Wikipedia:Picture of the day/Archive
Featured picture tools: |
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.
August 27
 |
Pedro II (1825–1891) was the second and final emperor of Brazil, reigning from 1831 until his deposition in a military coup in 1889. He became emperor aged five after the abdication of his father, Pedro I, and was declared of age in 1840. His reign saw political stability, greater freedom of speech, economic growth and victories in the Platine War, the Uruguayan War and the Paraguayan War. Pedro supported the abolition of slavery in Brazil, and promoted education, science and culture. After being overthrown, he was sent into exile in Europe, where he lived modestly. He died in Paris in 1891, and his remains were returned to Brazil in 1921. This photograph of Pedro was taken in 1891, the year of his death, by the French photographer Nadar. Photograph credit: Nadar; restored by Adam Cuerden
Recently featured:
|
August 26
 |
Lophocampa caryae, commonly known as the hickory tiger moth or the hickory tussock moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae, found widely across eastern North America. Its hairy caterpillars feed principally on hickory, pecan and walnut, as well as various other trees and plants. The larvae are mostly white, with black tufts and long black hair. Contact with their microscopically barbed hairs can cause contact dermatitis. The species has one generation annually, with adults typically flying during May and June. This L. caryae caterpillar was photographed by the Grand River in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. Photograph credit: The Cosmonaut
Recently featured:
|
August 25
 |
Dracaena cinnabari, also known as the Socotra dragon tree or the dragon blood tree, is a species of dragon tree native to the island of Socotra, part of Yemen, in the Arabian Sea. Growing to a height of 9 metres (30 ft), it develops a distinctive umbrella-shaped crown adapted to the arid conditions of its habitat. The tree produces a dark-red resin known as dragon's blood, historically used as a dye, medicine and varnish. The species is threatened by overgrazing, habitat degradation and increasing aridity, and is classified as a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This D. cinnabari tree was photographed on the Diksam Plateau on Socotra. Photograph credit: Alex38
Recently featured:
|
August 24
 |
|
Erzi is a medieval aul (fortified village) in Dzheyrakhsky District in Ingushetia, Russia. Situated at an elevation of 1,315 metres (4,314 ft) above sea level on the right bank of the Armkhi, it is known for its complex of Ingush towers, used for combat and accommodation, which was reconstructed between 2012 and 2015. The settlement's name means 'eagle' in the Ingush language, and local tradition associates its foundation with an eagle's nest. In 1931, the 8th-century bronze Suleyman's Eagle was discovered at Erzi; it is now in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. This photograph shows the site of Erzi, with its reconstructed towers, in 2017. Photograph credit: Vyacheslav Argenberg
Recently featured:
|
August 23
 |
The brown parrotbill (Paradoxornis unicolor), also known as the brown suthora, is a species of bird in the parrotbill family, Paradoxornithidae. It is found in the central and eastern Himalayas. Measuring 17 to 19 cm (6.7 to 7.5 in) in length, it is grey-brown with a long tail, a small yellowish parrot-like bill, and a dark stripe above the eyes and along the sides of the crown. It occurs in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar and Nepal, moving in small groups and sometimes joining mixed-species foraging flocks. Originally described by Brian Houghton Hodgson, its closest relative is the three-toed parrotbill. This brown parrotbill was photographed in Darjeeling, in the Indian state of West Bengal. Photograph credit: Tisha Mukherjee
Recently featured:
|
August 22
 |
Claude Debussy (22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He was seen, during his lifetime and afterwards, as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born to a family of modest means, he was admitted at the age of 10 to France's leading music college, the Conservatoire de Paris. He originally studied the piano, but found his vocation in innovative composition, despite the disapproval of the Conservatoire's conservative professors. He took many years to develop his mature style, and was nearly 40 before achieving international fame in 1902 with the only opera he completed, Pelléas et Mélisande. Debussy developed his own style in the use of harmony and orchestral colouring. His works have strongly influenced a wide range of composers, including Béla Bartók, Olivier Messiaen, George Benjamin and the jazz pianist and composer Bill Evans. This photograph of Debussy was taken by the studio of the French photographer Nadar around 1900. Photograph credit: Nadar; restored by Adam Cuerden
