In general, topics on the English Wikipedia are required to show their notability through the existence of multiple reliable, independent, significant, and secondary coverage about the subject. This is called the general notability guideline or “GNG” and is what we generally assess in our notability assessments. However, in addition to the general guideline, Wikipedia has subject-specific guidelines for specific fields. Contained within these guidelines are certain subjects which are considered “inherently notable” or worthy of automatic inclusion on Wikipedia.
Politics and Government
Wikipedia’s notability guideline for politicians presumes that holding certain offices automatically confers notability. In practice, politicians and judges who have held high-level offices – for example, members of national legislatures or state/province-wide legislative bodies, heads of state or government, cabinet-level ministers, or supreme court justices – are considered inherently notable. This includes those elected to such positions but not yet in office.
This inherent notability only automatically applies to national politicians (and subnational, ie., state or provincial, politicians in specific countries). Local officials aren’t automatically considered notable but can still qualify for inclusion on Wikipedia if they’ve received unusually significant coverage under the GNG.
Academia and Science
The academic notability guideline also provides certain instances that provide automatic eligibility for inclusion in Wikipedia. One is that academics with top honors or select distinctions are presumed notable. This includes those who have won highly prestigious scholarly awards such as the Nobel Prize, the McArthur Genius Grant, the Fields Medal, and other similar awards. It also includes those who have earned membership in elite academic societies such as the National Academy of Sciences, Japan Academy, Royal Society, or other similarly prestigious and selective organizations.
Another avenue that can provide automatic notability for academics is holding a named distinguished professorship or a top administrative post at a major university. The assumption is that such honors/positions come with significant independent coverage of the individual’s work.
Academics are considered inherently notable on Wikipedia if their “research has had a significant impact in their scholarly discipline, broadly construed, as demonstrated by independent reliable sources.” This is generally measured using the h-index although there is no consistent measure of what h factor is sufficient for automatic inclusion since some fields are considered more prone to high numbers of citations than others.
Athletes
In sports, notability is often automatically granted to athletes who have achieved widely recognized milestones. Per Wikipedia’s sports notability guideline, an athlete is probably notable if they have won a significant honor or championship since this almost always guarantees ample coverage. However, athletes are still required to meet the general notability guideline — meeting the sports notability guideline is only intended to prevent speedy deletion to allow time for articles to be developed.
Olympians and world champions in recognized sports are automatically notable – an athlete who has won an Olympic medal is very likely to meet notability requirements, as are winners and participants in major professional events listed in the guideline. Similarly, being inducted into a major Hall of Fame or winning a national or international championship confers presumed notability (as these accomplishments are reported extensively in independent sources).
Arts and Entertainment
There’s another subject-specific criteria for creative professionals. For instance, actors, filmmakers, or other entertainers who have had multiple significant roles in notable films, television shows, or stage productions are generally deemed notable. It’s important to note that this only applies to “significant” roles — this would not apply for being an extra or supporting character in multiple notable works.
Musicians (and groups) are presumed notable if they’ve attained major professional milestones – including winning or being nominated for a major music award (e.g. Grammy, Juno, or similar honors), achieving certified gold/platinum records, or appearing on an acceptable national music chart
Similarly, receiving a prominent award in the arts (such as an Academy Award for film or a Pulitzer Prize in literature) strongly indicates notability under Wikipedia’s guidelines, as these honors come with substantial coverage.
Other Biographies
In addition to the specific cases listed above, individuals are considered notable on Wikipedia (and eligible for an article) if any of the three criteria below apply under the WP:ANYBIO guideline:
- The person has received a well-known and significant award or honor, or has been nominated for such an award several times
- The person has made a widely recognized contribution that is part of the enduring historical record in a specific field
- The person has an entry in a country’s standard national biographical dictionary
In other words, winning a well-known, significant award or honor can supersede the need to prove notability via the usual criteria and create a presumption of encyclopedic relevance, even beyond the subject-specific examples listed above. Similarly, being included in a notable biographical dictionary can confer inherent notability (although this would likely be redundant with having sufficient coverage to meet the GNG).
Article Creation on Wikipedia
It’s important to note that most subjects on Wikipedia qualify for inclusion under the General Notability Guideline (GNG), which requires significant secondary coverage from independent and reliable sources, rather than meeting an automatic inclusion criteria described in this article. Our eligibility assessment helps subjects who do not meet an automatic criteria determine whether they qualify under the GNG. Our standard and premium article creation packages ensure thorough development, helping subjects who qualify under GNG avoid deletion. However, for those who meet the automatic inclusion criteria, our starter package can offer a more streamlined approach to establishing a presence on Wikipedia. Learn more by reviewing our Wikipedia editing and article creation services.