Wikipedia:Picture of the day/Archive
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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 the last 30 days.
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.
May 20
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Rhina Aguirre (20 May 1939 – 30 October 2021) was a Bolivian disability activist, politician, and sociologist. An opponent of the military dictatorships of the 1970s and 1980s, Aguirre was an early activist in the country's human rights movement. Exiled to Ecuador by the regime of Luis García Meza, she collaborated with Leonidas Proaño's indigenous ministry and worked closely with the country's peasant and social organizations. Blinded in both eyes by toxoplasmosis, Aguirre took up the cause of disability rights, joining the Departmental Council for Disabled Persons upon her return to Bolivia. In 2009, she joined the Movement for Socialism and was elected to represent the department of Tarija in the Chamber of Senators, becoming the first blind person in Bolivian history to assume a parliamentary seat. This photograph of Aguirre was taken in 2014. Photograph credit: Chamber of Senators; edited by Krisgabwoosh
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May 19
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Chester Cathedral is a cathedral of the Church of England and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Werburgh, is dedicated to Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Since 1541, it has been the seat of the Bishop of Chester. This photograph shows the interior of the Lady Chapel at Chester Cathedral, built between 1265 and 1290 in the Early English Gothic style. It contains the Shrine of St Werburgh, dating from the 14th century, and also has a sedilia and a piscina. It is decorated with carved roof bosses representing the Trinity, the Madonna and Child, and the murder of Thomas Becket. Photograph credit: David Iliff
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May 18
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El Tatio is a geothermal field with many geysers located in the Andes Mountains of northern Chile at 4,320 metres (14,170 ft) above mean sea level. It is the third-largest geyser field in the world and the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. The geothermal field has many geysers, hot springs, and associated sinter deposits. These hot springs eventually form the Rio Salado, a major tributary of the Rio Loa, and are a major source of arsenic pollution in the river. The vents are sites of populations of extremophile microorganisms such as hyperthermophiles, and El Tatio has been studied as an analogue for the early Earth and possible past life on Mars. Photograph credit: Diego Delso
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May 17
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The short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) is one of four living species of echidna. It is covered in fur and spines, has a distinctive snout to help detect its surroundings, and uses a specialized tongue to catch insects. Its extremely strong front limbs and claws allow it to burrow quickly. It repels predators by curling into a ball and deters them with its spines. During the Australian winter, it goes into deep torpor and hibernation. As the temperature increases, it emerges to mate. Female echidnas lay one egg a year and the mating period is the only time the solitary animals meet. A newborn echidna grows rapidly on mother's milk and is expelled into the mother's burrow when it grows too large for the pouch. It leaves the burrow when it is around six months old. The species is found throughout Australia and in coastal and highland regions of eastern New Guinea. It is not threatened with extinction, but human activities have reduced its distribution in Australia. This photograph shows a Tasmanian short-beaked echidna (T. a. setosus), a subspecies of the short-beaked echidna, near Scottsdale, Tasmania. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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May 16
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Margaret Hamilton (December 9, 1902 – May 16, 1985) was an American entertainer and educator, with a fifty-year career in entertainment spanning theater, film, radio and television. She was best known for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West and her Kansas counterpart Almira Gulch in the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film The Wizard of Oz. A former schoolteacher, she worked as a character actress in films for seven years before she was offered the role that defined her public image. In later years, Hamilton appeared in films and made frequent cameo appearances on television sitcoms and commercials. She also gained recognition for her work as an advocate of causes designed to benefit children and animals and retained a lifelong commitment to public education. This photograph shows Hamilton as Miss Eddels in Sid and Marty Krofft's Sigmund and the Sea Monsters c. 1973. Photograph credit: NBC Television Network; restored by Adam Cuerden
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May 15
