A random survey of 100 Wikipedia biographies, originally done November 30, 2005-February 7, 2006. I plan to update it once in a blue moon.
|
Article |
Century |
Sources |
Length |
Coverage |
Inlinks |
Googles |
Warning tags |
Comments |
1 |
Stephen J. Solarz |
1900 |
No |
3 |
Med |
9 |
18,000 |
None |
Ex-US-Congressman |
2 |
Khaosai Galaxy |
1900 |
No |
10 |
Med |
9 |
275 |
None |
Thai boxer; sympathetic bio |
3 |
Pierre Viret |
1500 |
3 |
6* |
Med |
9 |
844 |
None |
Swiss theologian |
4 |
Samuel Sebastian Wesley |
1800 |
2 |
3* |
Low |
8 |
13,800 |
None |
English musician/composer |
5 |
Stian Arnesen |
2000 |
No |
5* |
Low |
8 |
529 |
None |
Norwegian musician |
6 |
Mick Rogers |
1900 |
2 |
4* |
Low |
2 |
51 |
None |
British park warden. Feels like a memorial. |
7 |
Tom Garrett |
1800 |
2 |
6 |
Low |
6 |
611 |
None |
Australian cricket player |
8 |
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce |
N/A |
No |
12 |
Low |
29 |
21,400 |
None |
Fictional, gives note |
9 |
Romeo Munoz Cachola |
2000 |
No |
4 |
Med |
1 |
7 |
None |
Minor Hawaiian legislator |
10 |
Justin Leonard |
2000 |
No |
3* |
Stub |
29 |
227,000 |
None |
American golfer |
|
Article |
Century |
Sources |
Length |
Coverage |
Inlinks |
Googles |
Warning tags |
Comments |
11 |
Lord Percy Percy |
N/A |
No |
7 |
Low |
15 |
155 |
None |
Fictional, gives note |
12 |
Epenisa Cakobau |
2000 |
No |
2 |
Low |
5 |
556 |
None |
Fijian chief |
13 |
Gersem |
600 |
1 |
2* |
Stub |
2 |
36 |
None |
Ancient African king |
14 |
Lee Hyo-jung |
2000 |
No |
3* |
Low |
11 |
9,910 |
None |
Korean ameuter badminton player |
15 |
Cephas Washburn |
1800 |
No |
9 |
Med |
8 |
163 |
None |
American missionary |
16 |
Badal Roy |
1900 |
No |
3* |
Low |
6 |
33,300 |
None |
American musician |
17 |
Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan of Camperdown |
1700 |
No |
2 |
Low |
19 |
304 |
None |
Historical British admiral |
18 |
Baltasar Corrada del Río |
1900 |
No |
6* |
Med |
11 |
330 |
None |
Puerto Rican politician |
19 |
Billy Tauzin III |
2000 |
No |
2 |
Low |
3 |
630 |
None |
Failed US candidate for an unspecified position. Listed on VfD. |
20 |
Marie-Hélène Chisholm |
2000 |
No |
1 |
Stub |
5 |
576 |
None |
Canadian ameuter athlete (judo) |
|
Article |
Century |
Sources |
Length |
Coverage |
Inlinks |
Googles |
Warning tags |
Comments |
21 |
Damien English |
2000 |
No |
4 |
Low |
5 |
627 |
None |
Irish politican |
22 |
Carl Charlier |
1800 |
No |
3* |
Low |
13 |
202 |
None |
Swedish astronomer |
23 |
Joseph Marion Hernandez |
1800 |
6 |
3 |
Med |
4 |
221 |
None |
American politican and general |
24 |
Francis Egerton, 7th Duke of Sutherland |
1900 |
No |
4* |
Low |
7 |
240 |
None |
Scottish peer |
25 |
Dorothy Emma Howell Rodham |
1900 |
No |
3* |
Low |
1 |
350 |
None |
Mother of an American politican |
26 |
Ellis Wynne |
1700 |
No |
1* |
Stub |
1 |
349 |
None |
Welsh author. Copyvio. Article is only one sentence long, and that one sentence is lifted straight from Britannica! |
