# Jimmy Wales

> He turned the internet into an encyclopedia that anyone could edit - and somehow it worked. Wales bet that strangers would police each other into building the most-consulted reference work on earth, and Wikipedia now fields half a billion visits a day.

*Co-founder of Wikipedia (born 1966)*

**Canonical URL:** https://fame.am/person/jimmy-wales

## Identity
- **Profile type:** Founder ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q131524))
- **Category:** Founders
- **Country:** United States
- **Born:** 1966-08-07
- **Status:** living
- **Gender:** male

## Bio

Born in Huntsville, Alabama on August 8, 1966, Wales studied finance at Auburn and the University of Alabama, then spent the 1990s trading options in Chicago as chief research officer at Chicago Options Associates. In 1996 he co-founded Bomis, which bankrolled Nupedia, a peer-reviewed encyclopedia that moved too slowly. On January 15, 2001, Wales and Larry Sanger launched Wikipedia as a faster, open-edit alternative; it grew explosively while Wales became its public face, though he has disputed Sanger's claim to co-founder status. Time named him one of the 100 most influential people in 2006. He has held the Wikimedia Foundation's "community founder" board seat since its creation and delivers annual "State of the Wiki" addresses at Wikimania.

## Fame
- **Popularity score:** 91.6 / 100
- **Momentum:** 10.5 / 100  (trend: STABLE)
- **Historical depth:** 25.8 / 100
- **Attention shift:** 26.7 / 100
- **Source confidence:** 95.0 / 100
- **Profile completeness:** 90.0 / 100
- **Country rank:** #191
- **Category rank:** #7
- **Total followers across platforms:** 88

## Platforms
- **WEBSITE**: https://jimmywales.com/
- **INSTAGRAM**: https://www.instagram.com/jimmy_wales/ (@jimmy_wales)
- **FACEBOOK**: https://www.facebook.com/jimmywales (@jimmywales)
- **X**: https://x.com/jimmy_wales (@jimmy_wales)
- **LINKEDIN**: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmy-wales-919a8b/ (@jimmy-wales-919a8b)
- **IMDB**: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2467065/ (@nm2467065)
- **YOUTUBE**: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEbFsO2sM_wjTn44YAgSrrg (@@jimbowales, 88 followers)

## Topics
#Scientists, #Business Professional, #Entrepreneurship, #Science, #United States, #Americas, #20th Century

## Timeline
- **2017** - Prix Giles
- **2017** - President's Medal
- **2013** - Internet Hall of Fame
- **2013** - UNESCO Niels Bohr Medal
- **2011** - Gottlieb Duttweiler Prize
- **2009** - Nokia Foundation Recognition Award
- **2007** - Young Global Leaders
- **2006** - EFF Award
- **1966** - Born

## Sources
- [Jimmy Wales](https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Wales)
- [Jimmy Wales](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Wales)
- [Jimmy Wales](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Wales)
- [Уэйлс, Джимми](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A3%D1%8D%D0%B9%D0%BB%D1%81%2C_%D0%94%D0%B6%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%BC%D0%B8)
- [Jimmy Wales](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Wales)
- [Jimmy Wales](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Wales)
- [Jimmy Wales](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Wales)
- [Jimmy Wales](https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Wales)
- [吉米·威爾斯](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%89%E7%B1%B3%C2%B7%E5%A8%81%E7%88%BE%E6%96%AF)
- [ジミー・ウェールズ](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B8%E3%83%9F%E3%83%BC%E3%83%BB%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A7%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E3%82%BA)
- [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Wales)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q181)
- [Pantheon 2.0](https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Jimmy%20Wales)
- [Cimmi Vels](https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cimmi_Vels)
- [जिमी वेल्स](https://awa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B8)
- [जिमी वेल्स](https://anp.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B8)
- [জিম্মী ৱেল্‌ছ](https://as.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%80_%E0%A7%B1%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B2%E0%A7%8D%E2%80%8C%E0%A6%9B)
- [जिमी वेल्स](https://bh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%B5%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B8)
- [Jimmy Wales](https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Wales)
- [ጂሚ ዌልስ](https://am.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%8C%82%E1%88%9A_%E1%8B%8C%E1%88%8D%E1%88%B5)
- [Джими Уейлс](https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%94%D0%B6%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B8_%D0%A3%D0%B5%D0%B9%D0%BB%D1%81)
- [Джымі Вэйлз](https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%94%D0%B6%D1%8B%D0%BC%D1%96_%D0%92%D1%8D%D0%B9%D0%BB%D0%B7)
- [جيمى ويلز](https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AC%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%89_%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%84%D8%B2)
- [Jimmy Wales](https://bjn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Wales)
- [စဉ်မီဝေး](https://blk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%80%85%E1%80%89%E1%80%BA%E1%80%99%E1%80%AE%E1%80%9D%E1%80%B1%E1%80%B8)
- [জিমি ওয়েলস](https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%BF_%E0%A6%93%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%B8)
- [ཇི་མི་ཝིལ་སི།](https://bo.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%BD%87%E0%BD%B2%E0%BC%8B%E0%BD%98%E0%BD%B2%E0%BC%8B%E0%BD%9D%E0%BD%B2%E0%BD%A3%E0%BC%8B%E0%BD%A6%E0%BD%B2%E0%BC%8D)
- [Wikiquote](https://ar.wikiquote.org/wiki/%D8%AC%D9%8A%D9%85%D9%8A_%D9%88%D9%8A%D9%84%D8%B2)
- [Wikiquote](https://as.wikiquote.org/wiki/%E0%A6%9C%E0%A6%BF%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AE%E0%A7%80_%E0%A7%B1%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%9B)
- [Джымі Ўэйлз](https://be_x_old.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%94%D0%B6%D1%8B%D0%BC%D1%96_%D0%8E%D1%8D%D0%B9%D0%BB%D0%B7)

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