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Kiwifruit is the edible berry of several species of woody vines in the genus Actinidia. The most common cultivar group of kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis var. deliciosa 'Hayward') is oval, 5–8 centimetres (2–3 inches) in length and 4.5–5.5 cm (1+3⁄4–2+1⁄4 in) in diameter. Kiwifruit has a thin, fuzzy, fibrous, tart but edible, light brown skin and light green or golden flesh with rows of tiny, black, edible seeds. Kiwifruit is native to central and eastern China, with the first recorded description dating back to the 12th century during the Song dynasty. In 2023, world kiwifruit production was 4.4 million tonnes, led by China with 55% of the total. This focus-stacked photograph shows the cross-section of a kiwifruit grown in Portugal. Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus
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May 14
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Lysander Spooner (January 19, 1808 — May 14, 1887) was an American abolitionist, entrepreneur, lawyer, essayist, natural rights legal theorist, pamphleteer, political philosopher, and writer often associated with the Boston anarchist tradition. He is known for establishing the American Letter Mail Company, which competed with the United States Postal Service. This undated photograph of Spooner was taken by Amory Nelson Hardy. Photograph credit: Amory Nelson Hardy; restored by Adam Cuerden
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May 13
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The Cape Barren goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae) is a species of goose endemic to southern Australia. It was first formally described by English ornithologist John Latham in 1801. Adult Cape Barren geese are large birds, typically measuring 75 to 100 centimetres (30 to 39 inches) long and weighing between 3.7 to 5.2 kilograms (8.2 to 11.5 pounds), with males generally being larger than females. The plumage is mostly pale grey with a slight brown tint. The head is somewhat small in proportion to the body and mostly grey in colour, save for a pale whitish patch on the forehead and crown. Cape Barren geese are largely terrestrial, only occasionally swimming. They predominantly graze on grasses, sedges, legumes, herbs, and succulents. This Cape Barren goose was photographed near Karatta, on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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May 12
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The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information announced later that month at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). This photograph shows the "Pro" model from the launch line-up, which featured a 20GB hard drive, wireless controller and a silver DVD bezel. Photograph credit: Evan-Amos
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May 11
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Ottmar Mergenthaler (11 May 1854 – 28 October 1899) was the inventor of the linotype machine, the first device that could easily and quickly set complete lines of type for use in printing presses. Mergenthaler was born into a German family in Hachtel in the Kingdom of Württemberg. He was apprenticed to a watchmaker in Bietigheim before emigrating to the United States in 1872 to work in Washington, D.C., with his cousin August Hahl. In 1876, Mergenthaler was approached by James O. Clephane and his associate Charles T. Moore, who sought a quicker way of publishing legal briefs. By 1884, he conceived the idea of assembling metallic letter molds, called matrices, and casting molten metal into them, all within a single machine. In July 1886, the Mergenthaler Linotype Company installed the first commercially used Linotype in the printing office of the New-York Tribune. This photograph shows Mergenthaler at approximately 45 years of age in 1899; he died that year in Baltimore of tuberculosis. Photograph credit: unknown; restored by Adam Cuerden
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May 10
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Euphaedra themis is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria and western Cameroon. Its wings have a black ground-colour above and are green, blue, orange-yellow or whitish to beyond the middle of the hindwing and at the hindmargin of the forewing. This male E. themis was photographed in the Bobiri Forest, Ghana. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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May 9
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The Allies of World War II, formally known as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed to oppose the Axis powers. Its principal members were the "Big Four": the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and the Republic of China. The Allies became a formalized group upon the Declaration by United Nations on 1 January 1942, which was signed by 26 countries around the world; these ranged from governments in exile from Axis occupation to small states far removed from the war. This became the groundwork for the present-day United Nations, established in the aftermath of World War II. This 1943 propaganda poster, designed by Leslie Ragan and distributed by the United States Office of War Information, depicts the flags of many of the members of the Allies waving amidst smoke, with tanks, battleships and aircraft in the foreground. In white all-caps letters, the poster bears the word "United" at the top of the poster, and the caption "The United Nations Fight for Freedom" at the bottom. Poster credit: Leslie Ragan; restored by Bammesk
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May 8
