Wikipedia:Picture of the day/February 2021
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These featured pictures, as scheduled below, appeared as the picture of the day (POTD) on the English Wikipedia's Main Page in February 2021. Individual sections for each day on this page can be linked to with the day number as the anchor name (e.g. [[Wikipedia:Picture of the day/February 2021#1]] for February 1).
You can add an automatically updating POTD template to your user page using {{Pic of the day}} (version with blurb) or {{POTD}} (version without blurb). For instructions on how to make custom POTD layouts, see Wikipedia:Picture of the day.Purge server cache
February 1
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The Robinson projection is a projection of a world map showing the entire Earth at once. It was specifically created in an attempt to find a good compromise to the problem of showing the whole globe as a single flat image. The projection was devised by Arthur H. Robinson in 1963; distortion is severe close to the poles, but quickly declines to moderate levels as latitudes decrease. This Robinson-projection map, with standard parallels of 38°N and 38°S, was produced by the United States Central Intelligence Agency and shows the world as of February 2016. Map credit: Central Intelligence Agency
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February 2
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The basilica of San Lorenzo is one of the largest churches of Florence, Italy, situated at the centre of the city's main market district. The principal members of the Medici family are buried in one of the chapels. The interior of the dome, shown here, features the fresco Glory of Florentine Saints, commissioned by Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici and painted by Vincenzo Meucci in 1742. Painting credit: Vincenzo Meucci; photographed by Livioandronico2013
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February 3
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Robert Earl Jones (February 3, 1910 – September 7, 2006) was an American actor and a prizefighter. He was a sparring partner of Joe Louis, and was introduced to the stage by Langston Hughes early in his career, becoming one of the first prominent black film stars. The father of James Earl Jones, he had separated from his wife before the child was born, and did not get to meet his son until 20 years later. Photography credit: Carl Van Vechten; restored by Adam Cuerden
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February 4
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The pink-necked green pigeon (Treron vernans) is a species of bird in the dove family, Columbidae, common in Southeast Asia. It is primarily a frugivore, feeding in groups in the mid-canopy on figs and other fruits. It is an important disperser of fruit seeds in forests, and is thought to be one of the species responsible for helping to return many Ficus species to the islands of Krakatoa in Indonesia after the archipelago was largely destroyed in the 1883 eruption. This male pink-necked green pigeon was photographed in Kent Ridge Park, Singapore. Photograph credit: John Harrison
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February 5
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Ratna Moetoe Manikam was a film from the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia). The plot was a modernised version of a classic story, adapted from a stage drama entitled Djoela Djoeli Bintang Tiga. According to the director Tan Tjoei Hock, filming was interrupted by the arrival of Japanese forces in the Dutch East Indies in early 1942, and the film was released during the occupation, but is now likely lost. This advertisement for the film was published in the magazine Poestaka Timoer in 1941. Advertisement credit: Java Industrial Film; restored by Chris Woodrich
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February 6
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The Javan slow loris (Nycticebus javanicus) is a species of primate native to western and central portions of the Indonesian island of Java. It is arboreal, feeding on fruit, gum, eggs, lizards, and the seeds of the cocoa tree. Weighing up to 680 g (24 oz), this small nocturnal mammal sleeps in the open on branches during the day and is easily poached for the exotic-pet trade. Populations are declining, and the animal is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as a critically endangered species and included in a list of the world's 25 most endangered primates. Photograph credit: Aprisonsan
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February 7
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Cynthia Woodhead (born February 7, 1964) is an American former competitive swimmer, world champion, Olympic medalist, and former world-record holder. At the age of fourteen, she won three gold medals at the 1978 World Aquatics Championships, and set seven world records during her career. Photograph credit: Koen Suyk; restored by Adam Cuerden
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February 8
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The Rudra Mahalaya Temple is an ancient temple complex at Siddhpur in the Patan district of Gujarat, India. The temple was completed in 1140 by Jayasimha Siddharaja, but in 1296, Alauddin Khalji sent an army under Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan, who dismantled the structure. In 1414 or 1415, the temple was further destroyed and the western part was converted into a congregational mosque by Muslim ruler Ahmad Shah I of the Muzaffarid dynasty. Apart from the mosque, the surviving fragments consist of two porches, a torana (ornamental gateway) and a few pillars. Photograph credit: Bourne & Shepherd; retouched by Yann Forget
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February 9
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William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773 – April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States in 1841. He died of typhoid, pneumonia or paratyphoid fever 31 days into his term, becoming the first president to die in office. His death sparked a brief constitutional crisis regarding succession to the presidency. Vice President John Tyler claimed a constitutional mandate to become the new president and took the presidential oath of office, setting an important precedent for an orderly transfer of the presidency and its full powers when the previous president fails to complete the elected term. Engraving credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; restored by Andrew Shiva
