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.
July 17
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Phyllis Diller (July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, actress, and author, known for her rapid-fire jokes and self-deprecating humour. Born in Lima, Ohio, she began working in journalism, radio and advertising before making her professional stand-up debut at The Purple Onion in San Francisco in 1955. She then went on to appear on national television, including You Bet Your Life, The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show. Diller later worked with Bob Hope, starred in various television series and films, and became a prolific voice actor. She is regarded as a pioneer of female stand-up comedy and inspired many later female comedians. This photograph of Diller was taken in Reno, Nevada, by the English photographer Allan Warren in 1973. Photograph credit: Allan Warren; retouched by Yann Forget
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July 16
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A snifter is a type of stemware, a short-stemmed glass whose vessel has a wide bottom and a relatively narrow top. It is mostly used to serve aged brown liquors such as bourbon, brandy and whisky. This photograph shows armagnac in a pipe snifter, a variant with a glass tube to allow the liquor to be consumed from the bottom of the vessel. Photograph credit: Didier Descouens
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July 15
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Glaucus atlanticus, commonly known as the blue dragon, is a species of sea slug in the family Glaucidae. It is pelagic and found in tropical and temperate oceans worldwide. The species floats upside down at the ocean's surface using a gas-filled sac in its stomach, with blue and silver countershading to help camouflage it from predators. It preys on venomous cnidaria such as the Portuguese man o' war, storing the prey's stinging nematocysts in specialised sacs for its own defence. Handling the slug can result in a painful sting and symptoms such as nausea and allergic contact dermatitis. This G. atlanticus sea slug, about 35 millimetres (1.4 in) in length, was found washed up on a beach at Surfers Paradise in Queensland, Australia. Photograph credit: Taro Taylor
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July 14
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Chandrayaan-3 is India's third lunar mission, part of the Chandrayaan programme developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The mission's spacecraft consists of Vikram, a lunar lander, and Pragyan, a lunar rover. This photograph shows the LVM3-M4 rocket carrying Chandrayaan-3 lifting off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on 14 July 2023. Vikram later made a successful soft landing near the lunar south pole in August 2023, making India the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon, and the first country to land a lunar spacecraft near the south pole. Photograph credit: ISRO, edited by UnpetitproleX
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July 13
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The Great Mosque of Central Java is a mosque in Semarang, the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of Central Java. Dedicated in 2006, the mosque complex covers 10 hectares (25 acres). Up to 15,000 worshippers can be accommodated in the mosque and the central courtyard. This aerial photograph, taken in 2014, shows the Great Mosque of Central Java as seen from the viewing deck of the adjacent 99-metre-tall (325 ft) Asmaul Husna Tower, which also houses a museum and a radio station for dakwah. Photograph credit: Chris Woodrich
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July 12
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The maroon shining parrot (Prosopeia tabuensis) is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae. It is native to Fiji and Tonga, where its habitats include forests, plantations, mangroves and gardens. Adults have dark-maroon underparts, green upperparts, and a blue collar of variable prominence. The species feeds mainly on fruit and seeds, nests in tree cavities, and usually lays two or three eggs. Known as the koki in Tonga, it can mimic human speech but is rarely kept in captivity. This maroon shining parrot was photographed on Taveuni, the third-largest island in Fiji. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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July 11
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Arthur Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder (11 July 1890 – 3 June 1967), was a senior British air commander who played a significant role in the Allied victory in the Second World War. After serving in the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War, he rose to command RAF Middle East Command, where his organisational reforms and the "Tedder Carpet" bombing tactic helped secure victory at the Second Battle of El Alamein. He later served as deputy to Dwight D. Eisenhower during the Allied invasion of France, and went on to sign the German Instrument of Surrender on Eisenhower's behalf. After the war, Tedder became Chief of the Air Staff and later Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He was elevated to the peerage in 1946. This photograph, in the collection of the Imperial War Museum, shows Tedder on the Italian coast in December 1943. At that time, he held the rank of air chief marshal, and later that month returned to Britain to take up his appointment as deputy commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces. Photograph credit: unknown; restored by Adam Cuerden
