Wikipedia celebrates 20th birthday

Wikipedia celebrates its 20th birthday in January, another milestone for the world’s largest free online encyclopedia.

The Wikimedia Foundation announced that the encyclopedia officially turned 20 years old on 15 January. As a result, it is hosting a series of celebration digital events.

The English-language version of the encyclopedia also recently celebrated its billionth edit.

“Wikipedia has evolved from a seemingly impossible idea into a sprawling testament to humanity—a place where we can collaborate, share, and learn about anything and everything,” Katherine Maher, CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation, said in a statement.

“It is a global effort of volunteers who elevate knowledge and cooperation over conflict and self-interest.”

 

The online encyclopedia has played an especially important role during the COVID-19 pandemic. The foundation reports record-breaking increases in daily traffic as medical professionals contributed to articles on the platform.

Currently, Wikipedia has over 55 million articles in over 300 languages.

These articles are available for free, without ads — and they’ve been created and edited by volunteers.

To celebrate the milestone, the foundation has launched a site dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Wikipedia.

Feature image: Wikimedia Foundation