List of articles every Wikipedia should have

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There are a growing number of Wikipedia projects, some very large, and others quite moribund. I propose that we invigorate them, and ensure that they each contain a minimum of information that will be of use to users. This way, people will be encouraged to see use these projects and help in their growth.

I therefore suggest that we make a list of 1,000 basic articles that we should try to ensure appear on every existing Wikipedia.

These articles should be very basic, and incorporate the most essential information. In some cases, it will be only a table, while in other cases, it will be a stub. This will, however, provide some impetus for the smaller projects to grow.

My proposals are for the following:

Biography

At least three sentences on 100 key historical figures

  1. Jesus Christ
  2. Albert Einstein
  3. Karl Marx
  4. William Shakespeare
  5. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
  6. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  7. Muhammad
  8. Gautama Buddha
  9. Charles de Gaulle
  10. Otto von Bismarck
  11. Peter the Great (of Russia)
  12. Plato
  13. Napoléon Bonaparte
  14. Alexander the Great
  15. Christopher Columbus

Some important politicians of today

  1. George W. Bush
  2. Gerhard Schröder
  3. Jacques Chirac
  4. Silvio Berlusconi
  5. Kofi Annan

Countries:

100 countries, with a one sentence description and a country table.

Geography

At least three sentences on each of the continents

  1. Africa
  2. Asia
  3. Australia
  4. Europe
  5. North America
  6. South America

History

At least five sentences on:

  1. French Revolution
  2. World War I
  3. World War II

International

  1. United Nations
  2. Nobel Prize

Religion

At least a five-sentence introduction to the twelve classical religions:

  1. Baha'i
  2. Buddhism
  3. Christianity
  4. Confucianism
  5. Hinduism
  6. Islam
  7. Jainism
  8. Judaism
  9. Shinto
  10. Sikhism
  11. Taoism
  12. Zoroastrianism

Popular Culture

At least three sentences on:

  1. Television
  2. Film
  3. Literature
  4. Art
  5. Music

Science

At least a five-sentence introduction to the major fields:

  1. Physics
  2. Chemistry
  3. Biology
  4. Geology
  5. Medicine
  6. Ecology
  7. Article about the language of that Wikipedia

Technology

  1. Computers
  2. Automobile

If you support this effort, please add to the list. We can then decide what the basic sentences can be for each article.

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