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July 10
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Pennsylvania is the fifth-most populous U.S. state, stretching west–east from Lake Erie to the Delaware River and north–south from the New York border to the Mason–Dixon line. Founded in 1681 by William Penn as a haven for religious tolerance, it played a central role in the birth of the United States, hosting the Second Continental Congress, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitutional Convention. The state was also the scene of the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Pennsylvania is known for its diverse geography, industrial heritage, and major cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. This 1876 illustration of the state's coat of arms was part of a series produced by engraver Henry Mitchell. Illustration credit: Henry Mitchell; restored by Godot13
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July 9
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Dictyophorus spumans, also known as the koppie foam grasshopper, is a species of grasshopper in the family Pyrgomorphidae, indigenous to southern Africa. The name "foam grasshopper" derives from the insect's ability to produce a toxic foam from its thoracic glands, using a combination of hemolymph with air from the grasshopper's spiracles. Adult males are typically 4.5 to 5 cm (1.8 to 2.0 in) long and females typically 5 to 7 cm (2.0 to 2.8 in), but can grow up to a length of 8 cm (3.1 in). This nymph of the subspecies D. s. spumans was photographed in the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden in Roodepoort, South Africa. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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July 8
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The mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree Mangifera indica. Native to the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh and northeastern India, it has been cultivated and spread widely through South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa and the Americas. Mango trees are long-lived evergreens, with hundreds of named cultivars producing fruits that vary in size, colour, flavour and texture. Mangoes are eaten ripe or unripe in many cuisines, including chutneys, pickles, juices and desserts. This is a mango of the 'Nam Dok Mai' cultivar, which originated in Thailand. Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus
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July 7
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Nettie Stevens (July 7, 1861 – May 4, 1912) was an American geneticist who discovered sex chromosomes, which later became known as the X and Y chromosomes. Using observations of insect chromosomes, Stevens discovered that, in some species, chromosomes are different between the sexes and when chromosome segregation occurs in sperm formation; this difference leads to outcomes of female versus male progeny. Her discovery was the first time that observable differences of chromosomes could be linked to an observable difference in phenotype or physical attributes (i.e., whether an individual is male or female). Stevens was one of the first American women to be recognized for her contribution to science. Most of her research was completed at Bryn Mawr College, where she expanded the fields of genetics, cytology, and embryology. This photograph of Stevens was taken in the 1900s. Photograph credit: Carnegie Institution of Washington; restored by Adam Cuerden
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July 6
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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, silver certificates 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 1928 one-dollar silver certificate, part of the National Numismatic Collection at the National Museum of American History, bears a portrait of George Washington and the signatures of Harold Theodore Tate (Treasurer of the United States) and Andrew Mellon (Secretary of the Treasury) on the obverse. Banknote design credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; scanned by Andrew Shiva
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July 5
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Elephants are the largest existing land animals and the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae. Three living species are recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. Elephants have long, flexible trunks, long tusks, large ear flaps, pillar-like legs, and grey skin. They are herbivorous, and stay near water when it is accessible. Females (cows) tend to live in family groups, which can consist of one female with her calves or several related females with offspring. After reaching adulthood, males (bulls) live separately, either alone or with other males. Elephants communicate by touch, sight, smell, and sound. Threats to their populations include poaching for their ivory tusks, habitat destruction, and conflicts with local people. Elephants are iconic in human culture and have been featured in art, folklore, religion, literature, and popular culture. This female African bush elephant was photographed in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. Photograph credit: Muhammad Mahdi Karim
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July 4
