In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “evangelical american methodist archaelogist”. Today it says “american archaeologist”.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-02. In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “evangelical american methodist archaelogist”. Today it says “american archaeologist”.
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The opening as it read in 2005
William Foxwell Albright ( May 24 , 1891 – September 19 / September 20 , 1971 ) was an evangelical American Methodist archaelogist , biblical authority , linguist and expert on ceramics . He was born in Coquimbo , Chile to Protestant missionaries Wilbur Finley and Zephine Viola Foxwell Albright, the eldest of six. Ruth Norton in 1921 in Jerusalem . The couple had four sons. Albright received his Ph.D. in 1913 from Johns Hopkins University , where he later taught from 1929 to 1959 and was director of the American school of Oriental Research at Johns Hopkins. One of his major achievements was confirming the authenticity of the Dead Sea Scrolls following their discovery. In 1923 he made the first significant excavation of a tumulus near Jerusalem --possibly the site where an ancient king of Judah was memorialized. He edited the Anchor Bible volumes on Jeremiah, Matthew, and Revelation; his books include Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan, The Archaeology of Palestine: From the Stone Age to Christianity, and The Biblical Period from Abraham to Ezra . Albright institute of Archaeological research, a branch of the American Schools of Oriental Research is located in Jerusalem .1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16091959.
The opening as it stood in 2010 9 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
William Foxwell Albright (May 24, 1891 – September 19, 1971) was an American archaeologist , biblical scholar , linguist and expert on ceramics .From the early twentieth century until his death, he was the dean of biblical archaeologists and the universally acknowledged founder of the Biblical archaeology movement.His student George Ernest Wright followed in his footsteps as the leader of that movement, while others, notably Frank Moore Cross , Raymond E.Brown , and David Noel Freedman , became international leaders in the study of the Bible and the ancient Near East, including Northwest Semitic epigraphy and paleography.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 366601054.
The opening as it stood in 2015 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
William Foxwell Albright (May 24, 1891 – September 19, 1971) was an American archaeologist , biblical scholar , philologist , and expert on ceramics . Biographical details at NNDB database
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 660859467.
The opening as it stood in 2020 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
William Foxwell Albright (1891–1971) was an American archaeologist , biblical scholar , philologist , and expert on ceramics .Shanks, Hershel (October 18, 2012).Washington: Biblical Archaeology Society .Heim 1973 , p. xii.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 960316518.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 3 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
American archaeologist and biblical scholar (1891–1971) William Foxwell Albright (May 24, 1891– September 19, 1971) was an American archaeologist , biblical scholar , philologist , and expert on ceramics .He is considered "one of the twentieth century's most influential American biblical scholars", having become known to the public in 1948 for his role in the authentication of the Dead Sea Scrolls .His scholarly reputation arose as a leading theorist and practitioner of biblical archaeology .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1174917006.
The opening as it stood in 2025
American archaeologist and biblical scholar (1891–1971) William Foxwell Albright (May 24, 1891 – September 19, 1971) was an American archaeologist , biblical scholar , philologist , and expert on ceramics . He is considered "one of the twentieth century's most influential American biblical scholars," having become known to the public in 1948 for his role in the authentication of the Dead Sea Scrolls . He was a leading theorist and practitioner of biblical archaeology , and is regarded as the founder of the biblical archaeology movement.Albright served as the W.Spence Professor of Semitic Languages at Johns Hopkins University from 1930 to 1958 and was the Director of the American School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem for several terms between 1922 and 1936.
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Today
In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “evangelical american methodist archaelogist”. Today it says “american archaeologist”. Read the current article and compare.
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antisemitism
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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 between 2005 and 2025.
Then
evangelical american methodist archaelogist
Now
american archaeologist
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.