Jimmy Wales

Robert Schlesinger / DPA / ZUMAPRESS

The Site
Attracted to the idea of an open source web-based online encyclopedia, Wales worked with a philospher named Larry Sanger to launch Wikipedia in January 2001. The co-founders relied on what was at the time an unknown software program called a wiki — the Hawaiian word for "quick". Anyone could access the site and edit entries. The idea was a hit and Wikipedia quickly took off.

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