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The Declaration of Independence is the founding document of the United States, adopted unanimously by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Principally drafted by Thomas Jefferson with input from the Committee of Five, it announced the result of the Lee Resolution, passed two days earlier, that the Thirteen Colonies were independent states no longer subject to British rule. The Declaration justified separation by asserting the principles of natural rights, government by consent, and the right of revolution, while listing grievances against George III. Its assertion that "all men are created equal" has become one of the most influential statements in political history, shaping democratic and independence movements worldwide. The image shows the engrossed parchment copy prepared by Timothy Matlack and signed by the delegates. This version, signed primarily on August 2, is preserved in the Charters of Freedom of the National Archives Building and is generally considered to be the official document. Document credit: Thomas Jefferson; prepared by Timothy Matlack and photographed by the National Archives and Records Administration
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July 3
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The de Havilland Mosquito is a British twin-engined multirole combat aircraft introduced during the Second World War. Nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", it features a mostly wooden airframe. Originally designed as an unarmed fast bomber, it was adapted for roles including photo-reconnaissance, night fighter, fighter-bomber, maritime strike aircraft and transport. One of the fastest operational aircraft of its era, it relied on speed and manoeuverability rather than defensive armament to evade enemy fighters. The Mosquito served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other air forces, taking part in operations across Europe and Asia. This air-to-air photograph, taken around 1942–1943, shows a Mosquito serving with the No. 105 Squadron RAF. Photograph credit: unknown photographer; taken from the Royal Netherlands Air Force photo prints collection; restored by Chris Woodrich
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July 2
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The red knot (Calidris canutus) is a medium-sized shorebird in the sandpiper family, Scolopacidae. It breeds across the high Arctic of Canada, Greenland, Europe and Russia, and undertakes some of the longest migrations of any landbird. Six subspecies are recognised, wintering on coasts from western Africa to Australia, New Zealand and South America. It feeds on arthropods and larvae on its breeding grounds and mainly on molluscs and other marine invertebrates during migration and winter. The red knot is a relatively large sandpiper with short dark legs and a thin dark bill. In winter it is mostly pale grey, while breeding adults develop distinctive reddish-cinnamon underparts; the exact plumage varies between subspecies. Although widespread, some populations have declined because of habitat loss, climate change and reduced food availability. This red knot in breeding plumage was photographed in Delaware Bay in New Jersey, United States. Photograph credit: Chuck Homler
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July 1
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Olivia de Havilland (July 1, 1916 – July 26, 2020) was a British and American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. De Havilland first came to prominence with Errol Flynn as a screen couple in adventure films such as Captain Blood (1935) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). One of her best-known roles is that of Melanie Hamilton in Gone with the Wind (1939), for which she received the first of her five Oscar nominations. Before her death in 2020 at age 104, she was the oldest living and earliest surviving Academy Award winner and was widely considered as being the last surviving major star from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Her younger sister, with whom she had a noted rivalry well documented in the media, was Oscar-winning actress Joan Fontaine. This photograph by Bernard Gotfryd shows de Havilland in 1985. Photograph credit: Bernard Gotfryd; restored by Adam Cuerden
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June 30
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Crater Lake is a volcanic crater lake in southern Oregon, formed around 7,700 years ago after the collapse of Mount Mazama. It is the deepest lake in the United States, with a maximum depth of 1,949 feet (594 m). Sacred to the Klamath people, who call it Giiwas, Crater Lake is the centerpiece of Crater Lake National Park and has a deep blue color and exceptional water clarity. It has no inflow or outflow, the waters being replaced every 150 years through evaporation, rain and snowfall. Its best-known landmarks include Wizard Island and Phantom Ship, while the surrounding park offers hiking, fishing and winter recreation. This photograph shows a panoramic view of Crater Lake in winter, as seen from Rim Village, with Wizard Island visible in the background. Photograph credit: WolfmanSF
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June 29
