FactGrid

FactGrid is a collectively organized knowledge-graph database designed for projects in historical research and related humanities disciplines. It uses the Wikibase software developed for Wikidata, but is organized around the needs of research communities that want to publish, connect, and maintain structured historical data without applying Wikidata's general notability framework. The platform supports persistent identifiers for objects that may not previously have had stable digital identities, multiple competing ontologies, multilingual datasets, source-linked claims, and the long-term collective maintenance of research data. The service was initiated by historian Olaf Simons in 2017 or 2018 through cooperation between the Gotha Research Centre of the University of Erfurt and Wikimedia Germany. Its conceptual background was the desire to create a sister platform to Wikidata where original research could be represented directly by the scholars and citizen researchers producing it. Rather than requiring every item to satisfy a broad public notability standard, FactGrid allows projects to define their own research scope and data models. This flexibility is paired with transparency requirements: registered users are expected to use real names, and projects are asked to document their research interests and the provenance of the data they generate. FactGrid is intended to operate both as a research infrastructure and as a public dissemination channel. Its data are released under a CC0 dedication and can be downloaded or reused. The platform's structured records can be cited alongside project and team information, allowing newly produced historical data to move into wider scholarly and public circulation. Because the system can preserve conflicting assertions together with their sources, it is suited to subjects where evidence is incomplete, disputed, or interpreted through several scholarly traditions. The platform also supports multilingual work, with substantial user communities working in German, French, Spanish, and English, while many properties are additionally available in Hungarian and Chinese. The database is used by projects ranging from Assyriology to contemporary history. Its technical environment includes the main Wikibase database, MediaWiki pages, a WordPress-based blog, project documentation, sample queries, and the FactGrid Viewer. Developed by Bruno Belhoste, the viewer presents structured records in a readable compilation and can combine information stored in Wikibase items with transcript material held on MediaWiki text pages. This provides a bridge between conventional scholarly text and graph-based data. FactGrid's user and item base expanded during the late 2010s and early 2020s. The platform passed one million database items on 13 October 2024. As of January 2026, reference material describes approximately 700 users participating in about 50 projects. Since March 2023, the service has been financed through the NFDI4Memory consortium of Germany's National Research Data Infrastructure. The Historical Data Center of Saxony-Anhalt and the NFDI4Memory data-connectivity team working there under Katrin Moeller have played an important role in project support since April 2023. The service is free to users, with its development and maintenance oriented toward open scholarly infrastructure rather than commercial subscription sales.

FactGrid emerged from discussions in 2016 and 2017 about creating a research-oriented sister platform to Wikidata. The central idea was to provide historians and related research communities with a collaborative database for original research, without imposing a general-purpose notability requirement on every object of study. Olaf Simons initiated the platform in 2017 or 2018 through cooperation between the Gotha Research Centre of the University of Erfurt and Wikimedia Germany. The platform was built on Wikibase, the software used by Wikidata, while retaining a research-community orientation. FactGrid projects can establish their own areas of interest, ontologies, and data practices. This makes it possible to represent people, places, institutions, texts, events, and other historical objects that may be too specialized or insufficiently documented for inclusion in broader public knowledge infrastructures. Persistent identifiers provide stable references for such objects, while competing interpretations can remain visible when claims are accompanied by their sources. FactGrid's governance model places emphasis on accountability and openness. Users are expected to operate through registered real-name accounts, and projects are encouraged to state what research questions and datasets they are pursuing. These practices were intended to balance the freedom to publish original research with a clear record of who is producing and maintaining the data. Initial concerns about data theft and plagiarism were moderated by the platform's open publication model: data are made available under CC0, can be downloaded freely, and are accompanied by research metadata that can support citation and reuse. During its early development, the database grew by roughly 100,000 objects per year between 2018 and 2023. Its user base and project range expanded beyond a single institutional setting, covering fields from Assyriology to contemporary history. The platform supports German, French, Spanish, and English as major working languages, with many properties also available in Hungarian and Chinese. This multilingual structure reflects the international nature of the participating research projects and the historical materials they describe. FactGrid's technical environment extends beyond the core Wikibase installation. MediaWiki pages provide prose documentation and transcript material, while a WordPress blog supports project communication. The FactGrid Viewer, developed by Bruno Belhoste, presents database records in structured, human-readable compilations and can combine Wikibase data with text stored in MediaWiki pages. The arrangement allows researchers to move between graph-based entities, source material, and explanatory prose rather than treating the database as an isolated set of records. Institutional support became more closely connected to Germany's National Research Data Infrastructure in the 2020s. Beginning in March 2023, NFDI4Memory financed FactGrid services. From April of the same year, the Historical Data Center of Saxony-Anhalt and the NFDI4Memory data-connectivity team working there under Katrin Moeller played a significant role in supporting projects. The database passed one million items on 13 October 2024. Reference material available in January 2026 describes approximately 700 users working across about 50 projects. FactGrid remains a free, open research infrastructure rather than a conventional commercial database brand.

