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Welcome to Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.2,411,191 articles in EnglishArtsBiographyGeographyHistoryMathematicsScienceSocietyTechnologyAll portalsOverview · Editing · Questions · HelpContents · Categories · Featured content · A–Z indexToday’s featured articleThe Priestley Riots took place from 14 July to 17 July 1791 in Birmingham, England; the rioters’ main targets were religious Dissenters, most notably the religious and political controversialist, Joseph Priestley. The riots started with an attack on a hotel that was the site of a banquet organized in sympathy with the French Revolution. Then, beginning with Priestley’s church and home, the rioters attacked or burned four Dissenting chapels, twenty-seven houses, and several businesses. Many of them became intoxicated by liquor that they found while looting, or with which they were bribed to stop burning homes. A small core could not be bribed, however, and remained sober. They burned not only the homes and chapels of Dissenters, but also the homes of people they associated with Dissenters, such as members of the scientific Lunar Society. While the riots were not initiated by Prime Minister William Pitt’s administration, the national government was slow to respond to the Dissenters’ pleas for help. Local Birmingham officials seem to have been involved in the planning of the riots, and they were later reluctant to prosecute any ringleaders. Those who had been attacked gradually left, leaving Birmingham a more conservative city than it had been throughout the eighteenth century. (more…)Recently featured: Durian – George I of Great Britain – 2006 Atlantic hurricane seasonArchive – By email – More featured articles…Did you know…From Wikipedia’s newest articles:… that Christopher Smart (pictured) spent five years in a mental asylum and wrote his most important works, Jubilate Agno and A Song to David, during this time?… that the Roman-Parthian War of 58–63 over Armenia ended with a compromise that saw the Arsacid dynasty established on the Armenian throne?… that Arthur Byron Coble’s classic 1929 monograph Algebraic geometry and theta functions was still being published by the American Mathematical Society as late as 1982?… that half of all Quebec’s program spending for the Eastern Habitat Joint Venture is devoted to the nationally significant wetlands in the biosphere reserve and region of Lac Saint-Pierre?… that Edward Cawston made his first-class cricket debut for Sussex whilst he was still at school?… that the North Exelon Pavilions are the first structures in Chicago, Illinois to use building integrated photovoltaic cells?… that as a poet, Antoni Edward Odyniec was a mediocre imitator of his friend, the Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz, but left colorful memoirs describing Mickiewicz’s private life?Archive – Start a new article…In the newsPakistan condemns a United States-led air strike near the border with Afghanistan that allegedly killed 11 Pakistani paramilitary troops, in clashes that also killed eight Taliban militants.Amid an outbreak of tornadoes and derechos in central and eastern North America, a tornado hits a Boy Scout camp in Iowa, killing four.Japan’s House of Councillors passes a censure motion against Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (pictured), the first such motion to be passed since World War II.Sudan Airways Flight 109 crashes on landing at Khartoum International Airport in Khartoum, Sudan, killing dozens.IBM and Los Alamos National Laboratory break a processing speed record with the world’s first petaflop computer, Roadrunner.Following a coal mine collapse in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, 24 miners are rescued with 12 still missing and one reported dead.Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events…On this day…June 13:1525 – Martin Luther married Katharina von Bora (pictured), against the celibacy discipline decreed by the Roman Catholic Church on priests.1886 – King Ludwig II of Bavaria was found dead in Lake Starnberg near Munich under mysterious circumstances.1898 – The Yukon Territory was formed in Canada, with Dawson chosen as its capital.1966 – The Miranda v. Arizona landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court established the Miranda warning, requiring law enforcement officials to advise a suspect in custody of his rights to remain silent and to obtain an attorney.1971 – The New York Times began to publish the Pentagon Papers, a 7,000-page top-secret United States Department of Defense history of the United States’ political and military involvement in the Vietnam War.More events: June 12 – June 13 – June 14Archive – By email – More anniversaries…It is now 14:34, June 13, 2008 (UTC) – Refresh this pageToday’s featured pictureUnited States Army forces target railway cars south of Wonsan, North Korea, an east coast port city, during the Korean War. Trains in North Korea were targets of attack by U.S. and other U.N. forces, so much so that both military and civilian trains often had to wait out the daylight hours in tunnels.Photo credit: United States ArmyRecently featured: Types of mustard – United States Capitol dome, 1846 – Waldenburg, Baden-Württemberg, 1945Archive – More featured pictures…