Wikipedia often gets taken for granted – but its history is fascinating, and its future is fragile

Wikipedia has grown into an everyday reference used billions of times, despite lingering distrust of its open editing model and a website that has changed little in two decades. The article argues that its history is rooted as much in humanistic ideas and community as in technology, and that understanding those origins matters as the project faces a fragile future.

The site was founded in 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger; its English edition now contains 5.2 billion words, while Wikipedia as a whole has 68 million articles. The account highlights the influence of wiki inventor Ward Cunningham’s ideas, including the acceptance of imperfection, and the contributions of early editors such as Gaytha Langlois. It also notes persistent gender imbalance and the often-overlooked people who shaped the encyclopaedia.