27 |
Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole |
1900 |
No |
6 |
Med |
23 |
573 |
None |
Hawaiian prince, American politican |
28 |
Gottfried Semper |
1800 |
No |
10 |
Low |
32 |
24,900 |
None |
Half-finished bio of a German architect |
29 |
Leah Purcell |
2000 |
No |
3 |
Med |
8 |
20,400 |
None |
Australian actress |
30 |
Jack Hutton |
???? |
No |
3 |
Low |
2 |
??? |
None |
Canadian pianist/bar owner. Missing critical information such as when he lived, what makes him notable. |
|
Article |
Century |
Sources |
Length |
Coverage |
Inlinks |
Googles |
Warning tags |
Comments |
31 |
Uros velickovic |
2000 |
No |
1* |
Stub |
0 |
??? |
None |
Serbian freelance journalist. Almost no English Google hits. Speedy-deleted as non-notable bio. |
32 |
Mihai Dolgan |
2000 |
No |
1 |
Stub |
2 |
208 |
None |
Moldovan singer and composer |
33 |
Vladimir Drinfel'd |
1900 |
No |
4 |
Med |
54 |
75 |
None |
Russian mathemetician. Google hits are for the last name "Drinfeld". |
34 |
Ana Guevara |
2000 |
No |
3* |
Low |
19 |
9,620 |
None |
Mexican athlete |
35 |
James K. Dressel |
1900 |
No |
3 |
Low |
0 |
55 |
None |
American politican |
36 |
Johann Friedrich Dieffenbach |
1800 |
No |
3* |
Med |
2 |
420 |
None |
German surgeon, written in a mix of past and present tense |
37 |
Christian Holst |
2000 |
No |
2* |
Stub |
2 |
300 |
None |
Danish/Faroese soccer player |
38 |
Bobby Joe Morrow |
1900 |
No |
6* |
Med |
110 |
663 |
None |
American Olympic athlete, three navboxes that dwarf the rest of the article |
39 |
Marcelo Tinelli |
1900 |
No |
4 |
Med |
5 |
45,000 |
None |
Argentine personality |
40 |
Renata Scotto |
1900 |
No |
7 |
Good |
9 |
28,000 |
None |
Italian opera singer |
|
Article |
Century |
Sources |
Length |
Coverage |
Inlinks |
Googles |
Warning tags |
Comments |
41 |
Giambattista Marini |
1600 |
1 |
4* |
Med |
20 |
54 |
None |
Italian poet |
42 |
Prayer Reverie |
N/A |
No |
4 |
Low |
14 |
1050 |
None |
Fictional, does not make the fact obvious |
43 |
Bas Rutten |
1900 |
No |
5 |
Med |
10 |
65,600 |
None |
Dutch martial artist |
44 |
John of Avila |
1500 |
No |
1* |
Stub |
9 |
565 |
None |
Spanish mystic/saint |
45 |
Andy Quach |
2000 |
No |
4* |
Med |
0 |
4130 |
None |
Minor American politican |
46 |
Willard Boyle |
1900 |
No |
5 |
Med |
5 |
692 |
None |
Canadian physicist/inventor |
47 |
Aleksey Mikhailovich Tcherkassky |
1700 |
No |
3 |
Med |
1 |
38 |
None |
Russian aristocrat |
48 |
Terry Porter |
1900 |
No |
7 |
Low |
18 |
107,000 |
None |
American sports figure, written from a fan perspective |
49 |
Edward Harris, 4th Earl of Malmesbury |
1800 |
No |
4* |
Stub |
3 |
120 |
None |
British peer, many Google hits are for his successor, "James Edward Harris" |
50 |
James Chapin |
1900 |
No |
2* |
Stub |
2 |
??? |
None |
American ornithologist, many Google hits for the artist by that name. |
|
Article |
Century |
Sources |
Length |
Coverage |
Inlinks |
Googles |
