Histropedia

What Histropedia does

Histropedia is a London-based private company that operates an open, web-based platform for interactive timeline visualization of historical events. The platform, branded as "The Timeline of Everything," is built on top of Wikipedia article content and Wikidata structured data, with a database of over 1.5 million events representing approximately a quarter of all English Wikipedia articles and a directory of more than 300,000 pre-made timelines imported from Wikipedia categories. The core technology is a JavaScript-based timeline rendering engine, packaged as the HistropediaJS library, which supports Google Maps-style zoom, filtering, and navigation across very large event volumes and can be embedded in third-party websites or used to visualize arbitrary datasets. Histropedia Sheets extends the platform to allow timelines to be generated from Google Sheets data, and a beta Wikidata Query Viewer exposes SPARQL-based custom timeline creation.

The company was founded in 2013 by Navino Evans and Sean McBirnie, lifelong friends operating from the United Kingdom, with software development executed by the external firm Geeks Ltd. The platform is distributed as a free, self-serve web application with no account required for basic exploration, and account creation is needed only for saving custom timelines. No paid tiers, subscriptions, or advertising are disclosed, and there is no documented revenue, funding, or institutional investment. Customer segments are horizontal and span general consumers, educators and students, museums and cultural institutions, and business professionals, with no named enterprise customers.

The business model is freemium in posture but not monetized in practice. Go-to-market is product-led and community-led, relying on organic discovery through Wikipedia/Wikidata communities, social media, blog content, conference participation (Wikimania, ISWC), and timeline embedding on external sites. The company has presented at Wikimedia and open-data conferences since 2014 and has continued to ship product updates through 2025, including HistropediaJS v1.3.0 and v1.4.0, indicating ongoing but unfunded product investment rather than venture-scale growth.

Name

Histropedia

Legal name

Histropedia, Ltd.

Website

https://histropedia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Histropedia is a London-based open platform that visualizes historical events as interactive timelines using Wikipedia and Wikidata data, offering 1.5 million events and 300,000 pre-made timelines to consumers, educators, and developers at no cost.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Historical Data Visualization Software

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (519210), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192)

SIC

Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Web Archiving, Cache & Snapshot Services (BPAMAAAL)

Keywords

• Interactive timeline software
• Historical data visualization
• Wikipedia timeline tools
• Wikidata timeline visualization
• Timeline JavaScript library

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Free Platform: Histropedia operates as a free platform with no stated revenue model. The Timeline of Everything is described as a 'free to use open data project' with no need for an account to use basic tools.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Histropedia operates a free, web-based interactive timeline visualization platform that turns Wikipedia articles and Wikidata structured data into explorable timelines. The core offering includes the "Timeline of Everything" web app (with 1.5M+ events and 300K+ pre-made timelines), a standalone JavaScript rendering library called HistropediaJS for developers, and supporting tools (Histropedia Sheets, Wikidata Query Viewer) that let users build custom timelines from spreadsheet data or live SPARQL queries.

Product overview

Histropedia is a timeline visualization platform consisting of multiple interconnected products. The core product is the Timeline of Everything website featuring over 300,000 pre-made timelines and a database of 1.5 million events sourced from Wikipedia and Wikidata. HistropediaJS is a standalone JavaScript library that powers the timeline engine and can be embedded in external websites. Histropedia Sheets enables timeline creation from Google Sheets data. The Wikidata Query Viewer provides a beta interface for creating live timelines from Wikidata SPARQL queries. ShowCase Timelines demonstrate advanced visualization capabilities using custom data sources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HistropediaJS: A JavaScript library for rendering interactive timelines from any data source.

Products and services

• Timeline of Everything Free, open-data interactive timeline visualization platform that turns Wikipedia articles and Wikidata structured data into explorable timelines. Includes over 1.5 million events, 300,000+ pre-made timelines, and tools to create, save, share, and embed custom timelines. Accessible without an account for basic use.
• HistropediaJS

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Wikipedia and Wikidata CommunitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorking closely with the Wikipedia and Wikidata community on The Timeline of Everything project. The platform sources all event content from Wikipedia articles and uses Wikidata for structured data including dates and advanced querying capabilities. Recognition as a 'shining example' of what can be achieved using these Wikimedia resources.
• Geeks LtdcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSoftware development partner for building and maintaining the Histropedia platform. The company describes Geeks Ltd as 'the immensely talented software development team' that has been with them 'from day one'. Lead developer Shayan Elhami and Software architect Paymon Khamooshi have been instrumental in the project.
• Wikimedia FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWikidata, a project of the Wikimedia Foundation, provides structured data that supports Histropedia's timeline visualizations. Histropedia relies on Wikidata's SPARQL endpoint for query-based timeline creation and integrates deeply with Wikidata's data model.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sutori: Collaborative timeline tool designed for educators and students to build interactive presentations. Competes with Histropedia in the classroom/education segment for visual historical storytelling.
• TimelineJS (Knight Lab): Open-source timeline authoring tool from Northwestern University's Knight Lab that lets users build interactive timelines from Google Sheets data. Most directly comparable to Histropedia's timeline-rendering core and Sheets-style integration; widely used in journalism and education.
• Tiki-Toki: Web-based timeline creation platform offering multimedia-rich interactive timelines for education, business, and personal use. Direct competitor in the 'create and share historical timelines' category that Histropedia targets.
• Preceden: Timeline creation and visualization tool used by professionals, educators, and analysts. Comparable to Histropedia in core product (interactive timelines) and target user (knowledge workers, students, presenters).
• Time Graphics: Online timeline maker with collaborative editing and multimedia support. Direct overlap with Histropedia's web-based timeline creation and sharing functionality.

Emerging players

• Wolfram Alpha: Computational knowledge engine that visualizes structured historical and scientific data via queries. Comparable to Histropedia's Wikidata Query Viewer in enabling users to extract and visualize structured knowledge interactively.
• Our World in Data: Non-profit research and data publication outlet producing interactive charts and timelines on historical and global issues. Comparable in using open data to visualize historical knowledge at scale, though focused on empirical/statistical content rather than event timelines.
• Flourish Studios: Data visualization and storytelling platform that supports timeline and historical visualizations as part of a broader toolkit for journalists and analysts. Comparable in 'interactive visualization of historical data' use case with stronger enterprise/agency distribution.

Broad incumbents

• Visme: Broad visual content creation platform that includes timeline templates among many other infographic and presentation tools. Indirect competitor addressing the same end-user need (visual historical storytelling) at much larger scale.
• Google Arts & Culture: Google-operated platform offering interactive timelines, virtual tours, and curated historical content from museums worldwide. Comparable in 'interactive timeline of historical events' use case with vastly larger distribution and institutional backing.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Histropedia
• Facebookfacebook.com/Histropedia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/histropedia-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Histropedia