It was a big year for Wikipedia.
The 50 most read articles on Wikipedia in 2017 have been revealed with the help of nine frequent-users of the site, including one Irish user Stormy Clouds, a second-level student who says he edits Wikipedia pages because “it’s an enjoyable way to spend time on the internet”.
He and his eight counterparts wrote a running commentary alongside Wikipedia contributor Andrew West's compiled list, reporting the day that particularly page peaked in popularity, paired with a reason as to why they think so.
The colour-coded commentary is well worth the long-read itself, but to summarise things, the top five consist of:
1.
Deaths in 2017
A comprehensive list of well-known people who died in 2017.
2.
Donald Trump
President of the United States. Not surprisingly, the peak in his popularity was witnessed on the day of his inauguration.
3.
Elizabeth II
Britain’s longest-serving monarch. Remarkably, the day the Queen's Wikipedia page was most frequently visited was on 10 December, the day the second season of The Crown was released.
4.
Game of Thrones (season 7)
Also not a huge surprise. The newest season of show experienced peak popularity on 28 August, the day the final episode aired.
5.
Meghan Markle
The Californian-born actress and soon-to-be member of the British royal family's Wikipedia page also experienced a surge in popularity this year, with most people tuning into her personal page on 27 November, the day her engagement to Prince Harry was announced.
The list in full, which includes Bitcoin, Bollywood films, Justice League and Elon Musk can be found
here.