Warning tags |
Comments |
51 |
Vidar Sandbeck |
1900 |
No |
4* |
Med |
1 |
338 |
None |
Norwegian singer/composer/writer, 22000+ non-English Google hits |
52 |
John Miller (Governor) |
1800 |
No |
1 |
Med |
1 |
??? |
None |
Governor of North Dakota, many non-related Google hits |
53 |
Gerd Gies |
1900 |
No |
1* |
Stub |
1 |
188 |
None |
German politician |
54 |
Buichi Terasawa |
2000 |
No |
2* |
Stub |
3 |
865 |
None |
Japanese manga artist; many non-English Google hits, many Google hits for "Terasawa Buichi" |
55 |
Béatrice de Planissoles |
1200 |
1 |
6 |
Med |
2 |
181 |
None |
Minor noble in the County of Foix |
56 |
Phil Zimmermann |
2000 |
No |
2 |
Low |
16 |
145,000 |
None |
Cryptography expert |
57 |
Otto Kuhler |
1900 |
No |
4* |
Low |
4 |
797 |
None |
American artist and designer |
58 |
Jean Cruppi |
1800 |
No |
1* |
Stub |
10 |
201 |
None |
French politician |
59 |
Gwen Hotchkiss |
N/A |
1 |
12 |
Low |
21 |
11,800 |
None |
Fictional, gives note |
60 |
Marcelo Tosatti |
2000 |
No |
2 |
Low |
4 |
390,000 |
None |
Brazilian programmer |
|
Article |
Century |
Sources |
Length |
Coverage |
Inlinks |
Googles |
Warning tags |
Comments |
61 |
Boris Polevoy |
1900 |
No |
1 |
Stub |
3 |
432 |
None |
Russian author |
62 |
Helmut Kohl |
1900 |
No |
19 |
Good |
149 |
1,840,000 |
None |
German politician |
63 |
Ashur-uballit II |
600 BC |
No |
4 |
Low |
7 |
341 |
None |
Assyrian king |
64 |
Constance of Austria |
1600 |
No |
2 |
Low |
10 |
593 |
None |
Austrian noblewoman |
65 |
Jacob Pavlovitch Adler |
1800 |
6 |
55 |
High |
57 |
110 |
None |
Jewish actor |
66 |
Richard Harrison Garver |
???? |
No |
1* |
Substub |
0 |
0 |
None |
American inventor. Gives no information; listed on VfD |
67 |
Andy Rourke |
1900 |
No |
4* |
Low |
30 |
72,800 |
None |
English entertainer |
68 |
James Lapum |
1800 |
No |
3* |
Low |
2 |
3 |
None |
Canadian politician |
69 |
Padrinho Sebastião |
1900 |
No |
3 |
Med |
1 |
302 |
None |
Brazilian, reads like an epitaph, copyvio |
70 |
James Hilton |
1900 |
No |
5 |
Med |
46 |
269,000 |
None |
English novelist |
|
Article |
Century |
Sources |
Length |
Coverage |
Inlinks |
Googles |
Warning tags |
Comments |
71 |
Sandro Botticelli |
1400 |
No |
10 |
Med |
123 |
345,000 |
None |
Italian artist; confused organization |
72 |
John Henry Livingston |
1800 |
No |
2 |
Med |
6 |
199 |
None |
American theologian |
73 |
Tetsuya Iwanaga |
2000 |
No |
1 |
Stub |
13 |
1870 |
None |
Japanese voice actor |
74 |
Pat Jennings |
1900 |
No |
6 |
Med |
34 |
37,900 |
None |
UK soccer player, rather confused writing |
75 |
Joanne V. Creighton |
1900 |
No |
3* |
Stub |
3 |
534 |
None |
American college president |
76 |
Alan Abraham |
1900 |
No |
3* |
Low |
9 |
181 |
None |
Canadian politician |
77 |
Greg Raymer |
2000 |
No |
12* |
Low |
52 |
209,000 |
None |
American poker player |
78 |
Dara Ó Briain |
2000 |
No |
6 |
Low |
15 |
56,500 |
None |
Irish entertainer |
79 |
Eutropia |
300 |
No |
2 |
Low |
5 |
??? |