Recently featured:
|
August 21
 |
|
An aurora is a natural light display in Earth's upper atmosphere, caused by charged particles from the Sun colliding with atmospheric atoms. The collisions excite oxygen and nitrogen, producing colours including green, red and purple. Auroras occur mainly in high-latitude regions: the Arctic aurora is called the aurora borealis or the northern lights, while its Antarctic counterpart is the aurora australis or the southern lights. They can also occasionally appear at much lower latitudes. Forms of aurora include glows, patches, arcs, rays and coronas, consistent with auroras being shaped by Earth's magnetic field. This photograph shows an aurora borealis over Tuntorp in Lysekil Municipality, Sweden, caused by a geomagnetic storm in May 2024. Photograph credit: Ann-Sophie Qvarnström
Recently featured:
|
August 20
_Ranomafana.jpg) |
|
Calumma fallax, also known as the deceptive chameleon, is a species of chameleon endemic to eastern Madagascar. It is a medium-sized species, with males measuring 43 to 51 mm (1.7 to 2.0 in) and females 41 to 51 mm (1.6 to 2.0 in) in snout–vent length. First described by François Mocquard in 1900, it was transferred to the genus Calumma in 1986. Its population size and trend are unknown, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies it as data deficient. Its habitat is affected by slash-and-burn agriculture, bushfires and logging. This C. fallax chameleon was photographed on a branch in Ranomafana National Park in southeastern Madagascar. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
Recently featured:
|
August 19
|
The Kid is a 1921 American silent comedy-drama film written, produced and directed by Charlie Chaplin, who stars alongside Jackie Coogan. Chaplin plays The Tramp, who finds an abandoned baby and raises him as his son. Five years later, the pair support themselves through a scheme in which the boy breaks windows and the Tramp repairs them. The film was Chaplin's first feature-length work as a director and made Coogan a major child star. A commercial and critical success, The Kid is considered one of the greatest films of the silent era. It was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2011. Film credit: Charlie Chaplin
Recently featured:
|
August 18
 |
The Scream is an art composition first created by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch in 1893. Its imagery has been interpreted as expressing the anxiety of modern humanity and influenced the Expressionist movement. Munch described walking at sunset when the sky turned blood red and sensing an "infinite scream passing through nature". He produced four versions, two in paint and two in pastel, as well as a lithograph. The 1895 pastel sold at auction for nearly US$120 million in 2012. Versions of The Scream were stolen from museums in Oslo in 1994 and 2004; both were later recovered. This 1893 painted version of The Scream features the barely visible pencil inscription Kan kun være malet af en gal Mand! ('could only have been painted by a madman'), and is in the collection of the National Museum of Norway in Oslo. Painting credit: Edvard Munch
Recently featured:
|
August 17
_dark_morph.jpg) |
The western reef heron (Egretta gularis), also known as the western reef egret, is a medium-sized bird in the heron family, Ardeidae. It is found mainly along coasts in Africa and parts of Europe and Asia. The species occurs in white, dark grey and intermediate plumage forms. It feeds on fish, crustaceans and molluscs, stalking or ambushing prey in shallow water. The western reef heron breeds in coastal wetlands, nesting colonially on platforms of sticks in trees or shrubs and typically laying three or four eggs. Two subspecies are commonly recognised: E. g. gularis and E. g. schistacea. It was first described by Louis Augustin Guillaume Bosc in 1792. This western reef heron of the subspecies schistacea was photographed at Dohat Arad Lagoon, Muharraq, Bahrain. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
Recently featured:
|
August 16
 |
|
The Royal Palace of Amsterdam is a royal residence in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Opened in 1655 as a town hall, its main architect was Jacob van Campen, who designed the building 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 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 facade of the Royal Palace as seen from Dam Square in 2016. Photograph credit: Diego Delso
Recently featured:
|
August 15
 |
