It was a simple, almost forgotten act that marked a major milestone in the digital history of the Catalan language. On 17 March 2001, just two months after the English-language Wikipedia first appeared online, a computer scientist based in Andorra made the first-ever entry in Catalan. That entry, ‘àbac’ (abacus), established Viquipèdia, the Catalan Wikipedia, as a pioneering force. It became the second language after English to feature content on the burgeoning collaborative encyclopaedia.
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Twenty-five years on, the story of its creation is a testament to the proactive spirit of the early internet and the determination to secure a digital space for the Catalan language. Today, with over 750,000 articles, Viquipèdia stands as one of the most comprehensive editions of the encyclopaedia worldwide, a legacy that began with one man’s quiet contribution.
A ‘Natural’ Request in the Internet’s Early Days
American entrepreneur Jimmy Wales launched the global Wikipedia project on 15 January 2001. His vision was ambitious: a free, collaborative encyclopaedia built by volunteers to house all human knowledge. The idea quickly attracted a global community of tech enthusiasts, including Daniel José Queraltó, a computer scientist from Igualada who was living and working in Andorra.
Queraltó, known by his username ‘Cdani’, was an active participant in distributed computing projects and was immediately drawn to Wikipedia. As discussions about making the project multilingual began among the early contributors, he made a straightforward request. “Simply because it is my mother tongue. It was natural for me,” he told Catalan news outlet VilaWeb.
The response came directly from the top. On 16 March 2001, Jimmy Wales himself wrote in an internal mailing list, demonstrating the informal and fast-moving nature of the early project: “I want to create some Wikipedias in more languages… and Cdani has offered not to inflict his terrible English on us if we make one in Catalan. (I’m joking, but he has expressed interest.)”
The First Word: ‘Àbac’
Just hours later, in the early morning of 17 March, Queraltó created the first page on the newly established Catalan domain. His choice of article was ‘àbac’. The reason, he explains, was far from symbolic. “There’s no secret or epic story: it’s one of the first words in the dictionary. It’s as prosaic as that,” he admitted. This humble beginning officially made the Catalan Viquipèdia the third language edition to be created, just minutes after the German one, and the second to have actual content.
For years, Queraltó gave the moment little thought. However, as time passed, Viquipèdia grew significantly. Someone eventually reminded him of his request to create the Catalan Wikipedia, referencing an old email.
Queraltó, a two-time Andorran chess champion, continued contributing articles on science and his other great passion, chess. However, his initial, almost unconscious act had already laid the foundation for a powerful and influential community of Catalan-speaking volunteers. His initiative reflects a wider trend of Catalan individuals creating impactful digital tools, such as the developer behind a viral subsidy-tracking website that recently captured public attention.
An Uncertain Future in the Age of AI
Looking back, Queraltó reflects on how the internet has transformed from “little more than a geek’s game to the vital, neural centre of much of society and the economy.” This transformation has led him to focus his spare time on artificial intelligence, a field he believes will profoundly change the world.
However, this new technological wave brings a more pessimistic outlook for the project he helped start. The man who recognised Wikipedia’s potential a quarter-century ago now foresees significant challenges for the encyclopaedia, which had supplanted its print predecessors. In this era of rapidly advancing AI tools, he believes Wikipedia will become less popular, with fewer people unfortunately maintaining it.
Despite his concerns, Queraltó remains convinced of its value. “It is very necessary and reliable,” he stated, despite predicting a future with diminishing support. For now, Viquipèdia remains a vibrant and essential resource, a digital monument to a language and a community that, 25 years ago, claimed its space in the future of knowledge.
