Today’s History: The Birth of Wikipedia, Available in Over 300 Languages; More than 2 billion people use it every month

Wikipedia, which has now become an important part of people’s search results, was born on this day. If we search anything on Google, then most of the Wikipedia page comes at the top.

Wikipedia was started on 15 January 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger. Wikipedia was started with the idea that anyone could edit it. In the world of technology, the information gathered in such a way is called crowd sourcing.

Available in 300 languages, over 2 billion monthly users
Wikipedia was previously launched only in the English language, but is now available in more than 300 languages. Wikipedia was launched in Hindi in 2003. There are more than 55 million articles in Wikipedia and more than 2 billion users visit the Wikipedia page every month.

Wikipedia was launched on 15 January 2001.

Before starting Wikipedia, Jimmy Wells and Larry Sanger launched the Encyclopedia under the name Nupedia. Experts used to write articles in this and they were published only after being reviewed. Later, when Wikipedia was launched, not every user was allowed to edit in it, but after a few months, all users were allowed to edit in it.

Anyone can edit Wikipedia
The creators of Wikipedia have made it in such a way that any person can edit the content in it. That is, if a person wishes, any information on the Wikipedia page can be changed. Wikipedia has also been criticized for this and many times it is not even considered a reliable source of information for this reason.

However, the Wikipedia team is constantly improving this process. Not only does she instantly update every latest information on her page, but if someone has intentionally edited the page by tampering with facts, the Wikipedia team quickly rectifies that mistake as well.

Earthquake killed 11 thousand in India-Nepal
A dangerous earthquake struck India and Nepal on 15 January 1934. More than 11 thousand people died in this earthquake. Its intensity was measured at 8.3 on the Richter scale. It is said that the tremors of the earthquake were so strong that they were felt till Mumbai.

The cities of Munger and Muzaffarpur in Bihar were completely destroyed by this earthquake. Along with this, there was heavy damage in Motihari and Darbhanga city. At the same time, in Kathmandu, Bhatgaon and Patan in Nepal, many buildings had collapsed and there were cracks in the roads.

Important events of 15 January in India and the world:

2016 : 28 killed and 56 injured in a terrorist attack on a hotel in Ogadogu in the West African country of Burkina Faso.
2013 : 83 killed and 150 injured in rocket attack on Syria’s Aleppo University
2010 : The longest solar eclipse of the century with a duration of more than three hours occurred. In India it started at 11:6 am and ended at 3:5 pm.
2009 : Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner and film producer Tapan Sinha passed away.
2008 : The India-China border dispute was discussed during the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to China.
2008: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati lays the foundation stone of ‘Ganga Expressway Project’.
2006 : The British High Court ordered the lifting of the ban on Quattrocchi’s two bank accounts. Quattrocchi was an accused in the Bofors scam.
1999 : The first world leader to sign the ‘En Frank Declaration’ became the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan.
1992 : Bulgaria recognized Macedonia as a country of the Balkans.
1988 : Former India bowler Narendra Hirwani achieved the historic feat, taking 16 wickets in his first Test match against West Indies.
1975 : Portugal signed the agreement for the independence of Angola.
1965 : Food Corporation of India was established.
1949 : KM Cariappa became the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army. Since then 15 January is celebrated as Army Day.
1759 : The British Museum was established at Montague House in London.