Keir Hardie (15 August 1856 – 26 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party, and was the first parliamentary leader of the Labour Party from 1906 to 1908. Hardie was born in Newhouse, Lanarkshire. He started working at the age of seven, and from the age of ten worked in the Lanarkshire coal mines. With a background in preaching, he became known as a talented public speaker and was chosen as a spokesman for his fellow miners. Hardie initially supported William Ewart Gladstone's Liberal Party, but later concluded that the working class needed its own party. He first stood for election to Parliament in 1888 as an independent, and later that year helped form the Scottish Labour Party. Hardie won the English seat of West Ham South as an independent candidate in 1892, and helped to form the Independent Labour Party the following year. He lost his seat in 1895, but was re-elected to Parliament in 1900 for Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales. During the same year, he helped to form the union-based Labour Representation Committee, which was later renamed the Labour Party. This photograph of Hardie was taken by George Grantham Bain in 1909. Photograph credit: George Grantham Bain; restored by Adam Cuerden
Recently featured:
|
August 14
 |
|
Saint Patrick's Cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Karachi, and is located near the Empress Market in Saddar, a neighbourhood of Karachi, Pakistan. The cathedral was completed in 1881 and can accommodate 1,500 worshippers. It celebrated its centenary in 1978. In December 1998, the interior of the cathedral was partially damaged in a bomb attack that also injured one woman. This photograph of the interior of Saint Patrick's Cathedral, looking towards the high altar, was taken in 2020. Photograph credit: Alexander Savin
Recently featured:
|
August 13
 |
The addax (Addax nasomaculatus), also known as the white antelope, is a species of antelope in the subfamily Hippotraginae, native to the Sahara. It is adapted to some of the world's most arid environments and can survive for long periods without drinking water. The addax has a pale coat, distinctive facial markings, and long, spirally twisted horns. It lives in small herds and feeds mainly on grasses and other desert vegetation. Once widespread across North Africa, the species has declined drastically because of overhunting, drought, and habitat loss, and is classified as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Wild populations are now concentrated in Chad, Mauritania, and Niger. This male addax was pictured in the Safia Acclimatization Station, south of Dakhla, Western Sahara. Photograph credit: Haytem Bouchri
Recently featured:
|
August 12
s.jpg) |
|
The clementine (Citrus × clementina) is a sweet citrus fruit that is a hybrid of the willowleaf mandarin and the orange. It was discovered in the late 19th century in Misserghin, Algeria, in the garden of the French missionary Clément Rodier, after whom it was named. Clementines have smooth, glossy, deep-orange skin, and are typically juicy, easy to peel, and divided into seven to fourteen segments. Major varieties include clemenules, Fina, Algerian, and Italian cultivars such as Clementine del Golfo di Taranto and Clementine di Calabria. Clementines are cultivated in many countries around the world and are sometimes sold as "easy-peelers". The fruit's essential oils contain mostly limonene. This composite focus-stacked photograph shows two seedless clementines, one unpeeled (left) and one peeled (right). Photograph credit: Rhododendrites
Recently featured:
|
August 11
 |
Shiva is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. In the Shaivite tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is the supreme lord who creates, protects and transforms the universe. He is also significantly important to the Shakta and Smarta traditions, and is known as the Destroyer within the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity which also includes Brahma and Vishnu. This three-headed standing Shiva sculpture has a three-eyed yogi-king front-facing form, with his consort Parvati as the left head, and a three-eyed Bhairava as the right head. Shiva's sons Ganesha and Kumara stand at his feet, and a three-eyed Vrishabha, his mount, stands behind. The statue, which is 53 cm (20+7⁄8 in) in height, was made of grey schist in Kashmir, India, in the 8th century, and is now in the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio. Sculpture credit: unknown; photographed by the Cleveland Museum of Art
Recently featured:
|
August 10
.jpg) |
