Wikipedia's first sentence called it “egyptian writer and arabic acted an eye infection as a child”. Today it says “among the most influential 20th-century egyptian writers and intellectuals”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Egyptian academic, (1889–1973)”. It now reads “Egyptian writer (1889–1973)”.
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.
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The opening as it read in 2005
He was a figurehead for the modernist movement in Egypt.1He contracted an eye infection as a child, and faulty treatment rendered him blind at the age of three. He went to a kuttab (traditional teacher), and then was sent to Al-Azhar University , where he was educated in religion and Arabic literature . He resented the narrow thinking of his teachers. When the secular Cairo University was founded in 1908 , he was keen to enter, and despite being blind and poor he earned a place. He was the first graduate to receive a Ph.D. , and he went on to become a professor of Arabic literature. Additionally, he was founding Rector of the University of Alexandria . He wrote many novels and essays, though in the West he is best known for his autobiography, Al-Ayyam . It was published in English as An Egyptian Childhood ( 1932 ) and The Stream of Days ( 1943 ). He met Suzanne, his wife, while studying in France , where he obtained a B.A. from Montpelier University and a second PhD from the Sorbonne . She read to him as not all of his references were available in Braille . After Taha died, she published Ma'ak ( With You ), which chronicled their life together. He was a strong proponent of the 1952 Egyptian Revolution, and he insisted that education remained free, claiming that is was a basic right for every human being, announcing "knowledge is like water and air." He became Minister of Education in 1950 , and the new government subsequently made primary education ex gratia , which is still in effect today.2
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 17345301.
The opening as it stood in 2010 12 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
people3 Taha Hussein (November 14, 1889—October 28, 1973) ( ) (nicknamed "Dean of Arabic Literature") was one of the most influential 20th century Egyptian writers and intellectuals, and a figurehead for the modernist movement in Egypt .Poetics Today . 15 (2).
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The opening as it stood in 2015 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Taha Hussein (November 15, 1889 – October 28, 1973; ) was one of the most influential 20th century Egyptian writers and intellectuals, and a figurehead for the The Egyptian Renaissance and the modernist movement in the Middle East and North Africa .His sobriquet was "The Dean of Arabic Literature".Taha Hussein was born in Izbet el Kilo, a village in the Minya Governorate in central Upper Egypt .He went to a kuttab , and thereafter was admitted to El Azhar University , where he studied Religion and Arabic literature .From an early age, he was reluctant to take the traditional education to his heart.Hussein was the seventh of thirteen children, born into a lower-middle-class family.He became blind at the age of three, the result of faulty treatment by an unskilled practitioner, a condition which caused him a great deal of anguish throughout his entire life.Hussein met and married Suzanne Bresseau (1895–1989) while attending the University of Montpellier in France.She was referred to as "sweet voice".This name came from her ability to read to him as he was trying to improve his grasp of the French language.Suzanne became his wife, best friend and the mother of his two children and was his mentor throughout his life.Taha Hussein's children, his daughter Amina and her younger brother Moenis, were both important figures in Egypt.Amina, who died at the age of 70, was among the first Egyptian women to graduate from Cairo University.She and her brother, Moenis, translated his Adib (The Intellectual) into French.This was especially important to their father, who was an Egyptian who had moved to France and learned the language.Even more important, the character of Adib is that of a young man who, like Taha Hussein, has to deal with the cultural shock of an Egyptian studying and living in France.
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The opening as it stood in 2020 14 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Taha Hussein ( , ; November 15, 1889 – October 28, 1973) was one of the most influential 20th-century Egyptian writers and intellectuals, and a figurehead for the Egyptian Renaissance and the modernist movement in the Middle East and North Africa . His sobriquet was "The Dean of Arabic Literature" ( ). He was nominated for a Nobel prize in literature fourteen times.JSTOR 1773168 . طه حسين عميد الأدب العربي: حياته، آثاره الأدبية و آراؤه (in Arabic). 1997.
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The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Egyptian academic, (1889–1973) Taha Hussein ( , ; November 15, 1889 – October 28, 1973) was one of the most influential 20th-century Egyptian writers and intellectuals, and a figurehead for the Arab Renaissance and the modernist movement in the Arab world . His sobriquet was "The Dean of Arabic Literature" ( ). He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature twenty-one times. JSTOR 1773168 . طه حسين عميد الأدب العربي: حياته، آثاره الأدبية و آراؤه (in Arabic). 1997.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1160651487.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Egyptian writer (1889–1973) Taha Hussein ( Egyptian Arabic: [ˈtˤɑːhɑ ħ(e)ˈseːn] , Arabic : طه حسين ; November 15, 1889 – October 28, 1973) was among the most influential 20th-century Egyptian writers and intellectuals, and a leading figure of the Arab Renaissance and the modernist movement in the Arab world . His sobriquet was "The Dean of Arabic Literature" ( Arabic : عميد الأدب العربي ). He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature twenty-one times. JSTOR 1773168 . طه حسين عميد الأدب العربي: حياته، آثاره الأدبية و آراؤه (in Arabic). 1997.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1294681583. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “egyptian writer and arabic acted an eye infection as a child”. Today it says “among the most influential 20th-century egyptian writers and intellectuals”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Egyptian academic, (1889–1973)”. It now reads “Egyptian writer (1889–1973)”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
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Oct '23
2025
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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
egyptian writer and arabic acted an eye infection as a child
Now
among the most influential 20th-century egyptian writers and intellectuals
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.
