Celebrate Wikipedia’s 25th Birthday

Meet some of the humans making it possible

Wikipedia was first founded on January 15, 2001. Today, 25 years later, it has become the backbone of knowledge on the internet, informing everything from day-to-day life and AI chatbots to journalism and trivia wins. Nearly 250,000 volunteers write, edit, and fact check its 65 million articles across 300+ languages, all guided by standards on neutrality and reliability.

In 2026, we are celebrating Wikipedia’s 25th birthday. In honor of this milestone, we interviewed a few volunteer editors from around the world about what moves them to contribute to Wikipedia’s pages.

Watch the series.

Learn how it all began

Explore the 25 years of Wikipedia time capsule and see the site’s evolution from the beginning. This immersive journey shows you how Wikipedia came to be and why it is still a testament to collaboration and consensus.

Scroll to the past

Which Wikipedia of the future are you?

What do you dream about when you imagine the future? How about when you picture what is in store for Wikipedia? From quantum transportation to robot athletes, find out what is in your Wikipedia future and then trade results with your friends on social.

Jump to the quiz

Bring the party home

We are celebrating Wikipedia’s birthday with a festive, limited-edition merch collection, perfect for cake baking, piñata breaking, and editing knowledge on the internet.

Wikipedia’s birthday hat

25 years of national dishes apron

Wikipedia lists notebook

Birthday cake pillow

Puzzle piece W pillow

Carrying the internet tote

25 years of birthday sticker pack

Visit the Wikipedia store

Look who RSVP’d

Get to know more about the brands that are partnering with Wikipedia and the Wikimedia Foundation to celebrate this important milestone. Each collaboration will only be available for a short time.

A birthday plushie with Makeship

Baby Globe—who? Meet the most curious and playful birthday mascot around. They might be popping up on your Wikipedia soon, but in the meantime, preorder them in adorable plushie form from 15 January to 12 February. It is all part of a collaboration with Makeship, a platform that creates limited-edition collectibles and merch. Check back again in March for another chance to bring this fun-loving character home.

Order now

Find out more

Read all about the 25th birthday, Wikipedia, and how the Wikimedia Foundation facilitates everyone’s access to free and open knowledge.

Wikipedia celebrates 25 years of knowledge at its best

Happy birthday, Wikipedia. The world’s largest online information resource is 25, which marks a quarter century of making trustworthy, human-powered knowledge accessible. To celebrate this occasion, the Wikimedia Foundation invites you to discover Wikipedia’s journey over the past 25 years, honor the volunteers who make it possible, and help shape what’s next.

Explore Wikipedia at 25

Help support human knowledge

Wikipedia has no ads and no subscriptions. It is made possible by thousands of volunteers who share their knowledge freely, which means that your support is essential for making every article as accessible as humanly possible.

The majority of our funding is from individual contributions that usually range from $2.75 USD to $25 USD.

Thank you for preserving human knowledge and collaboration online. Here’s to the next 25 years and beyond.

Donate now

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Congratulations on reaching the bottom of the page!

Your reward? Getting a glimpse of the most curious and playful birthday mascot on planet Earth. Be patient as they are getting ready to explore with you.

Keep your eyes peeled for lots of surprises across Wikipedia’s pages throughout this big birthday year. Sign up to receive a reminder once this character is up and running, playing, and daydreaming.

Learn how to make a new friend on Wikipedia