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The parti-coloured bat (Vespertilio murinus), also known as the rearmouse, is a species in the vesper bat family, Vespertilionidae. It is found across temperate Eurasia, from western and southern Europe through the Caucasus, Iran, Mongolia, northern China, Korea, Afghanistan and northern Pakistan. It measures 4.8–6.4 cm (1.9–2.5 in) in body length, weighs 11–24 grams (0.39–0.85 oz), and has a 26–33 cm (10–13 in) wingspan. Much of the parti-coloured bat's behaviour remains poorly understood because the species is relatively rare. It hunts insects such as mosquitoes, caddis flies and moths using ultrasonic calls, often over water and forests and around street lights. Females form maternity roosts and usually bear twins, while the species migrates long distances and hibernates alone through winter. Its distinctive twittering call is especially noticeable during the autumn mating season. This parti-coloured bat was photographed in Rochovce, Slovakia. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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June 28
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Genevieve Clark Thomson (1894–1981) was an American suffragist, journalist and political candidate. The daughter of Champ Clark, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, she was educated in Washington, DC, and worked as a reporter from 1913. In 1915 she married publisher James M. Thomson, whom she had met while campaigning for her father's presidential nomination. A supporter of temperance and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Thomson was active in the women's suffrage movement. In 1924 she ran unsuccessfully for Louisiana's 2nd congressional district seat in Congress, losing to J. Zach Spearing. This photograph shows Thomson using a candlestick telephone in around 1910–1915. Photograph credit: unknown photographer for Bain News Service; restored by Adam Cuerden
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June 27
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Hip, Hip, Hurrah! is an oil-on-canvas painting from 1888 by the Danish painter Peder Severin Krøyer. The work shows various members of the Skagen Painters, a group of Danish, Norwegian and Swedish artists who formed a loose community in Skagen, at the northern tip of Jutland, in the 1880s and early 1890s. Krøyer began the painting in 1884 after a party at Michael Ancher's house, with the composition inspired by photographs taken at the celebration by the German artist Fritz Stoltenberg, although the individuals featured are not all the same. A dispute arose between Krøyer and Ancher the following day when the former returned uninvited to continue work on the piece, and although they reconciled Krøyer was not permitted to use Ancher's garden as the setting. The Swedish art collector Pontus Fürstenberg bought the painting before it was completed, and it was displayed at Charlottenborg in 1888. He later donated the work to the Gothenburg Museum of Art, where it has hung since. Painting credit: Peder Severin Krøyer; photographed by Hossein Sehatlou
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June 26
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The red-necked grebe (Podiceps grisegena) is a species of water bird in the grebe family, Podicipedidae, found across the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. It breeds on shallow freshwater lakes, marshes and ponds, and winters mainly along sheltered coasts and other large bodies of water. In breeding plumage, adults have a black cap, pale grey face and throat, and a rusty-red neck, while winter birds are duller grey. The species is a strong swimmer and diver, feeding on fish, aquatic insects and other invertebrates. Red-necked grebes build floating nests among emergent vegetation, and newly hatched chicks often ride on their parents' backs. It is classified as a least-concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This red-necked grebe of the subspecies P. g. grisegena in breeding plumage was photographed in Amager Common, a park and nature reserve in Copenhagen, Denmark. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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June 25
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Paro Taktsang is a Buddhist monastery located in the upper Paro valley of Bhutan. Also known as the Taktsang Palphug Monastery and the Tiger's Nest, it is located in the cliffside of a mountain, around a cave where Guru Padmasambhava is believed to have meditated and practiced Vajrayana Buddhism in the early 9th century. The monastery was built in 1692 by 4th Druk Desi Tenzin Rabgey. Photograph credit: Nina R; edited by UnpetitproleX
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June 24
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HMCS St. John's is a Halifax-class frigate of the Royal Canadian Navy. She was commissioned on 24 June 1996 and is the first ship named after the city of St. John's in Newfoundland and Labrador. She is part of a class designed as a general-purpose warship, with a particular focus on anti-submarine warfare. Over her career, St. John's has served with NATO forces, supported operations in Afghanistan, participated in counter-narcotics missions in the Caribbean, provided disaster relief after hurricanes and other emergencies, and undergone modernization to keep pace with evolving maritime threats. This photograph shows St. John's in the harbour of Gdynia, Poland, in 2007. Photograph credit: Łukasz Golowanow and Maciek Hypś; retouched by Papa Lima Whiskey and Julia W
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June 23
