Wikipedia:Picture of the day/February 2025
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These featured pictures, as scheduled below, have been chosen to appear as the picture of the day (POTD) on the English Wikipedia's Main Page in February 2025. 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 2025#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.
February 1
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African Americans, also known as Afro-Americans or Black Americans, are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. African Americans constitute the third largest racial or ethnic group in the U.S. after White Americans and Hispanic and Latino Americans. Most African Americans are descendants of enslaved people, having West African and coastal Central African ancestry, with varying amounts of Western European and Native American ancestry. This ambrotype depicts African American Union soldier Sgt. Samuel Smith, of the 119th United States Colored Troops, with his family in c. 1863–65. Ambrotype credit: unattributed photographer; retouched by Yann Forget
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February 2
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The hamerkop (Scopus umbretta) is a medium-sized wading bird. It is the only living species in the genus Scopus and the family Scopidae. Its closest relatives are thought to be the pelicans and the shoebill, in the order Pelecaniformes. The shape of its head with a long bill and crest at the back is reminiscent of a hammer, which has given this species its name after the Afrikaans word for hammerhead. It is a medium-sized waterbird with brown plumage. It is found in Africa and Arabia, living in a wide variety of wetlands, including estuaries, lakesides, fish ponds, riverbanks, and rocky coasts. This hamerkop was photographed at Lake Baringo in Kenya. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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February 3
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Charles Henry Turner (February 3, 1867 – February 14, 1923) was an American zoologist, entomologist, educator, and comparative psychologist, known for his studies on the behavior of insects, particularly bees and ants. Born in Cincinnati, Turner was the first African American to receive a graduate degree at the University of Cincinnati and among the first African Americans to earn a PhD from the University of Chicago. He spent most of his career as a high-school teacher at Sumner High School in St. Louis. Turner was one of the first scientists to systematically examine the question of whether animals display complex cognition, studying arthropods such as spiders and bees. He also examined differences in behavior between individuals within a species, a precursor to the study of animal personality. This 1921 portrait photograph of Turner is in the collection of The Crisis, the magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Photograph credit: The Crisis; restored by Adam Cuerden
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February 4
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The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is an astronomical facility operated by the European Southern Observatory, located on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. It consists of four individual optical telescopes, each equipped with a primary mirror measuring 8.2 metres (27 feet) in diameter, which are generally used separately but can be combined to achieve a very high angular resolution. The VLT array is complemented by four movable auxiliary telescopes with 1.8-metre (5.9-foot) apertures, and the VLT Survey Telescope (at right in the photograph). This photograph, taken at sunset in 2015, shows the VLT and its associated telescopes and supporting buildings. Photograph credit: ESO / Gerhard Hüdepohl; retouched by Huntster
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February 5
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Sojourner Truth, born Isabella Baumfree, (c. 1797 – 1883) was an American abolitionist and activist for African-American civil rights, women's rights, and alcohol temperance. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son in 1828, she became the first black woman to win such a case against a white man. This cabinet card of Truth was produced in around 1864, and is now in the collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Photograph credit: unknown; restored by Adam Cuerden
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February 6
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The orange-lined triggerfish (Balistapus undulatus) is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the triggerfish family, Balistidae. It has a wide Indo-Pacific range, and is typically found in coral reefs, coral lagoons, and external reef slopes. The orange-lined triggerfish has a dark brown to dark green body with orange lines that start behind the head and cover the rest of its body. Its maximum body size is about 30 centimetres (12 inches), with the head about one-third of the body length. Due to its broad diet and distribution, the species is a crucial component in coral reef ecosystems through top-down control, and especially through consumption of sea urchins. This orange-lined triggerfish was photographed in the Red Sea off the Egyptian coast. Photograph credit: Diego Delso
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February 7
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The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. Widely regarded as the most influential band of all time, they were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and the recognition of popular music as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat, and 1950s rock and roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways. The band also explored music styles ranging from folk and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting, and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionized many aspects of the music industry and were often publicized as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements. This photograph shows the Beatles – from left to right, Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr – waving to a crowd of fans after arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on 7 February 1964, at the start of their first visit to the United States. Their visit marked the beginning of the British Invasion, a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s when rock and pop-music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States. The band's widespread popularity and the intense reception that greeted them was termed "Beatlemania". Photograph credit: United Press International; retouched by Yann Forget
