Wikipedia was launched on January 15, 2001, by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger as an open-collaboration, “anyone can edit”, free online encyclopedia, growing out of the earlier, expert-driven Nupedia project. Using wiki technology, it quickly outpaced Nupedia, establishing a massive, multilingual repository of information run by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation.
Key Milestones and History:
- Origin (2000-2001): Initially a “feeder” project for Nupedia, a heavily peer-reviewed site that was failing due to slow content production. Wikipedia allowed faster, voluntary editing.
- Launch: Officially launched on January 15, 2001, by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger.
- Early Growth:By September 2001, Wikipedia had over 13,000 articles, whereas Nupedia had only 21 verified entries in its first year.
- Nupedia Closure (2003): Nupedia shut down in September 2003, with its content absorbed into Wikipedia.
- The Foundation: The Wikimedia Foundation was established in 2003 to support the site, based in Florida before moving to San Francisco in 2007.
- Growth & Impact: Wikipedia has grown into one of the top 10 websites globally, offering over 60 million articles in over 300 languages (as of 2024), funded by donations.
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