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Arctocephalus pusillus, the Cape fur seal, is a species in the family Otariidae, the eared seals. The species is found along the coasts of southern Africa and southeastern Australia and is the largest of the fur seals, with adult males growing up to 2.3 metres (7.5 ft) in length and females somewhat smaller. Males are dark grey to brown with a darker mane, while females are lighter in colour and pups are born black. The species breeds in large colonies on rocky islands, reefs and coastal outcrops, where females give birth to a single pup. Cape fur seals feed mainly on fish, squid and other marine animals, and are preyed upon mainly by great white sharks and orcas. It is classified as a least-concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This Cape fur seal was photographed hauling out at the Hippolyte Rocks off the coast of Tasmania, Australia. Photograph credit: JJ Harrison
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June 22
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Lysimachia maritima, the sea milkwort, is a flowering plant in the family Primulaceae. It has a circumpolar distribution across the Northern Hemisphere and is native to Europe, Central Asia and North America. The species grows mainly in coastal habitats in Europe, but can also occur inland in mesic habitats in Asia and North America, up to elevations of 2,600 m (8,500 ft). Formerly classified as the sole species in the genus Glaux, it is distinguished from other members of Primulaceae by its lack of petals; its flowers instead have a pink or white petaloid calyx. The fleshy leaves are arranged in opposite pairs. This focus-stacked photograph shows a L. maritima plant flowering on a beach on the island of Norderney, part of the Lower Saxon Wadden Sea National Park in Germany. Photograph credit: Stephan Sprinz
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June 21
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Phagocytosis is the process in cell biology in which a cell engulfs a large particle, such as a bacterium, by extending its plasma membrane around it to form an internal phagosome. It is a type of endocytosis and is used both for feeding, especially by many protists, and for defence in multicellular organisms. The phagosome may fuse with lysosomes to form a phagolysosome, where enzymes and antimicrobial chemicals break down the engulfed material. In the immune system, phagocytosis is carried out by cells such as neutrophils, macrophages and dendritic cells, which remove pathogens, dead cells and debris. These cells are classed as phagocytes. This video, captured through a optical microscope and played back at eight times speed, shows a neutrophil in a drop of human blood engulfing a bacterium through phagocytosis. Video credit: Andrei Savitsky
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June 20
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The Eurasian chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) is a species of bird in the family Fringillidae, the finches. It is found across Europe and temperate Asia, with introduced populations elsewhere. The adult male has a blue-grey head, rust-red underparts, and contrasting white wing bars and tail markings; the female is much duller, being mainly grey-brown. The species breeds in wooded areas, where the female builds a cup-shaped nest in a tree or bush and lays around four to five eggs. The Eurasian chaffinch mainly eats seeds outside the breeding season, and feeds its young on invertebrates such as caterpillars. It has two or three different song types, with some regional song dialects, and is classified as a least-concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This male Eurasian chaffinch was photographed in Scotland. Photograph credit: Caroline Legg
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June 19
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Eva Nogales is a Spanish physicist and structural biologist known for pioneering studies of cellular molecular machinery. After earning a PhD at the University of Keele, she carried out postdoctoral research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where she determined the first atomic structure of tubulin and identified the binding site of the anti-cancer drug taxol using electron crystallography. At the University of California, Berkeley and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, she has helped advance the use of cryo-electron microscopy to study microtubules, transcription and translation complexes, PRC2, and telomerase. Photograph credit: Christopher Michel
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June 18
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Ravished Armenia, also known as Auction of Souls, is a 1919 American silent film directed by Oscar Apfel and based on the autobiographical book Ravished Armenia by Aurora Mardiganian, a survivor of the Armenian genocide. Mardiganian portrayed herself in the film, which depicts her experiences of deportation, persecution and enslavement during the genocide. Filmed in California, it used thousands of Armenians as extras, many of whom had survived similar events. The film was exhibited internationally and helped raise funds for Armenian and Syrian relief efforts. Long thought lost, it survives only in a 14- to 15-minute fragment rediscovered in Yerevan in 1994. This theatrical poster was produced at the time of Ravished Armenia's release in 1919. The poster features an illustration of a young woman being carried forcefully by a soldier, with a bloodied sword in his other hand. Poster credit: Guenther, after Dan Smith
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