Wikipedia:Notability (people)

This proposed policy has the status of semi-policy. It may not yet have reached consensus support. See the talk page for more details.

Like any encyclopedia, Wikipedia includes biographies of important historical figures and people involved in current events. Even though wiki is not paper, there are some criteria for inclusion.

Deceased People

People who have been deceased for some time pose the simplest question, because history is usually clear about the nature and extent of their importance. With historical perspective, there is less controversy about the facts of their contribution. The basic test in this case is--

Has the person made a widely recognized contribution that is part of the enduring historical record in the specific field?

People still alive

Political figures holding statewide or nationwide elected office
Major local political figures who receive significant press coverage
Widely recognized entertainment personalities and opinion makers
Well known entertainment figures, such as TV/movie producers, directors, writers, and actors who have starring roles, or a series of minor roles, in commercially distributed work screened by a total audience of 5,000 or more
Published authors, editors, and photographers who have written books with an audience of 5,000 or more or in periodicals with a circulation of 5,000 or more
Recording musicians who have sold more than 5,000 albums, CDs, or similar recordings
Painters, sculptors, architects, engineers, and other professionals whose work is recognized as exceptional and likely to become a part of the enduring historical record of that field
Persons achieving renown or notoriety for their involvement in newsworthy events

Alternative tests

Other tests for inclusion that have been proposed include:

The professor test -- If the individual is more well known and more published than an average college professor, they can and should be included
Verifiability -- can all information in the article be independently verified now and (say some) 10 years from now.
expandability - will the article ever be more than a hideous stub? Could the perfect article be written on this subject?
100 year test -- In 100 years time will anyone without a direct connection to the individual find the article useful?
Wikipedia:Auto-biography -- has this been written by the subject or someone closely involved with the subject?
Informative - information needs to be interesting, informative, useful and non-obvious.
Google Test - does the subject get lots of hits on Google?
check your fiction - when creating biographies of fictional characters, read this advice.

See also Wikipedia:WikiProject Biography, Wikipedia:Manual of Style (biographies) and the "Wikipedia is not a biographical dictionary" section of Wikipedia:Wikipedia is not a dictionary.

For a few specific instances, see Wikipedia:Criteria for inclusion of biographies/cases.