Jimmy Wales
He turned the radical idea of a free, editable encyclopedia for everyone into a foundational pillar of the modern internet.
Born 1966 (age 60)·Co-founder of Wikipedia·Birthday: August 7·Generation X
Biography
Jimmy Wales began his career in the world of finance and speculative web portals, but his lasting legacy was born from a failed experiment. His first online encyclopedia, Nupedia, was hobbled by academic peer-review. The breakthrough came when he and Larry Sanger embraced a nascent technology called a wiki, allowing anyone to contribute. Wikipedia launched in 2001, and Wales championed its non-profit, ad-free ethos as it grew into the world's largest reference work. More than just a website manager, he became the global ambassador for open knowledge, advocating for a digital commons built on good faith and neutral point of view, forever changing how humanity accesses information.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Jimmy was born in 1966, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Jimmy Was Born
The biggest hits of 1966
#1 Movie
The Bible: In the Beginning
Best Picture
A Man for All Seasons
#1 TV Show
Bonanza
Jimmy's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1966Born
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1971Started school
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1979Became a teenager
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1982Could drive
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1984Could vote
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1987Turned 21
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1996Turned 30
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 40
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 50
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Turned 60
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Co-founded Wikipedia, which grew to become one of the top 10 most-visited websites globally.
- Established the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit that stewards Wikipedia and its sister projects.
- Pioneered the large-scale, collaborative wiki model for creating and disseminating knowledge.
- Successfully defended Wikipedia's donation-based, ad-free business model against commercial pressures.
Did You Know?
He was an options trader in Chicago before entering the internet world.
His Wikipedia user name is 'Jimbo Wales'.
He was appointed a Knight First Class of the Order of the White Rose of Finland in 2022.
He once owned a now-defunct web search portal called Bomis.
“Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's what we're doing.”