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February 8
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The Lost World is a 1925 American silent fantasy giant monster adventure film, directed by Harry O. Hoyt and written by Marion Fairfax, adapted from Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel of the same name. The film's premiere was at the Astor Theatre in New York City on February 8, 1925. Directed by Harry O. Hoyt
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February 9
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Fragaria vesca, commonly called the wild strawberry among other names, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the rose family that grows naturally throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere. The wild strawberry produces edible fruits, which have been consumed by humans since the Stone Age. The fruit is strong flavored, and is still collected and grown for domestic use and on a small scale commercially as an ingredient for commercial jam, sauces, liqueurs, cosmetics and alternative medicine. This focus-stacked photograph shows a wild strawberry fruit in a garden in Bamberg, Germany. Photograph Reinhold Möller
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February 10
The Alpine ibex (Capra ibex), also known as the steinbock, is a species of goat that lives in the Alps of Europe. Its closest living relative is the Iberian ibex. Alpine ibex have brownish-grey coats and sharp hooves adapted to steep, rough terrain. Found at elevations as high as 3,300 metres (10,800 feet), they are active throughout the year, primarily feeding on grass in open alpine meadows. Adult males, which are larger than females, segregate from them for most of the year, coming together only during the breeding season, when they fight for access to the females using their long horns. The Alpine ibex has been successfully reintroduced to parts of its historical range, but all individuals living today descend from a population bottleneck of fewer than 100 individuals from Gran Paradiso National Park in Italy. The species has few predators and is not threatened, but it has very low genetic diversity. These Alpine ibex, a male in winter and a female in summer, were photographed at Creux du Van in Switzerland. Photograph credit: Giles Laurent
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February 11
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The Dolderbahn is a rack railway in the Swiss city of Zurich. It has a length of 1.3 km (0.8 mi) and is located in Zurich's Hottingen and Fluntern suburbs on the south slope of the Adlisberg mountain. The lower terminus of the line is at Römerhof, around 1.5 km (0.9 mi) from the city centre, where it connects with lines 3 and 8 of the Zurich tramway. The upper terminus at Bergstation Dolderbahn is adjacent to the Dolder Grand Hotel and the Dolder recreation area. Two intermediate stations, at Titlisstrasse and Waldhaus Dolder, are also served. This image shows car 1/2 1 from the 1973 SLM rolling stock. This image shows car 1/2 1 from the 1973 SLM rolling stock. Photograph credit: Kabelleger
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February 12
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Charles Darwin (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended from a common ancestor is now generally accepted and considered a fundamental scientific concept. In a joint presentation with Alfred Russel Wallace, he introduced his scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process he called natural selection, in which the struggle for existence has a similar effect to the artificial selection involved in selective breeding. Darwin published his theory of evolution with compelling evidence in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species. By the 1870s, the scientific community and a majority of the educated public had accepted evolution as a fact. However, many scientists initially favoured competing explanations that gave only a minor role to natural selection, and it was not until the emergence of the modern evolutionary synthesis from the 1930s to the 1950s that a broad consensus developed in which natural selection was the basic mechanism of evolution. Darwin's scientific discovery is the unifying theory of the life sciences, explaining the diversity of life. Darwin has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history and was honoured by burial in Westminster Abbey. This photograph of Darwin by Julia Margaret Cameron was taken around 1868. Photograph credit: Julia Margaret Cameron; restored by Adam Cuerden
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February 13
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The Jadeite Cabbage, also known as Jadeite Cabbage with Insects, is a piece of jadeite carved into the shape of a head of Chinese cabbage, with a locust and a katydid camouflaged in the leaves. Created by an unknown sculptor in the 19th century, it was first displayed in the Forbidden City's Yonghe Palace, the residence of Consort Jin, who probably received it as part of her dowry for her wedding to the Guangxu Emperor in 1889. The Jadeite Cabbage is now part of the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan. It has been called the museum's "most famous masterpiece" and, along with the Meat-Shaped Stone and the Mao Gong ding, is considered one of the Three Treasures of the National Palace Museum. Sculpture credit: unknown; photographed by the National Palace Museum
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February 14
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The pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae that grows between 5 and 10 metres (16 and 33 feet) tall. The pomegranate fruit husk is red-purple in color, with an outer, hard pericarp, and an inner, spongy mesocarp (white "albedo"), which comprises the fruit inner wall where seeds attach. Pomegranate seeds are characterized by having sarcotesta, thick fleshy seed coats derived from the integuments or outer layers of the ovule's epidermal cells. The number of seeds in a fruit can vary from 200 to about 1,400. Rich in symbolic and mythological associations in many cultures, the pomegranate is thought to have originated from Afghanistan and Iran before being introduced and exported to other parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe. This photograph, which was focus-stacked from 10 separate images, shows a whole pomegranate fruit (right), and a fruit split open to reveal the sarcotestas, each of which surrounds a seed (left). Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus
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February 15
