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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers approximately 62%, and over 100 smaller adjacent islands. It has land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, and is otherwise surrounded by the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south, the Celtic Sea to the south-west, and the Irish Sea to the west. Continental Europe lies to the south-east, and Ireland to the west. At the 2021 census, the population was 56,490,048. London is both the largest city and the capital.

The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Paleolithic. It takes its name from the Angles, a Germanic tribe who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in the 10th century and has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century. The Kingdom of England, which included Wales after 1535, ceased to be a separate sovereign state on 1 May 1707, when the Acts of Union brought into effect a political union with the Kingdom of Scotland that created the Kingdom of Great Britain.

England is the origin of the English language, the English legal system (which served as the basis for the common law systems of many other countries), association football, and the Anglican branch of Christianity; its parliamentary system of government has been widely adopted by other nations. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the world's first industrialised nation. England is home to the two oldest universities in the English-speaking world: the University of Oxford, founded in 1096, and the University of Cambridge, founded in 1209. Both universities are ranked among the most prestigious in the world.

England's terrain chiefly consists of low hills and plains, especially in the centre and south. Upland and mountainous terrain is mostly found in the north and west, including Dartmoor, the Lake District, the Pennines, and the Shropshire Hills. The country's capital is London, the metropolitan area of which has a population of 14.2 million as of 2021, representing the United Kingdom's largest metropolitan area. England's population of 56.3 million comprises 84% of the population of the United Kingdom, largely concentrated around London, the South East, and conurbations in the Midlands, the North West, the North East, and Yorkshire, which each developed as major industrial regions during the 19th century. (Full article...)

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Lennon in 1974

John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter and musician. He gained worldwide fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. His work included music, writing, drawings and film. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history as the primary songwriters in the Beatles.

Born in Liverpool, Lennon became involved in the skiffle craze as a teenager. In 1956, he formed the Quarrymen, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Sometimes called "the smart Beatle", Lennon initially was the group's de facto leader, a role he gradually seemed to cede to McCartney. Through his songwriting in the Beatles, he embraced myriad musical influences, initially writing and co-writing rock and pop-oriented hit songs in the band's early years, then later incorporating experimental elements into his compositions in the latter half of the Beatles' career as his songs became known for their increasing innovation. Lennon soon expanded his work into other media by participating in numerous films, including How I Won the War, and authoring In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works, both collections of nonsense writings and line drawings. Starting with "All You Need Is Love", his songs were adopted as anthems by the anti-war movement and the larger counterculture of the 1960s. In 1969, he started the Plastic Ono Band with his second wife, multimedia artist Yoko Ono, held the two-week-long anti-war demonstration Bed-ins for Peace and left the Beatles to embark on a solo career. (Full article...)

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Illuminated miniature, c. 1402

Henry IV (c. April 1367 – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. Henry was the son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, himself the son of Edward III.