The palm warbler (Setophaga palmarum) is a small songbird in the New World warbler family, Parulidae. It breeds in the United States, Canada and Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and is also found in non-breeding populations throughout eastern North America, Central America and the Caribbean, as far south as Panama. Its habitat includes shrublands, forests, grasslands, wetlands, and human-modified environments. The species comprises two subspecies, which differ in plumage and migration patterns. The palm warbler mainly eats insects and berries and forages on the ground. Its tail bobbing is an identifying characteristic, and its song is a monotonous buzzy trill. This palm warbler of the subspecies S. p. hypochrysea, in breeding plumage, was photographed in Green-Wood Cemetery, New York City, United States. Photograph credit: Rhododendrites
Recently featured:
|
August 9
 |
Willa Beatrice Player (August 9, 1909 – August 29, 2003) was an American educator, college administrator, college president, civil-rights activist, and federal appointee. Player was the first African-American woman to become president of a four-year, fully accredited liberal arts college when she took the position at Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina. From 1955 to 1966, Player served as president of the historically black college during a period of heightened civil-rights activism in the South. She supported Bennett students who took part in the lengthy sit-ins started by the Greensboro Four to achieve integration of lunch counters in downtown stores. After leaving the Bennett presidency, Player was appointed in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson as the first female director of the Division of College Support in the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare, serving in that role until 1986. This 1930 photograph of Player is from the archives of The Crisis. Photograph credit: unknown; restored by Adam Cuerden
Recently featured:
|
August 8
%2C_Catania%2C_Sicilia%2C_Italia%2C_2025-04-04%2C_DD_32.jpg) |
The small red scorpionfish (Scorpaena notata) is a species of scorpionfish found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. First described by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1810, it typically grows to a length of around 15 cm (6 in), although individuals can reach 20 cm (8 in). It is typically reddish-brown, with a distinctive black spot on the spiny dorsal fin. A benthic predator, it rests on rocky seabeds and feeds on small fishes, crustaceans and other invertebrates. The species has venomous fin spines and is assessed as a least-concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This small red scorpionfish was photographed in the Mediterranean off the coast of Catania, Sicily. Photograph credit: Diego Delso
Recently featured:
|
August 7
 |
Nils Torvalds (b. 7 August 1945) is a Swedish-speaking Finnish broadcast journalist, writer and politician, who served as a Member of the European Parliament. Born in Ekenäs, Torvalds has been active in politics since he was a college student in the 1960s. He is the son of Ole Torvalds and the father of Linus Torvalds. This photograph shows Torvalds in 2014. Photograph credit: David Iliff
Recently featured:
|
August 6
_at_nest_Colonia.jpg) |
|
The rufous hornero (Furnarius rufus) is a medium-sized ovenbird native to South America. Four subspecies are recognised across Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. It was first scientifically described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, and later placed in the genus Furnarius by Louis Pierre Vieillot. Its closest relative is the crested hornero. The species has benefited from human modification of the environment, and abandoned mud "oven" nests are often reused by other birds, including the saffron finch. It is Argentina's national bird, and is classified as a least-concern species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This photograph shows a rufous hornero in its nest near Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
Recently featured:
|
August 5
 |
Neil Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut who was the commander of NASA's Apollo 11 mission and the first person to walk on the Moon, in July 1969. He spent two and a half hours outside the spacecraft on the lunar surface, along with Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin. Armstrong joined the NASA Astronaut Corps in 1962 after participating in the United States Air Force's Man in Space Soonest and X-20 Dyna-Soar human spaceflight programs. Apollo 11 was his second and final spaceflight, his first being the Gemini 8, an Earth orbital mission, in 1966. This photograph, taken by Aldrin on the lunar surface, shows Armstrong in the cabin of the Lunar Module Eagle after completing the first moonwalk. Photograph credit: Buzz Aldrin
Recently featured:
|
August 4
.jpg) |
|