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Ernest Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. He and three companions established a new record Farthest South latitude, 112 miles (180 km) from the South Pole, as part of the Nimrod Expedition of 1907–1909; Shackleton was knighted on his return home. He planned the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917 but his ship, Endurance, became trapped in pack ice and then sank on 21 November 1915. The crew escaped and used the lifeboats to reach Elephant Island and ultimately the island of South Georgia in a stormy ocean voyage of more than 700 nautical miles (800 mi; 1,300 km), Shackleton's most famous exploit. He returned to the Antarctic in 1921 with the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition but died of a heart attack on South Georgia, where he was buried at his wife's request. This photograph of Shackleton was taken by George Charles Beresford before 1909. Photograph credit: George Charles Beresford; restored by Adam Cuerden
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February 16
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The lesser violetear (Colibri cyanotus) is a medium-sized, metallic-green species of hummingbird commonly found from Costa Rica south to the Andes and Argentina and east to Venezuela. It commonly inhabits the canopy and borders of subtropical and lower temperate forest, secondary woodland and scrub, and clearings and gardens. It is recorded mostly between altitudes of 1,500 and 3,000 metres (4,900 and 9,800 ft), although it is sometimes found down to 900 metres (3,000 ft). The lesser violetear is a medium-sized hummingbird with an average length around 9.7 to 12 centimetres (3.8 to 4.7 in) and a body mass of 4.8 to 5.6 grams (0.17 to 0.20 oz). Its bill is black and mostly straight with only a slight downward curve. This lesser violetear of the subspecies C. c. cabanidis was photographed in the Mount Totumas cloud forest in Chiriquí Province, Panama. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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February 17
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Katharine Hepburn (1907–2003) was an American actress of film, stage, and television. Known for her headstrong independence and spirited personality, Hepburn's career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned more than 60 years. She won a record four Academy Awards, and in 1999 was named as Hollywood's top female legend by the American Film Institute. Hepburn began acting in college, and spent four years in the theatre before entering films in 1932. She became an instant star, but after a series of unsuccessful films was named "box office poison". The Philadelphia Story revived her career, and she subsequently formed a popular alliance with Spencer Tracy that lasted 25 years. In middle age, Hepburn found a niche playing spinsters, such as in The African Queen, and became a Shakespearean stage actress. She continued to work into old age, making her final screen appearance in 1994 at the age of 87. Hepburn is remembered as an important cultural figure, as she came to epitomize the "modern woman" in 20th-century America and helped change perceptions of women. This publicity photograph of Hepburn was taken around 1941. Photograph credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, restored by Adam Cuerden
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February 18
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Vaduz Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of St. Florin, is a neo-Gothic church in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, and the centre of the Archdiocese of Vaduz. Originally a parish church, it has held the status of cathedral since 1997. The church was built in 1874 by Friedrich von Schmidt on the site of earlier medieval foundations. Its patron saint is Florinus of Remüs (Florin), a 9th-century saint of the Vinschgau valley. This photograph shows the nave and choir of the cathedral. Photograph credit: A.Savin
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February 19
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The oak eggar (Lasiocampa quercus) is a common moth in the family Lasiocampidae found in Europe and northern and western parts of Asia. The larvae feed on a wide variety of plant species, low down, including blackthorn, hawthorn, viburnum, dogwood, ivy and ling, but are not known to feed on oak. They can be infected by baculoviruses, which change their behaviour and cause them to climb out of the protection of low scrub and leave them open to predation, facilitating the spread of infection. Oak eggar larvae eventually pupate on the ground inside a silken cocoon, the exterior of which is hard and yellowish, and resembles an acorn, from which the common name "oak eggar" is derived. This oak eggar larva in the form of a fourth-instar caterpillar, with a body length of 53 millimetres (2.1 inches), was photographed on a branch in Keila, Estonia. The photograph was focus-stacked from 59 separate images. Photograph credit: Ivar Leidus
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February 20
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Catherine Grand (1761–1835) was a French courtesan and noblewoman. Born in India as the daughter of a French East India Company officer, she married George Grand, an officer of the English East India Company. After her marriage, she had a scandalous liaison with Bengal councillor Philip Francis in Calcutta. Her husband sent her to Paris, where she became a popular courtesan, having relationships with several powerful men, and was known as Madame Grand. She became the mistress and later the wife of French diplomat Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, the first prime minister of France. This 1783 oil-on-canvas portrait of Grand was painted by Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun. It was exhibited at the Salon of the Royal Academy in Paris the same year, as one of at least ten portraits submitted by Le Brun, and was favourably received. The painting is now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Painting credit: Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun
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February 21
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Pumori is a mountain on the China–Nepal border in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. Its peak lies at an elevation of 7,165 metres (23,507 feet) above sea level. Located 8 kilometres (5 miles) west of Mount Everest, it is sometimes known as "Everest's daughter"; the name Pumori, meaning 'the mountain daughter' in the Sherpa language, was coined by the mountaineer George Mallory. Pumori is a popular climbing peak, the easiest route being graded class 3, although with significant avalanche danger. Pumori was first climbed in 1962 by a German–Swiss expedition. Photograph credit: Vyacheslav Argenberg
