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Welcome to Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.2,356,288 articles in EnglishArtsBiographyGeographyHistoryMathematicsScienceSocietyTechnologyAll portalsOverview · Editing · Questions · HelpContents · Categories · Featured content · A–Z indexToday’s featured articleSatyajit Ray was a Bengali Indian filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Born in the city of Calcutta into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and letters, Ray studied at Presidency College and at the Visva-Bharati University. Starting his career as a commercial artist, Ray was drawn into filmmaking after meeting French filmmaker Jean Renoir and viewing the Italian neorealist film Bicycle Thieves during a visit to London. Ray directed thirty-seven films, including feature films, documentaries and shorts. Ray’s first film, Pather Panchali, won eleven international prizes, including Best Human Document at Cannes film festival. Along with Aparajito and Apur Sansar, the film forms the Apu trilogy. Ray worked on an array of tasks, including scripting, casting, scoring, cinematography, art direction, editing and designing his own credit titles and publicity material. Apart from making films, he was a fiction writer, publisher, illustrator, graphic designer and film critic. Ray received many major awards in his career, including an Academy Honorary Award in 1992. (more…)Recently featured: Discovery Expedition – Anabolic steroids – Prince’s Palace of MonacoArchive – By email – More featured articles…Did you know…From Wikipedia’s newest articles:… that the Berthouville Treasure (pictured) of first- and second-century Roman silver was uncovered accidentally by a farmer’s plough in 1830?… that English engineer Roy Lunn was responsible for the development of the Ford Mustang I and the first American 4WD cars?… that you can travel to some parts of Botswana for less than US$50 a night?… that despite over 85% of American Indian students giving it their support, the mascot controversy at Humboldt High School in Saint Paul, Minnesota resulted in the abandonment of its Indians mascot?… that some Bahá’í prayers have been translated into more than five hundred languages?… that Cheryl Dunye’s 1996 film The Watermelon Woman was the first feature film to be directed by a black lesbian?… that the Failing Office Building in Portland, Oregon is named after a mayor of Portland and built by a locally prominent architecture firm?Archive – Start a new article…In the newsA train collision near Zibo, China, kills at least 71 people.Maoists win a plurality of seats in the Nepalese Constituent Assembly election, the first election in Nepal in nine years.Researchers discover what is believed to be the first use of oil painting at Bamyan in Afghanistan, predating European oil painting by some six centuries.Fernando 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 47 people.Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events…On this day…May 2: Teachers’ Day in Iran; Flag Day in Poland1670 – A Royal Charter granted the Hudson’s Bay Company a monopoly in the fur trade in Rupert’s Land.1808 – Beginning of the Peninsular War: The people of Madrid rebelled against French occupation of the city.1829 – Captain Charles Fremantle of the Royal Navy established the Swan River Colony, the first British settlement on the west coast of Australia.1945 – World War II: General Helmuth Weidling (pictured), commander of the German troops in Berlin, surrendered the city to Soviet forces led by General Georgy Zhukov, ending the Battle of Berlin.1982 – HMS Conqueror launched three torpedoes and sank ARA General Belgrano during the Falklands War.1986 – Henri Toivonen died while leading the Tour de Corse rally, resulting in FISA, the sport governing body for motor racing events, banning the powerful and popular Group B rally cars for the following season.More events: May 1 – May 2 – May 3Archive – By email – More anniversaries…Today’s featured pictureThe Alte Strom (”Old River”) canal in Warnemünde, a sea resort and district of Rostock in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, situated at the Baltic Sea in the Northeast of Germany at the estuary of the river Warnow.Photo credit: Martin KünzelRecently featured: Trepanation – American Black Vulture – Steam turbineArchive – More featured pictures…