Wikipedia's first sentence called it “born in present-day senegal in futa tooro”. Today it says “fula muslim scholar from futa toro in west africa”.
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 2010 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 2010
Omar ibn Said (1770-1864) was born in present-day Senegal in Futa Tooro , a region between the Senegal River and Gambia River in West Africa , to a wealthy family. He was an Islamic scholar and a Fula who spent 25 years of his life studying with prominent Muslim scholars in Africa . In 1807, he was captured during a military conflict, enslaved and taken across the Atlantic Ocean to the United States . He escaped from a cruel master in Charleston , South Carolina , and journeyed to Fayetteville , North Carolina . There he was recaptured and later sold to James Owen . Said lived into his mid-nineties and was still a slave at the time of his death in 1864. He was buried in Bladen County , North Carolina. Omar ibn Said was also known as Uncle Moreau and Prince Omeroh. Although Omar converted to Christianity on December 3, 1820, many modern scholars believe he continued to be a practicing Muslim, based on dedications to Muhammad written in his Bible. In 1991, a masjid in Fayetteville, North Carolina renamed itself Masjid Omar Ibn Said in his honor. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . Dictionary of North Carolina Biography . University of North Carolina Press .1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 370033686.
The opening as it stood in 2015 13 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Omar ibn Said (1770–1864) was a writer and Islamic scholar, born and educated in what is now Senegal, who was enslaved and transported to the United States in 1807.There, while enslaved for the remainder of his life, he wrote a series of works of history and theology, including a subsequently famous autobiography.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 666339801.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Omar ibn Said ( 'Umar bin Sa'iid ; 1770–1864) was a writer and Islamic scholar, born and educated in what is now Senegal in West Africa, who was enslaved and transported to the United States in 1807. There, while enslaved for the remainder of his life, he wrote a series of works of history and theology, including a posthumously famous autobiography.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 962868119.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Islamic scholar, enslaved in the United States Omar ibn Said ( or Omar ben Saeed ; c. 1770 –1864) was a Fula Islamic scholar from Futa Toro in West Africa (present-day Senegal ), who was enslaved and transported to the United States in 1807.There, while enslaved for the remainder of his life, he wrote a series of Arabic-language works on history and theology, including a short autobiography.Owned by Governor Owen" .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1178230017.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Islamic scholar, enslaved in the United States Omar ibn Said ( Arabic : عمر بن سعيد , romanized : ʿUmar bin Saeed or Omar ben Saeed ; c. 1770 –1864) was a Fula Muslim scholar from Futa Toro in West Africa (present-day Senegal ), who was enslaved and transported to the United States in 1807 during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade . Remaining enslaved for the remainder of his life, he wrote a series of Arabic -language works on history and theology, including a short autobiography. Owned by Governor Owen" .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1293704238. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “born in present-day senegal in futa tooro”. Today it says “fula muslim scholar from futa toro in west africa”. 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
born in present-day senegal in futa tooro
Now
fula muslim scholar from futa toro in west africa
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.
