How did Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger start Wikipedia?

Wikipedia was founded in 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger as a complementary project to Nupedia. It was originally created using an online wiki as a collaborative drafting tool to allow faster article creation before polishing. The project quickly overtook Nupedia and evolved into an independent, multilingual online encyclopedia maintained by a community of volunteer editors.

What we know

• Wikipedia was founded in 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger. [2, 3]
• The project grew out of Nupedia as a way to allow easier and faster drafting of articles and translations. [2]
• In 2001, the license for Nupedia was changed to GFDL, and Wikipedia was launched using an online wiki as a collaborative drafting tool. [2]
• Wikipedia quickly overtook its predecessor Nupedia, becoming both draft space and home for the polished final product. [2]

Where to go next

• what caused itWhat was Nupedia and how did it work?
• how it workedHow did Richard Stallman's free software ideas influence online encyclopedias?
• whenWhen were the first non-English Wikipedia editions created?
• what followedHow has the Wikimedia Foundation grown to support Wikipedia?
• a case in pointWhat unofficial mascots have represented Wikipedia?
• an unexpected connectionHow do unofficial mascots connect to Wikipedia's history?Although Wikipedia has no official mascot, community members have created and used various unofficial characters and baby globe mascots throughout the site's history.

Sources

• [1]history of Wikipedia (Wikidata Q6731) · CC0 1.0
• [2]History of Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]List of Wikipedias · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Wikipedia mascots · CC BY-SA 4.0