• 2026

  Approximately 700 users and 50 projects

  [1]FactGriden.wikipedia.org

  Reference material current to January 2026 describes approximately 700 users participating in about 50 projects.

• 2024

  One million database items

  [1]FactGriden.wikipedia.org

  The platform passed one million database items on 13 October 2024.

• 2023

  NFDI4Memory financing begins

  [1]FactGriden.wikipedia.org

  NFDI4Memory began financing FactGrid services in March, strengthening the platform's connection to Germany's national research-data infrastructure.

• 2023

  Expanded support from the Historical Data Center of Saxony-Anhalt

  [1]FactGriden.wikipedia.org

  From April, the Historical Data Center of Saxony-Anhalt and the NFDI4Memory connectivity team became important sources of project support.

• 2018

  Early database growth

  [1]FactGriden.wikipedia.org

  FactGrid entered its early operational growth phase as a collaborative database for historical research projects.

• 2017

  FactGrid is initiated

  [1]FactGriden.wikipedia.org

  Olaf Simons initiated FactGrid through cooperation between the Gotha Research Centre of the University of Erfurt and Wikimedia Germany.

• 2016

  Conceptual groundwork for a research-oriented Wikibase

  [1]FactGriden.wikipedia.org

  Discussions began around a sister platform to Wikidata focused on original research and community-defined research scopes rather than general notability criteria.

An open scholarly data infrastructure for historical research that combines Wikibase's collaborative knowledge-graph model with project-defined research scopes, source transparency, multilingual publication, and persistent identifiers.

• Research database · 2017

  FactGrid Wikibase database

  The core FactGrid service is a collectively editable Wikibase knowledge graph for historical and humanities research. It provides persistent identifiers, multilingual labels and datasets, project-defined ontologies, source-linked claims, and open downloads. Its intended users include academic projects, research groups, and citizen-science initiatives working with specialized historical material.

• Data visualization and browsing tool

  FactGrid Viewer

  The FactGrid Viewer presents information from database items in structured, readable compilations. Developed by Bruno Belhoste, it is comparable in purpose to Wikibase browsing tools that turn graph records into narrative views. A distinctive feature is its ability to combine structured database information with transcript pages stored in the associated MediaWiki environment.

• Research collaboration environment

  FactGrid project spaces

  Project spaces document the research interests, teams, and data-producing activities associated with FactGrid datasets. They help users understand the scope and provenance of collections and provide a framework for organizing work across fields such as Assyriology, medieval studies, urban history, and contemporary history.

• Research data access tool

  FactGrid sample queries

  Sample queries demonstrate how researchers can retrieve and explore structured FactGrid data. They serve as entry points for users learning to work with the platform's knowledge graph and support reuse of the database in scholarly analysis and external research repositories.

• 2023

  Adopt NFDI4Memory financingStrategy

  Background

  FactGrid required continuing institutional support for free database services and project assistance.

  Action taken

  From March 2023, services were financed through the NFDI4Memory consortium.

  Aftermath

  The arrangement connected FactGrid more closely with Germany's national research-data infrastructure and supported continued platform operations.

  Source

• 2017

  Create a research-focused sister platform to WikidataStrategy

  Background

  The founders wanted a collaborative environment for original research in which specialized historical objects could be represented without applying Wikidata's general notability criteria.

  Action taken

  FactGrid was established on Wikibase with project-defined research scopes, transparent user identities, source documentation, and collectively editable data.

  Aftermath

  The model enabled specialized and multilingual historical datasets to be published openly while retaining information about the projects and teams that created them.

  Source

1. 1FactGriden.wikipedia.org
2. 2FactGrid main databasedatabase.factgrid.de
3. 3FactGrid Viewerdatabase.factgrid.de
4. 4FactGrid project spacedatabase.factgrid.de
5. 5FactGrid sample queriesdatabase.factgrid.de
6. 6FactGrid project blogblog.factgrid.de
7. 7FactGrid, una base de datos para datos históricos, y su relación con Philobiblonjanusdigital.es