Wikipedia's first sentence called it “poet”. Today it says “a 19th-century british convert from christianity to islam”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
Abdullah Quilliam ( 1851 – 1932 ) was a poet , solicitor , ambassador , Islamic scholar , journalist , and leader , who is particularly noted for founding England 's first mosque and Islamic centre. A convert from Christianity to Islam , Quilliam was influential in advancing Islam within the British Isles , gaining many converts through his literary work and the many charitable institutions he founded. A descendant of Captain John Quilliam RN , First Lieutenant on HMS Victory with Horatio Nelson , William Abdullah Quilliam was born in Liverpool to a wealthy watch manufacturing family in 1851. He soon established himself as a noted solicitor, founding the largest advocacy practice in the North. While visiting southern France in 1882, Quilliam crossed over to Algeria and Tunisia , where he learned about Islam and soon converted, at the age of 31. Returning to Liverpool, he began to spread Islam among the masses, as Shaykh Abdullah Quilliam. Quilliam influenced the paths of many converts, including his formerly Methodist mother, his sons, and prominent scientists and intellectuals . He soon published three editions of his masterpiece, The Faith of Islam , translated subsequently in thirteen languages, gaining him fame all over the Islamic world. The leaders of the Ottoman Empire , Persia , Morocco and Afghanistan accorded him many honours, including granting him finance for a potential English mosque. The Islamic Institute and Liverpool Mosque was established by Abdullah Quilliam as England's first mosque, accommodating around a hundred Muslims, in Liverpool's Broughton Terrace. Soon followed a Muslim college , headed by the professors Haschem Wilde and Nasrullah Warren , which offered courses for both Muslims and non-Muslims. Quilliam's weekly Debating and Literary Society within the college attracted many non-Muslim intellectuals, leading to the conversion of over a hundred and fifty Englishmen towards Islam. Quilliam's legacy lives on: the Abdullah Quilliam Society was formed in 1996, and his mosque is now Liverpool's Registry for Births, Deaths and Marriages. Western Muslims , particularly converts to Islam, see him as a forefather of the path they have undertaken.1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16950387.
The opening as it stood in 2010 14 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
William Henry Quilliam (April 10, 1856 – 1932), who changed his name to Abdullah Quilliam , was a 19th century convert from Christianity to Islam , noted for founding England 's first mosque and Islamic centre.Quilliam Society website "Forgotten champion of Islam: One man and his mosque" .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 364573725.
The opening as it stood in 2015
William Henry Quilliam (10 April 1856 Liverpool – 23 April 1932 London), who changed his name to Abdullah Quilliam and later Henri Marcel Leon or Haroun Mustapha Leon , was a 19th-century convert from Christianity to Islam , noted for founding England's first mosque and Islamic centre. Quilliam Society website "Forgotten champion of Islam: One man and his mosque" .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 664014189.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
William Henry Quilliam (10 April 1856 – 23 April 1932), who changed his name to Abdullah Quilliam and later Henri Marcel Leon or Haroun Mustapha Leon , was a 19th-century convert from Christianity to Islam , noted for founding England's first mosque and Islamic centre.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 948411401.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Founder of England's first Mosque William Henry Quilliam (10 April 1856 – 23 April 1932), who changed his name to Abdullah Quilliam and later Henri Marcel Leon or Haroun Mustapha Leon , was a 19th-century British convert from Christianity to Islam , noted for founding England's first mosque and Islamic centre.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1175097228.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Founder of England's first Mosque William Henry Quilliam (10 April 1856 – 23 April 1932), who changed his name to Abdullah Quilliam and later Henri Marcel Leon or Haroun Mustapha Leon , was a 19th-century British convert from Christianity to Islam , noted for founding England's first mosque and Islamic centre, and Britain's oldest Muslim organization, the Association of British Muslims .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1295123213. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “poet”. Today it says “a 19th-century british convert from christianity to islam”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
poet
Now
a 19th-century british convert from christianity to islam
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