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The Auxiliary Territorial Service was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938 as a successor to the First World War-era Women's Auxiliary Army Corps, and existed until 1 February 1949, when it was merged into the Women's Royal Army Corps. This photograph shows ATS members working on a Churchill tank in 1942. Photograph credit: Lt. Taylor, War Office official photographer; restored by Adam Cuerden
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May 7
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The Sumatran ground cuckoo (Carpococcyx viridis) is a large, terrestrial species of cuckoo. It is endemic to Indonesia, where it is found exclusively on the island of Sumatra. Its favoured habitat is believed to be foothills and primary montane rainforest. The Sumatran ground cuckoo is a large bird, adults having an average length of 55 cm, with a long, full tail. Much of its body is green and brown with cinammon-buff underparts, glossy and greenish-black wings and tail, and green, lilac and blue bare skin around the eyes. Due to ongoing habitat loss and small population size, the Sumatran ground cuckoo is evaluated as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. This Sumatran ground cuckoo was photographed in the western part of the Sumatran province of Jambi, near Mount Kunyit. Photograph credit: JJ Harrison
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May 6
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Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. After various theatre roles in Ireland, England and the United States as well as acting on radio shows, Welles began directing stage productions for the Federal Theatre Project at the age of 21. These included the Voodoo Macbeth (1936) and The Cradle Will Rock (1937). His first film was Citizen Kane (1941), which he co-wrote, produced, directed and starred in as the title character, Charles Foster Kane. It has been consistently ranked as one of the greatest films ever made. Welles directed twelve other features, including The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), The Lady from Shanghai (1947), Othello (1951), Touch of Evil (1958), The Trial (1962), Chimes at Midnight (1966), and F for Fake (1973). Welles's distinctive directorial style featured layered and nonlinear narrative forms, dramatic lighting, unusual camera angles, sound techniques borrowed from radio, deep focus shots and long takes. He received an Academy Award and three Grammy Awards, among other honors. This photograph, taken in 1938, shows Welles surrounded by reporters and discussing his radio drama "The War of the Worlds", which had induced panic among some listeners who believed that a real Martian invasion was taking place. Photograph credit: Acme News Photos
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May 5
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Silver certificates are a type of representative money issued between 1878 and 1964 in the United States as part of its circulation of paper currency. They were produced in response to silver agitation by citizens who were angered by the Coinage Act of 1873, which had effectively placed the United States on a gold standard. Since 1968 they have been redeemable only in Federal Reserve Notes and are thus obsolete, but they remain legal tender at their face value and hence are still an accepted form of currency. This five-dollar bill, a 1953 silver certificate bearing the first serial number of a printing of 339,600,000 banknotes, is part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. It features a portrait of President Abraham Lincoln on the obverse and the facade of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on the reverse. Banknote design credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; photographed by Andrew Shiva
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May 4
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The Greensburg tornado was a large and devastating tornado that moved through Kiowa County, Kansas, on the evening of May 4, 2007, amid a tornado outbreak across the central United States, causing catastrophic damage to the town of Greensburg. The tornado tracked 28.8 miles (46.3 kilometers) through the area, killing at least twelve people and injuring sixty-three others. The tornado was the first to be rated EF5 on the enhanced Fujita scale after the retirement of the original Fujita scale in the United States in 2007. This photograph, taken for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shows the destroyed town center of Greensburg on May 16, twelve days after the tornado struck. Photograph credit: Greg Henshall
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May 3
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The eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) is a marsupial found in the eastern third of Australia, with a population of several million. The eastern grey kangaroo is the second largest living marsupial and native land mammal in Australia, with adult males weighing around 50 to 66 kg (110 to 146 lb) and females weighing around 17 to 40 kg (37 to 88 lb). Like all kangaroos, it is mainly nocturnal and crepuscular, and is mostly seen early in the morning, or as the light starts to fade in the evening. In the middle of the day, kangaroos rest in the cover of the woodlands and graze there. Kangaroos are the only large mammals to hop on two legs as their primary means of locomotion. This multiple exposure photograph shows an eastern grey kangaroo hopping in Mount Annan, New South Wales. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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May 2