Henry was involved in the 1388 revolt of Lords Appellant against Richard II, his first cousin, but he was not punished. However, he was exiled from court in 1398. After his father, John of Gaunt, died in 1399, Richard blocked Henry's inheritance of his father's duchy. That year, Henry rallied a group of supporters, overthrew and imprisoned Richard II, and usurped the throne; these actions later contributed to dynastic disputes in the Wars of the Roses (1455-1487). (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various England-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Frontispiece of Bede's Life of St Cuthbert, showing King Æthelstan presenting a copy of the book to the saint himself. c. 930 (from History of England)
Image 2Procession of characters from Shakespeare's plays (from Culture of England)
Image 3Durham Cathedral. The Norman cathedral was built 1093–1133 (from History of England)
Image 4First English Civil War at the Battle of Marston Moor, 1644 (from History of England)
Image 5Stinking Bishop cheese (from Culture of England)
Image 6The Billingsgate Fish Market in London in the early 19th century (from History of England)
Image 7The Mob Quad of Merton College, University of Oxford, 13th–14th century (from History of England)
Image 8The epic poem Beowulf, set in 6th century Scandinavia, composed c. 700–1000 AD. (from History of England)
Image 9The Great Fire London, 1666. (from History of England)
Image 10The Staffordshire Hoard is the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork yet found^[update]. It consists of almost 4,600 items and metal fragments. (from Culture of England)
Image 11Remains of Hadrian's Wall (from History of England)
Image 12King Alfred the Great statue in Winchester, Hampshire. The 9th-century English king encouraged education in his kingdom. (from Culture of England)
Image 13Stonehenge, erected in several stages from c.3000–2500 BC (from History of England)
Image 14England in 878 (from History of England)
Image 15William Hogarth's depiction of a scene from Shakespeare's The Tempest is an example of how English literature influenced English painting in the 18th century. (from Culture of England)
Image 16The Alfred Jewel, late 9th century (from History of England)
Image 17Alfred Hitchcock is often regarded as the greatest British filmmaker, and was described as "a straightforward middle-class Englishman who just happened to be an artistic genius." (from Culture of England)
Image 18Elizabeth I (from History of England)
Image 19King Henry VIII (from History of England)
Image 20King James I of England (from History of England)
Image 21Chester, c. 1880 (from History of England)
Image 22King Charles II, a patron of the arts and sciences, supported the Royal Society, a scientific group whose early members included Robert Hooke, Robert Boyle and Sir Isaac Newton. (from Culture of England)
Image 23First played in 1877, the Wimbledon Championships is the oldest tennis tournament in the world. (from Culture of England)
Image 24Portrait of Edward VI, c. 1550 (from History of England)
Image 25The Ruthwell Cross, 8th century AD (from History of England)
Image 26The Roman Baths in Bath; a temple was constructed on the site between 60–70CE in the first few decades of Roman Britain. (from Culture of England)
Image 27The Lindisfarne Gospels (from Culture of England)
Image 28Bronze coins of Cunobelin, called "King of the Britons" by Suetonius. 1–42 AD. (from History of England)
Image 29The Spanish Armada and English ships in August 1588, (unknown, 16th-century, English School) (from History of England)
Image 30Sir Isaac Newton is regarded as one of the most influential scientists of all time and as a key figure in the Scientific Revolution. (from Culture of England)
Image 31Portrait of the Royal Tudors. At left, Henry VII, with Prince Arthur behind him, then Prince Henry (later Henry VIII), and Prince Edmund, who did not survive early childhood. To the right is Elizabeth of York, with Princess Margaret, then Princess Elizabeth who didn't survive childhood, Princess Mary, and Princess Katherine, who died shortly after her birth. (from History of England)
Image 32A pint of real ale (from Culture of England)
Image 33Kingdoms and tribes in Britain, c. AD 600 (from History of England)
Image 34Artefacts from Bush Barrow at Stonehenge. Wessex culture, Early Bronze Age, c. 1900 BC (from History of England)
Image 35Dover Castle, 12th–13th century (from History of England)
Image 36Londinium (Roman London), c. 120 AD (from History of England)
Image 37View of the ramparts of the hillfort of Maiden Castle (450 BC), as they look today (from History of England)
Image 38Durham Cathedral, dating from 1093 (from Culture of England)
Image 39Remains of the Roman baths at Bath, England. (from History of England)
Image 40The wizard Merlin features as a character in many works of fiction, including the BBC series Merlin. (from Culture of England)
Image 41Sir Francis Drake's voyage 1585–86 (from History of England)
Image 42A traditional Punch and Judy booth, at Swanage, Dorset, England (from Culture of England)
Image 43Edward Elgar is one of England's most celebrated classical composers. (from Culture of England)
Image 44Morris dancing (from Culture of England)
Image 45Charles Dickens' 1843 novella A Christmas Carol played a major role in reviving the "spirit" of Christmas and seasonal goodwill. (from Culture of England)
Image 46One of only four surviving exemplifications of the 1215 text, Cotton MS. Augustus II. 106, property of the British Library (from History of England)
Image 47Geoffrey Chaucer, c. 1340s–1400, author of The Canterbury Tales (from History of England)
Image 48Countries where English is natively spoken or has official status (from Culture of England)
Image 49Tomb of Richard I of England and Isabella of Angoulême (from History of England)
Image 50Canterbury Cathedral nave, 1377 (from History of England)
Image 51Christopher Lee (seen here as Dracula in 1958) starred in many of Hammer's British horror films. (from Culture of England)
Image 52Folio 27r from the Lindisfarne Gospels, c. 720 AD (from History of England)
Image 53The Royal College of Music is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, established by royal charter in 1882. (from Culture of England)
Image 54King Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649 (from History of England)
Image 55The first general laws against child labour, the Factory Acts, were passed in Britain in the first half of the 19th century. Children younger than nine were not allowed to work and the work day of youth under the age of 18 was limited to twelve hours. (from History of England)
Image 56King's College in Cambridge is regarded as one of the greatest examples of late English Gothic architecture. It has the world's largest fan vault, while the chapel's stained-glass windows and wooden chancel screen are considered some of the finest from their era. (from Culture of England)
Image 57King Charles II (from History of England)
Image 58The Lady Chapel of Wells Cathedral (from Culture of England)
Image 59Interior of Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford (from Culture of England)
Image 60Depiction of the Battle of Hastings (1066) on the Bayeux Tapestry (from History of England)
Image 61Jack In the Green, a traditional English folk custom being celebrated in Hastings Old Town, known for its many pre-Victorian buildings. (from Culture of England)
Image 62Victory in Europe Day celebrations in London, 8 May 1945 (from History of England)
Image 63The Procession Picture, c. 1600, showing Elizabeth I borne along by her courtiers (from History of England)
Image 64Shoulder clasp from Sutton Hoo, 625 AD (from History of England)
Image 65Anglo-Saxon king with his Witan. Biblical scene in the Old English Hexateuch (11th century) (from History of England)
Image 66Gold torc from Snettisham, 70 BC (from History of England)
Image 67Canterbury Cathedral is the seat of the Primate of All England, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the most senior bishop of the Church of England. (It was the property of the Roman Catholic Church before the English Reformation.) (from Culture of England)
Image 68Silbury Hill, c. 2400 BC (from History of England)
Image 69National performing arts are held annually at the Royal Albert Hall, as well as The Proms during the summer. (from Culture of England)
Image 70The English landscape garden at Stourhead, described as a 'living work of art' when first opened in the 1750s (from Culture of England)
Image 71Anglo-Saxon helmet from the Sutton Hoo ship burial, 625 AD (replica) (from History of England)
Image 72Flatford Mill ('Scene on a Navigable River') by John Constable, c. 1816 (from Culture of England)
Image 73Francis Bacon led the advancement of both natural philosophy and the scientific method and his works remained deeply influential in the Scientific Revolution. (from Culture of England)
Image 74England playing Australia at Lord's Cricket Ground in the 2009 Ashes series. After winning the 2019 Cricket World Cup, England became the first country to win the World Cups in football, rugby union and cricket. (from Culture of England)
Image 75Maps of territory held by Royalists (red) and Parliamentarians (green) during the English Civil War (1642–1645) (from History of England)
Image 76The White Tower of the Tower of London, built in 1078 (from History of England)
Image 77Whitehall by Francis Dodd (1920) displaying the Palace of Westminster (from Culture of England)
Image 78The Battersea Shield (detail), 350 BC. (from History of England)

