Jump to content

Wikipedia:Main Page history/2023 May 21

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Welcome to Wikipedia

,
6,659,162 articles in English

From today's featured article

Sir Thomas Fairfax, the Parliamentarian commander
Sir Thomas Fairfax, the Parliamentarian commander

The Capture of Wakefield occurred on 21 May 1643 during the First English Civil War when around 1,500 Parliamentarians under the command of Sir Thomas Fairfax (depicted) attacked the Royalist garrison of Wakefield, Yorkshire. They were outnumbered by around 3,000 Royalists led by George Goring, but successfully stormed the town. Around 800 Parliamentarians had been taken prisoner after Fairfax was defeated at Seacroft Moor, and he planned the attack to take prisoners of his own to exchange for his men. He marched his force from Leeds and divided it to attack from two different directions. After around two hours of fighting early in the morning, they broke into the town. Goring, who had been in bed suffering from either illness or a hangover, led a counterattack in his nightshirt, but to no avail. Fairfax took roughly 1,400 prisoners while, according to his own account, losing no more than seven men. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

Did you know ...

Barclays Bank, Enfield
Barclays Bank, Enfield

In the news

Jim Brown in 1959
Jim Brown

On this day

May 21: World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development

Capture of Syracuse
Capture of Syracuse
More anniversaries:
The Sleeping Gypsy

The Sleeping Gypsy is an 1897 oil-on-canvas by the French Naïve artist Henri Rousseau. It is a fantastical depiction of a lion musing over a sleeping woman on a moonlit night. Rousseau first exhibited the painting at the 13th Salon des Indépendants, and tried unsuccessfully to sell it to the mayor of his hometown, Laval. It instead entered the private collection of a Parisian charcoal merchant, where it remained until 1924, when it was discovered by the art critic Louis Vauxcelles. The Paris-based art dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler purchased the painting in 1924, although a controversy arose over whether the painting was a forgery. It was acquired by art historian Alfred H. Barr Jr. for the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where it remains.

Painting credit: Henri Rousseau

Recently featured:

Other areas of Wikipedia

  • Community portal – The central hub for editors, with resources, links, tasks, and announcements.
  • Village pump – Forum for discussions about Wikipedia itself, including policies and technical issues.
  • Site news – Sources of news about Wikipedia and the broader Wikimedia movement.
  • Teahouse – Ask basic questions about using or editing Wikipedia.
  • Help desk – Ask questions about using or editing Wikipedia.
  • Reference desk – Ask research questions about encyclopedic topics.
  • Content portals – A unique way to navigate the encyclopedia.

Wikipedia's sister projects

Wikipedia is written by volunteer editors and hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization that also hosts a range of other volunteer projects:

Wikipedia languages