None |
Roman nobility, many irrelevant Google hits |
80 |
Emeric of Hungary (saint) |
1000 |
No |
1 |
Low |
14 |
9,240 |
None |
Catholic saint |
|
Article |
Century |
Sources |
Length |
Coverage |
Inlinks |
Googles |
Warning tags |
Comments |
81 |
Dan Tsalka |
1900 |
2 |
7* |
Med |
2 |
1230 |
None |
Israli writer |
82 |
Věra Čáslavská |
1900 |
No |
7 |
Good |
12 |
9410 |
None |
Czechoslovakian gymnast |
83 |
Gol Acheron |
N/A |
No |
4* |
Low |
7 |
202 |
None |
Fictional, has note |
84 |
Abelardo Diaz Alfaro |
1900 |
No |
6* |
Med |
7 |
1120 |
None |
Puerto Rican author |
85 |
Louis II, Count of Montpensier |
1400 |
No |
2* |
Stub |
6 |
??? |
None |
French noble, many unrelated Google hits |
86 |
Yona Kosashvili |
1900 |
No |
1 |
Stub |
5 |
798 |
None |
Israeli chess player |
87 |
Ben Pollack |
1900 |
No |
8 |
Good |
15 |
29,000 |
None |
American musician |
88 |
Georges Valensi |
1900 |
No |
2 |
Low |
4 |
1180 |
None |
French inventor |
89 |
Jerome James |
1900 |
No |
7* |
Low |
11 |
124,000 |
None |
American athlete; large trivia section |
90 |
Susarion |
600 BC |
2 |
4 |
Med |
1 |
251 |
None |
Greek poet. 1911 Britannica, and reads like it. |
|
Article |
Century |
Sources |
Length |
Coverage |
Inlinks |
Googles |
Warning tags |
Comments |
91 |
Bob Denny |
1900 |
No |
3 |
Low |
4 |
19,900 |
None |
American programmer |
92 |
Edward Bellamy |
1800 |
No |
8 |
Good |
39 |
122,000 |
None |
American author; some "further reading" links might be sources |
93 |
Thomas Keating |
1900 |
1 |
3 |
Low |
5 |
75,300 |
None |
American religious figure |
94 |
Friedrich Blass |
1800 |
1 |
6 |
Low |
9 |
786 |
None |
German scholar; copy-and-paste of 1911 Britannica |
95 |
Evades |
N/A |
No |
4 |
Low |
7 |
??? |
Spoiler |
Fictional, gives note. I'm sure the article would make more sense if I was familar with the television show involved. Google results not meaningful. |
96 |
Denis Papin |
1600 |
No |
6 |
Low |
13 |
117,000 |
None |
French inventor. Based on the Google results, is missing a lot. |
97 |
Elizabeth Bentley |
1900 |
7 |
15 |
Good |
48 |
22,400 |
None |
Soviet spy. No lead paragraph. |
98 |
Robert D. Cardona |
1900 |
No |
2 |
Low |
5 |
539 |
None |
British director |
99 |
Billy Flynn |
2000 |
No |
3* |
Low |
1 |
??? |
Wikify |
American entertainer. Google hits seem to be for someone else. |
100 |
Shalini |
2000 |
No |
3* |
Low |
4 |
??? |
None |
Indian actress. Many apparently-unrelated Google hits. |
|
Article |
Century |
Sources |
Length |
Coverage |
Inlinks |
Googles |
Warning tags |
Comments |
303 non-bio articles were encountered during the survey, including 12 albums, 4 songs, 6 bands, 6 movies, 3 TV show, 1 TV episode, 1 radio station, 1 comic book, 1 manga, 7 books, 4 fictional objects, 16 Rambot-created articles, 5 schools, 2 deleted Bethune, Saskatchewan North Bay Progressive, 2 copyvio Israeli whist The Elf Queen of Shannara, 1 redirected Acoustic feedback, 2 candidates for transwiki How to swim Shrivel