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Roderigo Lopes (also called Ruy Lopes, Ruy Lopez, Roderigo Lopus, Ruy Lopus, Roger Lopez and Rodrigo Lopes; also referred to as Roderigo Lopez and Rodrigo Lopez; c. 1517 – 7 June 1594) served as a physician-in-chief to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 1581 until his death by execution, having been found guilty of plotting to poison her. A Portuguese converso or New Christian of Jewish ancestry, he is the only royal doctor in English history to have been executed, and may have inspired the character of Shylock in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, which was written within four years of his death.

The son of a Portuguese royal physician of Jewish descent, Lopes was raised a Catholic and educated at the University of Coimbra. Amid the Portuguese Inquisition he was accused of secretly practising Judaism, and compelled to leave the country. He settled in London in 1559, joined the Church of England and became house physician at St Bartholomew's Hospital. Gaining a reputation as a careful and skilled physician, he acquired several powerful clients, including the Earl of Leicester and Sir Francis Walsingham, and eventually the Queen of England herself. (Full article...)

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Did you know?

...that the HMS Queen (1902) was fitted with Babcock and Wilcox cylindrical boilers due to service problems with the water service boilers?
...that the Charter Roll is the administrative record created by the medieval office of the chancery that recorded all the charters issued by the chancery?
...that Canterbury in eastern Kent was abandoned at the end of the Roman period, but was resettled by the Saxons?
...that English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams has sold more albums in the United Kingdom than any other British solo artist in history?

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In the news

4 June 2024 –: The National Health Service declares a "critical incident" after several hospitals in London, including King's College Hospital, say they have cancelled appointments and turned away patients after a cyberattack on their Synnovis IT systems. (AP)
1 June 2024 – 2023–24 UEFA Champions League: In association football, Real Madrid win a record 15th Champions League title after defeating Borussia Dortmund 2–0 in the final at Wembley Stadium in London, England. (CNN)
29 May 2024 –: Four people are injured in a mass shooting in Dalston, London, UK. (BBC News)
25 May 2024 – 2023–24 FA Cup: Manchester United win their 13th FA Cup title after beating the defending champions, Manchester City, by a score of 2–1 in the final at Wembley Stadium in London, England. (The Guardian)
21 May 2024 – Singapore Airlines Flight 321: A Singapore Airlines flight from London, England, to Singapore makes an emergency landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, after experiencing severe air turbulence over the Bay of Bengal, resulting in one death and at least 30 injuries. (BBC News)

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“

England... is a nation of shopkeepers

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— Napoleon

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Related WikiProjects

England • Bedfordshire • Brighton • Cheshire • Cornwall • Derbyshire • Dorset • Greater Manchester • Hampshire • Lincolnshire • London • Merseyside • Northamptonshire • North East England • Sheffield • Surrey. Warwickshire • West Midlands • Worcestershire • Yorkshire

Topics

Cities and major towns: Blackpool • Birmingham • Bristol • Chelmsford • Leeds • Liverpool • London • Manchester • Newcastle • Nottingham • Oxford • Portsmouth • Sheffield • Southampton • Stoke-on-Trent

Culture: The Football Association • Rugby Football Union • England and Wales Cricket Board • English inventions and discoveries

Geography: Geology • Climate • Mountains and hills • Islands • Rivers

Economy: Bank of England • London Stock Exchange • Chancellor of the Exchequer • Monetary Policy Committee • HM Treasury

History: Timeline of English history • Prehistoric Britain • Roman Britain • Anglo-Saxon England • Norman England • Plantagenet England • House of Lancaster • House of York • House of Tudor • House of Stuart

Governance: Kingdom of England • Prime Minister of the United Kingdom • Parliament of the United Kingdom • Home Secretary • Local Government Boundary Commission for England • Administrative divisions of England • English law

Symbols: Flags • Flag of England • St George's Cross • Tudor rose • Coat of arms of England

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