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February 10
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Bird eggs are laid by females and incubated for a variable duration depending on the species. This diagram shows a cross-section of a chicken egg on its ninth day of incubation. The embryo is surrounded by the amnion, a membrane that fills with amniotic fluid and cushions it against shock; the allantois helps the embryo obtain oxygen and handles metabolic waste; the vitellus, or yolk, is the nutrient-bearing portion of the egg, containing most of its fat, minerals, and many of its proteins and blood vessels; the chorion forms the amniotic sac and encloses the other structures; the albumen protects the yolk and embryo and provides additional nutrients; the porous shell allows oxygen to enter while keeping unwanted fluids and contaminants out. Diagram credit: KDS4444
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February 11
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The doubloon was a Spanish gold coin worth two escudos or 32 reales weighing 6.867 grams (0.221 troy ounces), introduced in 1537. It became the model for several other gold coins issued in Europe, including this 1626 two-doppie gold coin issued in Piacenza in northern Italy by the Duchy of Parma, depicting Odoardo Farnese, Duke of Parma, on the obverse. The coin is part of the National Numismatic Collection at the National Museum of American History. Coin design credit: Duchy of Parma
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February 12
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Alice Roosevelt Longworth (February 12, 1884 – February 20, 1980) was an American writer and prominent socialite, the only child of U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt and his first wife Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt. Nicknamed "Princess Alice", she led an unconventional and controversial life. She was photographed here by Frances Benjamin Johnston in 1903. Photograph credit: Frances Benjamin Johnston; restored by Adam Cuerden
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February 13
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The white-throated kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) is a tree kingfisher, widely distributed in Asia from the Sinai Peninsula east through the Indian subcontinent to the Philippines. Seen here in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, it perches conspicuously on wires or other exposed perches within its territory, and is a frequent sight in southern Asia. This species mainly hunts large crustaceans, insects, earthworms, rodents, snakes, fish and frogs; it bathes in water but rarely drinks. Photograph credit: John Harrison
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February 14
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Jupiter and Io is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Italian High Renaissance artist Antonio da Correggio. The scene is inspired by Ovid's classic Metamorphoses and depicts the mythological tale of the god Jupiter seducing the nymph Io. Jupiter's consort was Juno, but he was often tempted by other women and took on various disguises to cover his activities, variously taking the form of a swan or a bull, and here enveloping himself in a dark cloud. He is depicted embracing Io, his face barely visible above hers, and she is pulling Jupiter's vague, smoky hand towards herself with barely contained sensuality. The painting hangs in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria. Painting credit: Antonio da Correggio
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February 15
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Wat Xieng Thong is a Buddhist temple on the northern tip of the peninsula of Luang Prabang, Laos. Built between 1559 and 1560 by King Setthathirath, it is one of the most important Lao monasteries, and remains a significant monument to the spirit of religion, royalty and traditional art. The temple was spared damage during the sacking of the city in 1887, because the Black Flag leader, Đèo Văn Trị, had studied there as a monk in his early life and used it as his headquarters. Photograph credit: Basile Morin
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February 16
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Rosalind Pitt-Rivers (4 March 1907 – 14 January 1990) was a British biochemist, whose research focused mainly on the thyroid gland. In 1954, she was elected a fellow of the Royal Society. She was made a fellow of Bedford College, London, in 1973, an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine in 1983, and an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1986. Photograph credit: National Institute for Medical Research; restored by Adam Cuerden
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February 17
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Helleborus orientalis, the Lenten rose, is a species of hellebore in the buttercup family, native to Greece and Turkey. German planters began breeding the species in the mid-19th century, but it fell out of favour as a garden plant in the 1920s. Interest was revived in the 1960s by Helen Ballard, who bred many new varieties. Cultivars have plain or spotted flowers, which can be white, green, pink, maroon or purple. Photograph credit: Dominicus Johannes Bergsma
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February 18
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The Barber of Seville is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The plot revolves around the clever and enterprising character Figaro, the titular barber. This 1830 lithograph by Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard depicts the storm scene near the end of the opera's second act. Lithograph credit: Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard; restored by Adam Cuerden
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February 19