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Raising a Flag over the Reichstag (Russian: Знамя Победы над Рейхстагом, romanized: Znamya Pobedy nad Reykhstagom, lit. 'Victory Banner over the Reichstag') is an iconic World War II photograph, taken during the Battle of Berlin on 2 May 1945 by Yevgeny Khaldei. The photograph was reprinted in thousands of publications and came to be regarded around the world as one of the most significant and recognizable images of World War II, but, owing to the secrecy of Soviet media, both the identity of photographer and the identities of the men in the picture were often disputed. The Reichstag was seen as symbolic of, and at the heart of, Nazi Germany. It was arguably the most symbolic target in Berlin. After its capture on 2 May 1945, Khaldei scaled the now pacified Reichstag to take a picture. He was carrying with him a large flag, sewn from three tablecloths for this very purpose, by his uncle. The official story would later be that two hand-picked soldiers, Meliton Kantaria (Georgian) and Mikhail Yegorov (Russian), raised the Soviet flag over the Reichstag, However, according to Khaldei himself, when he arrived at the Reichstag, he simply asked the soldiers who happened to be passing by to help with the staging of the photoshoot; the one who was attaching the flag was 18-year-old Private Kovalev from Burlin, Kazakhstan; the two others were Abdulkhakim Ismailov from Dagestan and Leonid Gorychev (also mentioned as Aleksei Goryachev) from Minsk. Photograph credit: Yevgeny Khaldei for TASS; restored by Adam Cuerden
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May 1
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Euthrix potatoria, commonly known as the drinker, is an orange-brown moth in the family Lasiocampidae. The species' common and scientific names derive from the larva's supposed drinking of drops of dew. It is found in Europe, most frequently found in marshy places, fens and riversides but may also be seen in drier, grassy terrain. The larva (caterpillar) of this species grows to about 6 cm (2.3 in) in length and is hairy, striped and spotted, with distinctive tufts fore and aft. Caterpillars hibernate while young and resume feeding in the spring, pupating in a cocoon during the summer. This picture shows the top of an E. potatoria caterpillar in Keila, Estonia. Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus
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April 30
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Mimetite is a lead arsenate chloride mineral (Pb5(AsO4)3Cl) which forms as a secondary mineral in lead deposits, usually by the oxidation of galena and arsenopyrite. The name derives from the Greek Μιμητής (mimetes), meaning "imitator," and refers to mimetite's resemblance to the similar mineral pyromorphite. This focus-stacked photograph shows a 3 cm × 1.7 cm × 1 cm (1.18 in × 0.67 in × 0.39 in) sample of mimetite collected from the Congreso-León mines in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus
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April 29
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Mount Whymper is a 2,845-metre-high (9,334 ft) mountain located in the Canadian Rockies in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Located in the Vermilion Pass in Kootenay National Park, it is named after Edward Whymper, who, along with four guides (Joseph Bossoney, Christian Kaufmann, Christian Klucker, and Joseph Pollinger), was the first to climb the mountain in 1910. Mount Whymper is composed of sedimentary rock laid down during the Precambrian to Jurassic periods as part of the Laramide orogeny. This panoramic photograph shows the southeastern aspect of Mount Whymper, as seen from the Stanley Glacier Trail, with Stanley Valley in the foreground. Photograph credit: The Cosmonaut
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April 28
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The red-chested cuckoo (Cuculus solitarius) is a species of cuckoo. It is a medium-sized bird, about 31 cm (12.2 in) in length, found in Sub-Saharan Africa. The male has slate-grey upper parts, pale grey throat and sides of head and dark grey tail tipped with white. The breast is rufous or cinnamon, often with barring, and the belly is creamy-white or pale buff. The female is similar but the colour of the breast is duller and with variable amounts of barring. It is usually solitary and highly vocal and lives on forests and plantations. It eats insects including caterpillars, spiders, centipedes, millipedes, slugs, snails, small vertebrates and berries. This red-chested cuckoo was photographed in Kibale National Park, Kenya. Photograph credit: Giles Laurent
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April 27
