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Welcome to Wikipedia,the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.2,448,404 articles in EnglishArtsBiographyGeographyHistoryMathematicsScienceSocietyTechnologyAll portalsOverview · Editing · Questions · HelpContents · Categories · Featured content · A–Z indexToday’s featured articleR.E.M. is an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by Michael Stipe (lead vocals), Peter Buck (guitar), Mike Mills (bass guitar), and Bill Berry (drums and percussion). R.E.M. was one of the first popular alternative rock bands, and gained early attention due to Buck’s ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe’s unclear vocals. In 1983, the band released its critically acclaimed debut album Murmur, and built its reputation over the next few years through subsequent releases, constant touring, and the support of college radio. By the early 1990s, when alternative rock began to experience broad mainstream success, R.E.M. was viewed as a pioneer of the genre and released its two most commercially successful albums, Out of Time (1991) and Automatic for the People (1992), which veered from the band’s established sound. In 1996, R.E.M. re-signed with Warner Bros. for a reported US$80 million, at the time the most expensive recording contract in history. The following year, Bill Berry left the band amicably, with Buck, Mills, and Stipe continuing as a three-piece. Through some changes in musical style, the band continued its career into the next decade with mixed critical and commercial success. In 2007, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (more…)Recently featured: Atom – Edward VIII – New York State Route 32Archive – By email – More featured articles…Did you know…From Wikipedia’s newest articles:… that when the Gevingåsen Tunnel (pictured) opens in 2012 it will cut rail travel time north of Trondheim, Norway, by five minutes?… that Fort Concho, a United States Army outpost in San Angelo, Texas from 1867 to 1889, was the headquarters for the Buffalo Soldiers of the American West?… that the city of Strasbourg, France is the sole or main seat of over 20 international institutions?… that Dr Nigel Cox is the only doctor ever to have been convicted in Britain for attempted euthanasia?… that Olvir Hnufa, a famous 9th-century Norwegian skald quoted in the Prose Edda, was the great-uncle of the Viking Egil Skallagrimsson?… that children’s author Aleksandra Ishimova was the last correspondent of Alexander Pushkin before his death in a duel?… that according to a letter written in 1428 by President Felip de Malla to Alfonso the Magnanimous, Catalonia was devastated by an earthquake on Candlemas that year?Archive – Start a new article…In the newsIran test-fires the Shahab-3, a missile with an operating range of 2,100 km (1,300 mi).Leaders of the nations meeting in Japan for the 34th G8 summit agree to a target of cutting world greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 percent by 2050.A suicide bomber rams a car bomb into the Indian embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing 41 people.An explosion near the Lal Masjid in Islamabad, Pakistan, kills at least 18 people on the first anniversary of the deadly siege and storming of the mosque.In tennis, Rafael Nadal (pictured) of Spain and Venus Williams of the United States win the men’s and women’s singles title, respectively, at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships.Clashes are reported between Georgian and South Ossetian forces near Tskhinvali.Wikinews – Recent deaths – More current events…On this day…July 10: Independence Day in the Bahamas (1973); Silence Day1553 – Lady Jane Grey (pictured) was officially proclaimed Queen of England, beginning her reign as the “The Nine Days’ Queen”.1584 – William the Silent, the Prince of Orange, was assassinated at his home in Delft, Holland by Balthasar Gérard.1796 – German mathematician and scientist Carl Friedrich Gauss discovered that every positive integer is representable as a sum of at most three triangular numbers.1925 – Indian mystic and spiritual master Meher Baba began his silence of 44 years until his death in 1969.1978 – Moktar Ould Daddah, the first President of Mauritania, was ousted in a coup d’état led by Mustafa Ould Salek.1985 – French intelligence agents bombed and sank the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior while docked in the port of Auckland to prevent her from interfering in a nuclear test in Moruroa.More events: July 9 – July 10 – July 11Archive – By email – More anniversaries…It is now 01:52, July 10, 2008 (UTC) – Refresh this pageToday’s featured pictureHoverflies, or flower flies, are a family of about 5,000 species of Diptera, with hovering and darting flight. Most are nectar feeding and many mimic bees and wasps, with their characteristic black and yellow bands in the abdomen. This poster shows sixteen different species of hoverflies from southern Europe.Image credit: Joaquim Alves GasparRecently featured: David Farragut – Intercession of Charles Borromeo supported by the Virgin Mary – LAPD helicopterArchive – More featured pictures…