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Planthoppers are insects in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha. This photograph shows three adult Phromnia rosea planthoppers on a stem, with three nymphs underneath; the adults fold their wings in a tent-like fashion, while the nymphs are clad in a dense tangle of white wax threads. Both the adults and the nymphs feed by sucking sap from the host plant. Photograph credit: Charles James Sharp
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February 20
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Ansel Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist, known for his black-and-white images of the American West. As a child, he visited Yosemite National Park with his family and was given his first camera. He was later tasked by the United States Department of the Interior to take photographs of national parks. For this work, and for his persistent advocacy, which helped expand the National Park system, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1980. Photograph credit: J. Malcolm Greany
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February 21
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The tule elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes) is a subspecies of elk found only in California, seen here at Tomales Point in Point Reyes National Seashore. When Europeans arrived in the area, an estimated 500,000 tule elk roamed these regions, but the animals were thought to have been hunted to extinction by 1870. A single pair was discovered on the ranch of the cattle baron Henry Miller in 1874. He ordered his men to protect them, and is credited with the survival of the subspecies. As of 2019, the total Californian population is estimated to be 5,700. Photograph credit: Frank Schulenburg
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February 22
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The Lansdowne portrait is an iconic life-size portrait of George Washington painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1796. It depicts the 64-year-old president of the United States during his final year in office. The portrait was a gift to the former British prime minister William Petty, 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, and spent more than 170 years in England. In 1968, it was loaned to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., and purchased by the gallery in 2001. This copy of the Lansdowne portrait, also painted by Stuart, hangs in the East Room of the White House; it was rescued by First Lady Dolley Madison during the Burning of Washington in 1814. Painting credit: Gilbert Stuart
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February 23
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The phenakistiscope was the first widespread animation device that created a fluent illusion of motion. A series of pictures showing sequential phases of the animation are seen through small slots spaced evenly around the rim of a disc. The user would spin the disc and look through the moving slits at the images reflected in a mirror, seeing a rapid succession of images that appear to be a single moving picture. This animation shows one such phenakistiscope disc, entitled Running rats, created by Thomas Mann Baynes in 1833. Illustration credit: Thomas Mann Baynes; animated by Basile Morin
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February 24
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The Bathers is an oil-on-canvas painting by the French artist Paul Cézanne, first exhibited in 1906. The painting is the largest of a series of paintings of bathers by the artist, and is considered a masterpiece of modern art. He worked on the painting for seven years, and it remained unfinished at the time of his death. Often considered Cézanne's finest work, it is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Painting credit: Paul Cézanne
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February 25
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Donner Pass is a 7,056-foot-high (2,151 m) mountain pass in California in the northern Sierra Nevada. This panoramic photograph shows the view from the pass towards the east, with Donner Lake visible in the distance. The pass has been used by the California Trail, the first transcontinental railroad, the Overland Route, the Lincoln Highway and the Victory Highway (both later U.S. Route 40), as well as indirectly by Interstate 80. The pass got its name from the Donner Party, many of whom died here during the winter of 1846–47. Photograph credit: Frank Schulenburg
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February 26
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The Malagasy giant chameleon (Furcifer oustaleti) is a large species of chameleon, endemic to Madagascar. As well as the insects and small vertebrates on which the species feeds, it sometimes consumes fruit. It has been observed drawing fruit-bearing twigs closer with its forelimbs, a degree of food manipulation unusual in reptiles. This juvenile Malagasy giant chameleon was photographed at night in Montagne d'Ambre National Park. Photograph credit: Charles James Sharp
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February 27
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A Negress is an 1884 oil-on-canvas painting by the Polish artist Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowicz, depicting an unknown model. The subject is portrayed from the waist up and dressed in a white robe, but is part naked, with one breast exposed. The Japanese hand fan and the source of light that illuminates the figure and is reflected by highlights in the gold bijoux, create a warm and chamber-like atmosphere. Painted in Paris, the painting was looted during World War II. It was returned to the collection of the National Museum in Warsaw in 2012. Painting credit: Anna Bilińska-Bohdanowicz
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February 28
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Bath Abbey is an Anglican parish church and Grade I listed building in the English city of Bath, Somerset. This photograph shows the interior of the church, featuring the stained glass and the altar at the eastern end of the nave. The square-framed window of seven lights includes a depiction of the Nativity and was made by Clayton and Bell in 1872. The fan vaulting on the ceiling provides structural stability by distributing the weight of the roof down ribs that transfer the force into the supporting columns via flying buttresses. Photograph credit: David Iliff
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