portalsOverview · Editing · Questions · HelpContents · Categories · Featured content · A–Z indexToday’s featured articlePearl Jam is an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1990. Since its inception, the band’s line-up has consisted of Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guitar), Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), and Mike McCready (lead guitar). The band’s current drummer is Matt Cameron, formerly of Soundgarden, who has been with the band since 1998. Formed after the demise of Ament and Gossard’s previous band Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam broke into the mainstream with its debut album Ten. One of the key bands of the grunge movement in the early 1990s, Pearl Jam was nevertheless criticized early on as being a corporate cash-in on the alternative rock explosion. However, its members became noted for their refusal to adhere to traditional music industry practices as their career progressed, including refusing to make music videos and engaging in a much-publicized boycott of Ticketmaster. Rolling Stone described the band as having “spent much of the past decade deliberately tearing apart their own fame.” Since its inception, the band has sold 30 million records in the U.S., and an estimated 60 million albums worldwide. Pearl Jam has outlasted many of its contemporaries from the alternative rock breakthrough of the early 1990s, and is considered one of the most influential bands of the decade, and “the most popular American rock band of the 1990s”. (more…)Recently featured: Monarchy of the United Kingdom – Reactive attachment disorder – Emma GoldmanArchive – By email – More featured articles…Did you know…From Wikipedia’s newest articles:…that Academy Award winner Going My Way was filmed at St. Monica’s (pictured), and the irascible old Irish priest character was based on its pastor?…that Lionel Monckton, the most popular musical theatre composer of the Edwardian period, after dropping into obscurity by the end of the 20th century, recently has had two albums of his music released?…that over 25% of Brazil’s electricity is generated by a hydroelectric plant at Itaipu on the Paraná River?…that state senator Larry George sued Senate President Peter Courtney in an attempt to prevent an experimental session of the Oregon Legislature?…that a Muslim fundamentalist beheaded a statue of Virgin Mary at St. Augustine’s and carted a statue of Father Serra to a nearby mosque in October 2001?…that Vasyl Krychevsky, a Ukrainian artist, designed the state emblem of the National Republic at the request of Mykhailo Hrushevskyi?…that Sheenboro, Quebec, started as a trading post on the Ottawa River and has retained its character as a “Little Corner of Ireland”?…that John Percy Farrar recommended George Mallory for inclusion on the 1921 British Reconnaissance Expedition to Mount Everest?…that the Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, founded in 1853, was edited for 68 years by the Lankester family?Archive – Start a new article…In the newsFernando Lugo (pictured) wins the presidential election in Paraguay, ending the Colorado Party’s 61-year rule.In auto racing, Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300, becoming the first female driver to win an IndyCar race.An airliner operated by Hewa Bora Airways crashes upon takeoff in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing at least 44 people.An alliance led by Silvio Berlusconi of the People of Freedom party wins the general election in Italy.Trevor Immelman of South Africa wins the 2008 Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club.Jacques-Édouard Alexis is ousted as Prime Minister of Haiti following riots over the price of food.The Channel Island Sark abolishes the last remaining feudal system in Europe.Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events…On this day…April 22: Earth Day.1500 – Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral (pictured) and his crew became the first Europeans to sight Brazil when they spotted Monte Pascoal.1889 – Over 50,000 people rushed to claim a piece of the available two million acres (8,000 km²) in the Unassigned Lands, the present-day U.S. state of Oklahoma. Within hours, both Oklahoma City and Guthrie had established cities of around 10,000 people.1915 – The Germans released chlorine gas as a chemical weapon in the Second Battle of Ypres, killing over 5,000 soldiers within ten minutes by asphyxiation in the first large-scale successful use of poison gas in World War I.1930 – France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States signed the London Naval Treaty, regulating submarine warfare and limiting military ship building.1945 – About 600 prisoners of the Jasenovac concentration camp in the Independent State of Croatia revolted, but only 80 managed to escape while the other 520 were killed by the Croatian Ustaše regime.1993 – The first version of Mosaic, created by computer programmers Marc Andreessen and Eric Bina at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was released, becoming the first popular World Wide Web browser and Gopher client.More events: April 21 – April 22 – April 23Archive – By email – More anniversaries…Today’s featured pictureThe Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) is a species of American sparrow in the family Emberizidae. It is widespead, fairly tame, and generally common across much of its North American range.Photo credit: MdfRecently featured: Champ de Mars – Hairy Toad Lily – Ocybadistes walkeriArchive – More featured pictures…