Wikipedia's first sentence called it “born in new york city”. Today it says “american writer”.
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
David Halberstam (born April 10 , 1934 ), American journalist and author, was born in New York City . The son of a surgeon and a teacher, 13 of his books became best sellers. Halberstam graduated from Harvard University with a degree in journalism in 1955 and started his career writing for the Daily Times Leader in West Point, Mississippi . In the late 1950s and early 1960s , writing for the Nashville Tennesseean, he covered the beginnings of the civil rights movement . In the mid 1960s , Halberstam covered the Vietnam War for the New York Times , where his reporting caused U.S. president John F. Kennedy to request he be transferred to another bureau. He won the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting in 1964 . Later in his career, Halberstam turned to the subjects of history and sports. Halberstam is currently working on a book about the Korean War.1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16090350.
The opening as it stood in 2010 9 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
people3 David Halberstam (April 10, 1934 – April 23, 2007) was an American Pulitzer Prize -winning journalist and author known for his early work on the Vietnam War , his work on politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement , business, media, American culture, and his later sports journalism .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 370341258.
The opening as it stood in 2015
David Halberstam (April 10, 1934 – April 23, 2007) was an American journalist and historian, known for his work on the Vietnam War , politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement , business, media, American culture, and later, sports journalism .He won a Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 1964.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 668895023.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
American writer, journalist and historian This article is about the author and journalist. David Halberstam (April 10, 1934 – April 23, 2007) was an American writer, journalist, and historian, known for his work on the Vietnam War , politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement , business, media, American culture, and later, sports journalism . Halberstam was killed in a car crash in 2007, while doing research for a book.Academy of Achievement biography "Archived copy" .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 962673468.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
American writer, journalist and historian (1934–2007) This article is about the author and journalist. David Halberstam (April 10, 1934 – April 23, 2007) was an American writer, journalist, and historian, known for his work on the Vietnam War , politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement , business, media, American culture, Korean War , and later, sports journalism . Halberstam was killed in a car crash in 2007, while doing research for a book. Academy of Achievement biography "David Halberstam Biography -- Academy of Achievement" .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1176910516.
The opening as it stood in 2025
American writer, journalist and historian (1934–2007) This article is about the author and journalist. David Halberstam (April 10, 1934 – April 23, 2007) was an American writer, journalist, and historian, known for his work on the Vietnam War , politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement , business, media, American culture, Korean War , and later, sports journalism . Halberstam was killed in a car crash in 2007 while doing research for a book. Academy of Achievement biography "David Halberstam Biography -- Academy of Achievement" .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1294664499. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “born in new york city”. Today it says “american writer”. 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
born in new york city
Now
american writer
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.
