Wikipedia Launches

Setting the scene

Wikipedia launched on January 15, 2001, founded by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger as a free, editable encyclopedia. It began as a complement to Nupedia, a peer-reviewed encyclopedia. Wikipedia used wiki software allowing anyone to edit pages, a radical idea that experts predicted would fail due to vandalism.

What happened

Wikipedia grew rapidly—1,000 articles by February 2001, 20,000 by end of 2001, and over 6 million English articles today. Its model of volunteer editing with community norms proved surprisingly robust. The site is non-profit, funded by donations, and remains one of the world's most visited websites.

Why it still matters

Wikipedia democratized knowledge creation and became the default reference work, though its accuracy varies. It demonstrated the power of crowdsourcing and open collaboration. January 15 is celebrated as Wikipedia Day. The site's launch marked a shift from expert-controlled to peer-produced knowledge.

Background

Collective knowledge challenged experts.