Wikipedia's first sentence called it “jewish leader in colonial america”. Today it says “dutch-born american rabbi”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “American rabbi (1738–1783)”. It now reads “Colonial American rabbi (1738–1783)”.
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 2015 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 2015
Isaac Touro (1738 – 8 December 1783) was a Dutch-born American rabbi. He was a Jewish leader in colonial America . Born in Amsterdam , in 1758 he left for Jamaica . In 1760, he arrived to serve as hazzan and spiritual leader of Jeshuath Israel, a Portuguese Sephardic congregation in Newport, Rhode Island .1Soon after his arrival the congregation built the Touro Synagogue , which is today one of the oldest synagogues in the USA.2 When the American Revolution broke out, Touro was a Loyalist , and when the British captured Newport in 1776, he remained in the city with his wife Reyna and their children, while many of his Whig congregants fled. In 1779, he moved with the British to New York , but he had no means of supporting himself there, and was dependent on British charity, so in 1782 he moved to Kingston, Jamaica , where he died in 1783. His sons Abraham and Judah were renowned philanthropists.
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 666427097.
The opening as it stood in 2010
The Reverend Isaac Touro (1738 – 8 December 1783) was a Jewish leader in colonial America . Born in Amsterdam , in 1758 he left for Jamaica . In 1760, he arrived to serve as hazzan and spiritual leader of Congregation Jeshuath Israel in Newport, Rhode Island . Soon after his arrival the congregation built the Touro Synagogue , which is today the oldest synagogue in the USA. When the American Revolution broke out, Touro was a Loyalist , and when the British captured Newport in 1776, he remained in the city with his wife Reyna and their children, while many of his Whig congregants fled. In 1779, he moved with the British to New York , but he had no means of supporting himself there, and was dependent on British charity, so in 1782 he moved to Kingston, Jamaica , where he died in 1783. His sons Abraham and Judah were renowned philanthropists.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 364441294.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
He was a Jewish leader in colonial America . Born in Amsterdam , in 1758 he left for Jamaica . In 1760, he arrived in Newport, Rhode Island to serve as hazzan and spiritual leader of Jeshuath Israel, a Portuguese Sephardic congregation. Soon after his arrival the congregation built the Touro Synagogue , which is today one of the oldest synagogues in the USA. When the American Revolution broke out, Touro was a Loyalist , and when the British captured Newport in 1776, he remained in the city with his wife Reyna and their children, while many of his Whig congregants fled. In 1779, he moved with the British to New York , but he had no means of supporting himself there, and was dependent on British charity, so in 1782 he moved to Kingston, Jamaica , where he died in 1783. His sons Abraham and Judah were renowned philanthropists.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 937023467.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
American rabbi (1738–1783) Isaac Touro (1738 – 8 December 1783) was a Dutch-born American rabbi. He was a Jewish leader in colonial America . Born in Amsterdam , in 1758 he left for Jamaica . In 1760, he arrived in Newport, Rhode Island , to serve as hazzan and spiritual leader of Jeshuath Israel, a Portuguese Sephardic congregation. Soon after his arrival, the congregation built the Touro Synagogue , which is the oldest synagogue in the United States. When the American Revolution broke out, Touro was a Loyalist , and when the British captured Newport in 1776, he remained in the city with his wife Reyna and their children, while many of his Whig congregants fled. In 1779, he moved with the British to New York , but he had no means of supporting himself there, and was dependent on British charity, so in 1782 he moved to Kingston, Jamaica , where he died in 1783. His sons Abraham and Judah were renowned philanthropists.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1177723359.
The opening as it stood in 2025
American rabbi (1738–1783) Isaac Touro (1738 – 8 December 1783) was a Dutch-born American rabbi. He was a Jewish leader in colonial America . Born in Amsterdam , in 1758 he left for Jamaica . In 1760, he arrived in Newport, Rhode Island , to serve as hazzan and spiritual leader of Jeshuath Israel, a Portuguese Sephardic congregation. Soon after his arrival, the congregation built the Touro Synagogue , the oldest synagogue in the United States. When the American Revolution broke out, Touro was a Loyalist , and when the British captured Newport in 1776, he remained in the city with his wife Reyna and their children, while many of his Whig congregants fled. In 1779, he moved with the British to New York , but he had no means of supporting himself there, and was dependent on British charity, so in 1782 he moved to Kingston, Jamaica , where he died in 1783. His sons Abraham and Judah were renowned philanthropists.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1298033037. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “jewish leader in colonial america”. Today it says “dutch-born american rabbi”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “American rabbi (1738–1783)”. It now reads “Colonial American rabbi (1738–1783)”. Read the current article and compare.
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 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
jewish leader in colonial america
Now
dutch-born american rabbi
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.