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February 22
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Wheelwright is a city in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Located at the southern end of Floyd County, the land that would later become the city was originally owned by the Hall family. In 1916, the family sold their land to the Elk Horn Coal Company, which established a post office and named it Wheelwright in honor of its president, Jere Wheelwright. It was incorporated as a city in 1917. The Elk Horn Coal Company founded the city as a company town, and built houses, stores, churches, schools, and hospitals, which were used by miners employed by the company. In 1930, Wheelwright was sold to the Inland Steel Company, which in turn sold the city to the Island Creek Coal Company in 1966. In the 1970s, the mine closed and the city was purchased by the Kentucky Housing Corporation. This 1946 photograph, taken by the American photographer Russell Lee, shows Harry Fain, a coal loader from Wheelwright who worked for the Inland Steel Company. The photograph is in the collection of the National Archives and Records Administration. Photograph credit: Russell Lee; restored by Kentuckian
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February 23
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The western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) is a medium-sized species of bird in the family Icteridae, the icterids. About 8.5 inches (22 centimetres) in length, it is found across western and central North America. It is a full migrant, breeding in Canada and the United States with resident populations also found in Mexico. The species has distinctive calls described as watery or flute-like, which distinguish it from the closely related eastern meadowlark. The western meadowlark is the state bird of six U.S. states: Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, and Wyoming. This western meadowlark was photographed perching on a twig in Grasslands National Park, in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Photograph credit: Simon Pierre Barrette
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February 24
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The National Library of Poland is a central library of Poland and one of the oldest cultural institutions in the country. Established on 24 February 1928 by a decree of President Ignacy Mościcki, it traces its origins to the Załuski Library, one of the first public libraries in Europe, founded in 1747. The library's headquarters is located in the district of Ochota in Warsaw, with additional facilities at the Krasiński Palace, which houses its collection of early printed books and manuscripts. This photograph shows an aerial view of the main building of the National Library of Poland, surrounded by Mokotów Field. Photograph credit: Emptywords
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February 25
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George I Rákóczi (1593–1648) was a Hungarian nobleman who served as Prince of Transylvania from 1630 until his death. Before acceding to the throne, he was a leader of the Protestant faction in Hungary and a faithful supporter of Prince Gabriel Bethlen. When Bohemian nobles requested military support in their struggles against the Habsburg monarchy, Rákóczi persuaded Bethlen to help and commanded Transylvanian forces in several battles. After Bethlen's death, there were short reigns by his wife and then his brother, but the Transylvanian parliament elected Rákóczi as Bethlen's permanent successor. His reign was notable for his role in the Thirty Years' War, with a campaign against Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, from 1644 to 1645. After Rákóczi held Upper Hungary and most of Lower Hungary at one point, the fighting was ended by the Treaty of Linz, under which seven counties of Upper Hungary were annexed by Transylvania. This etching of Rákóczi was produced in 1631 by the Dutch Golden Age artist Jan Gillisz. van Vliet, after an earlier design by Rembrandt, Van Vliet's teacher. The illustration is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Illustration credit: Jan Gillisz. van Vliet, after Rembrandt
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February 26
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Wangath temple complex is a group of Hindu temple monuments in Wangath, close to Naranag, Jammu and Kashmir, India. The current structure was built by Lalitaditya Muktapida of the Karkota dynasty in the 8th century CE but are now ruins. The temple is constructed out of local grey granite and consists of two complexes, dedicated respectively to Shiva Jyeshthesa and Shiva Bhuteshwara, with a central pavilion in between. The temple marks the starting point of pilgrimages to the Gangabal Lake, a high-altitude alpine lake in the Himalayas considered by Kashmiri Hindus to be an abode of Shiva. This photograph shows the main temple of the site's western complex. Photograph credit: Basavaraj K. Korkar; edited by UnpetitproleX
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February 27
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Ctenosaura similis, commonly known as the black iguana or the black spiny-tailed iguana, is a species of iguanid lizard native to Mexico and Central America. It has been reported in some Colombian islands in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, and has been introduced to the United States in the state of Florida. The largest species in the genus Ctenosaura, it is commonly found in areas such as grasslands and forests. This C. similis lizard was photographed on a tree branch near the Macal River, in Cayo District, western Belize. Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp
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February 28
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The Continental XI-1430 (often identified as the IV-1430) was a liquid-cooled aircraft engine developed in the United States by a partnership between the US Army Air Corps (USAAC) and Continental Motors. It resulted from the USAAC's hyper engine efforts that started in 1932, but never entered widespread production as it was not better than other available engines when it finally matured. In 1939, the I-1430-3 was designated as the engine to power the Curtiss XP-55, a radical pusher-engine fighter design that did not reach production. Photograph credit: Dane A. Penland
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