Louis Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971) was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz, with a career spanning five decades and several eras in the history of jazz. Armstrong received numerous accolades, including the Grammy Award for Best Male Vocal Performance for "Hello, Dolly!" in 1965, as well as a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1972. His influence crossed musical genres, with inductions into the DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, among others. This photograph, taken in 1947 by Harry Warnecke and Gus Schoenbaechler, shows Armstrong playing the trumpet in a blue suit against a yellow background. The image is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery. Photograph credit: Harry Warnecke and Gus Schoenbaechler; restored by Yann Forget
Recently featured:
|
August 3
 |
The 2014 edition of the Hubble Ultra-Deep Field, a composite image of separate exposures taken from 2003 to 2012 with the Hubble Space Telescope, and showing the full range of ultraviolet to near-infrared light. Made from 841 orbits of telescope viewing time, the image contains approximately 10,000 galaxies, extending back in time to within a few hundred million years of the Big Bang. Photograph credit: NASA, ESA, IPAC/Caltech, STScI, ASU
Recently featured:
|
August 2
 |
The Otoe–Missouria Tribe of Indians is a federally recognized tribe in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, comprising the Otoe and Missouria peoples. Their language, Chiwere, is part of the Siouan–Catawban language family. In 2011, they had 3,089 enrolled tribal citizens. This oil portrait on canvas by George Catlin, painted around 1832, shows Wah-ro-née-sah (The Surrounder), an Otoe chief. He was described by Catlin as "quite an old man; his shirt made of the skin of a grizzly bear, with the claws on". The painting is in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Painting credit: George Catlin
Recently featured:
|
August 1
 |
Hendrick Goltzius (1558–1617) was a German-born Dutch printmaker, draftsman and painter, associated with Northern Mannerism and noted for his use of the burin. He has been described as the leading Dutch engraver of the early Baroque period. Trained by Dirck Coornhert, he had an unusual drawing style due to a childhood hand injury. He spent most of his career in Haarlem. Goltzius produced this self-portrait, dating from around 1593–1594, with chalk, pen, grey ink and watercolours. The portrait is in the collection of the Albertina in Vienna, Austria. Illustration credit: Hendrick Goltzius
Recently featured:
|
July 31
 |
The streaked spiderhunter (Arachnothera magna) is a species in the family Nectariniidae, the sunbirds, found in forests from the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia. About the size of a sparrow, it has olive-yellow plumage with dark streaking and a long, curved black beak adapted for feeding on nectar. Its nest is made by binding leaves together with cobwebs. This streaked spiderhunter was photographed in Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand. Photograph/ credit: JJ Harrison
Recently featured:
|
July 30
 |
|
The Battle of the Somme was fought between 1 July and 18 November 1916 by the armies of the British and French empires against the German Empire. The largest battle of World War I on the Western Front, it was fought on both sides of upper reaches of the river Somme in France. The battle was intended to hasten a victory for the Allies. More than three million men fought in the battle, of whom more than one million were either wounded or killed, making it one of the deadliest battles in human history. It illustrated the deadly potential of mechanized warfare that began in the mid–19th century. This map, adapted from an original published by the United States Military Academy, shows the situation during the first day on the Somme (1 July), as well as Allied gains up to 19 November, immediately after the end of the battle. Map credit: United States Military Academy, edited and vectorised by Grandiose; inset map by Giro720
Recently featured:
|
July 29
.jpg) |
Fernando Alonso (born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver who currently competes in Formula One for Aston Martin. He is Spain's first Formula One World Drivers' Champion, having won the title with Renault in 2005 and 2006. Often named as one of the sport's greatest drivers, Alonso has also won the 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship, the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice and the 24 Hours of Daytona. This photograph shows Alonso in the colours of United Autosports in 2017. Photograph credit: Jakob Ebrey
Recently featured:
|
Picture of the day archives and future dates