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Selection on the ramp at Auschwitz II–Birkenau from the Auschwitz Album, a photographic record of the Holocaust during World War II. It and the Sonderkommando photographs are among the small number of visual documents that show the operations of Auschwitz II–Birkenau, the German extermination camp in occupied Poland. Originally titled "Resettlement of the Jews from Hungary" (Umsiedlung der Juden aus Ungarn), it shows a period when the Nazis accelerated their deportation of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz. The images were taken by photographers from the camp's Erkennungsdienst ("identification service"). Among other things, the Erkennungsdienst was responsible for fingerprinting and taking photo IDs of prisoners who had not been selected for extermination. The identity of the photographers is uncertain, but it is thought to have been Bernhard Walter or Ernst Hoffmann, two SS men who were director and deputy director of the Erkennungsdienst. The camp's director, Rudolf Höss, also may have taken several of the photographs himself. Photograph credit: Unknown Auschwitz Erkennungsdienst photographer; restored by Yann Forget
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April 26
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The Royal Palace of Amsterdam is a royal residence in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Opened in 1655 as a town hall, the main architect was Jacob van Campen, who designed it in the Dutch Baroque style. Louis Bonaparte became King of Holland in 1806 and established his court in Amsterdam, turning the town hall into a palace; it has been used by Dutch monarchs since then, although their main place of residence is Huis ten Bosch in The Hague. The Royal Palace of Amsterdam is used for entertaining and official functions during state visits and other official receptions, such as New Year receptions. This photograph shows the Royal Palace from Dam Square in 2016. Photograph credit: Diego Delso
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April 25
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The Indian Head gold pieces were two coin series struck by the United States Mint: a two-and-a-half dollar piece, or quarter eagle (1908–1915, 1925–1929), and a five-dollar coin, or half eagle (1908–1916, 1929). The only US coins with recessed (engraved) designs ever to enter circulation, they were the last of a long series of coins in those denominations. President Theodore Roosevelt advocated for new coin designs, and had the Mint engage his friend, the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, to design coins that could be changed without congressional authorization. The sculptor completed an eagle ($10 piece) and double eagle before his death in 1907. Roosevelt convinced Mint Director Frank A. Leach to reproduce the eagle's design on both of the smaller coins, but recessed below the background. The job fell to Boston sculptor Bela Pratt, and after some difficulty, the Mint was able to strike the coins, though Pratt was unhappy with modifications made by the Mint's engravers. The quarter eagle enjoyed popularity as a Christmas present, but neither coin circulated much. This photograph shows the obverse (left) and reverse (right) of a quarter eagle coin struck in 1908, which is in the National Numismatic Collection at the National Museum of American History. Coin design credit: United States Mint; photographed by Jaclyn Nash
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April 24
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The blue-tailed damselfly (Ischnura elegans) is a damselfly, belonging to the family Coenagrionidae. Ischnura elegans can reach a body length of 27–35 millimetres (1.1–1.4 in) and a wingspan of about 35 millimetres (1.4 in). Adult male blue-tailed damselflies have a head and thorax patterned with blue and black, while females come in a variety of colour forms. This pair of blue-tailed damselflies was photographed while mating in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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April 23
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The Chandos portrait is the most famous of the portraits that are believed to depict William Shakespeare (c. 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616). Painted between 1600 and 1610, it may have served as the basis for the engraved portrait of Shakespeare used in his First Folio in 1623. John Taylor (c. 1580–1653) is thought by several scholars to have painted the portrait. It is named for the 3rd Duke of Chandos, who formerly owned the painting. The portrait was given to the National Portrait Gallery, London, on its foundation in 1856, and it is listed as the first work in its collection. Painting credit: John Taylor; image retouched by Dcoetzee
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April 22
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Édouard de Reszke (1853–1917) was a Polish bass from Warsaw. A member of the musical Reszke family, he was a successful opera singer, as were his brother Jean and his sister Josephine. He made his debut in Aida in Paris on 22 April 1876. Photograph credit: Nadar, restored by Chris Woodrich
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April 21
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Sherlock Jr. is a 1924 American silent comedy film starring and directed by Buster Keaton and written by Clyde Bruckman, Jean Havez, and Joseph A. Mitchell. It features Kathryn McGuire, Joe Keaton, and Ward Crane. Production began in January 1924, and the film was released on April 21, 1924. It was selected in 1991 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 2000, the American Film Institute, as part of its series AFI 100 Years..., ranked the film at number 62 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs. Film credit: Buster Keaton
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