text:
Wikipedia talk:List of encyclopedia topics

It sounds like we'll be creating a lot of orphaned redirects (a redirect which points to an existing article, but that is not linked to from any other article). I've been complained at before when creating these, so I just want to be sure of the policy before I attack this list.

Example, the list includes Achilles Tendon. We already have an article at Achilles' tendon and a redirect at Achilles tendon. Should I still make Achilles Tendon (with the T which goes against article naming conventions) into a redirect, or should I just remove it from this list without making it a redirect? fabiform | talk 15:47, 7 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Also, should the individual pages (List of encyclopedia topics (01) etc) be moved and made into subpages of List of encyclopedia topics or should we go through them and add a backlink to the list index? fabiform | talk 16:05, 7 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I think making redirects is wise. Other style guides, such as the one these lists use, may very well capitalize the T in tendon, and at some point it is likely a Wikipedia writer will as well. - SimonP 01:46, Mar 8, 2004 (UTC)

I'd like to report a step that I'm taking, and suggest it as a general course of action. If I decide that a posted title is NOT encyclopedic, and not a candidate for redirection or disambiguation, I'll move it to a new section at the end of the page, without a link, but keep the title and add my explanation. I'll have a sample soon at the end of List of encyclopedia topics (30). Thanks, Lou I 16:47, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * I just looked at your example, it seems a good idea to me. But would it be better to leave it as a link rather than making it text?  If people wanted to check your reasoning, they would want to be able to click the link and check "what links here".  I was wondering what to do with the odd entry which seems like a dictionary definition, so I'll do this too. :) fabiform | talk

 * Before removing it as a link, I tried the 'What Links Here'. If something had I'd either fix it, or leave it in the list. With those precautions, I'll stick with the idea of keeping the title, but removing the link attribute. Lou I 17:34, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * I still don't see why it's a good idea to stop it being an active link. People will always want to check other people's reasoning.  It makes more work.  I guess we can each do it our own way, and over time I expect one way or the other will become standard.  fabiform | talk 15:43, 9 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Can you tell us how you orginally generated this list? Just curious. ike9898 14:12, Mar 9, 2004 (UTC)

 * I'd like to know that too. :) fabiform | talk 15:43, 9 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * Me too. Why, for example, is Fart-about encyclopaedic but Fay Weldon not?  22:37, 15 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * Hmm, I don't think anyone is suggesting that this is a definitive list, and certainly not a complete one. I would agree that "fart-about" is a wiktionary candidate, and that we should have an article about Fay Weldon.  But even if there are massive holes in this list (as I'm sure there are), it still gives us a list of several thousand articles and redirects which do need to be created.  fabiform | talk 16:19, 16 Mar 2004 (UTC)

The lists should be filtered against Wikipedia articles in a case-insensitive way: for example, Anton Piller Order is in the list, but Wikipedia already had an Anton Piller order article. This will eliminate a lot of wasted manual searching. -- The Anome 17:56, 16 Mar 2004 (UTC)

There's also quite a lot of character-set damage in the title list. Searching for near-matches on the basis of latin alphabet characters only would be an effective way of spotting many cases where the articles on this list have been incorrectly encoded, and there are already correctly encoded Wikipedia articles. For example, try mapping all non-Latin characters in both lists to (say) #, and then lowercasing, before looking for matches. This will find near-misses due to mis-coding of an accented character. -- The Anome 17:56, 16 Mar 2004 (UTC)

How this list was generated, compiled or whatever remains a mystery to me, but hopefully not forever. In the meantime, let me point out -- again -- one of the inherent inconsistencies and idiocies of the planned growth of Wikipedia. Here we have yet another list of potential articles considered "encyclopaedic". (So far, there has been "Requested articles" and maybe similar pages.) The following procedure then is repeated again and again: Someone sees a "red link" and creates an article, maybe a stubby one. A few hours later the new page is listed on Votes for deletion, the reason given is usually "dictionary definition". It just happened with panel. We should do something about that highly illogical and counterproductive phenomenon.  20:38, 17 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * I'm not sure I understand... I've looked at panel and I see it was created by an anon, either from following one of the numerous articles which like to this word, or by typing it into the search box and following the link from there. I can see that it was also linked from this list, but I doubt that this user was browsing here to be honest.  There are already discussions on this page about what to do with suggested article topics which are more suited to wiktionary for example (i.e. we remove them from the list).  I think the users ploughing through this list understand that they have to exercise their own good judgement, and are doing so.

 * If your comments weren't particularly aimed at this list, but more at the amount of rough or downright bad new articles being created in general, you might be interested in Seth's proposal on the village pump (to try to make sure that people are keeping an eye on newpages 24 hours a day). I see you're talking about planned growth.  As I've said before on this page I don't see this list as prescriptive or exhaustive, and I would be surprised if other people used it in that way.  fabiform | talk 00:14, 18 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * Okay, I'll try again although it would be much easier for me if I knew how this list was created.

 * Picture this: A casual browser / newbie has just discovered Wikipedia and has been told on various pages that they can "edit any article right now. You don't even have to log in." So User:213.72.98.128 follows a link to an article that does not yet exist and types in what they know about the subject. They feel great, tell their friends to have a look at what they have done, but this lasts only for a minute or so, because then User:ExperiencedWatchdog places a VfD notice on top of the article. If they are lucky. If not, the new page becomes a candidate for speedy deletion and is gone for good.

 * That way lots of energy is wasted while no one profits from that kind of vicious circle, especially if, as in the case of the How to get rich or the Schnorrer/Shnorrer articles, this procedure is repeated after some time has passed.

 * I am not criticising this list; I am pointing out though that it encourages the creation of articles which some people then want to delete again. And I do wonder why this is so difficult to understand.  21:09, 18 Mar 2004 (UTC)

When it says to "remove" your link after you post a redirect or a new page, are we actually removing the link from the list? I'm seeing some blue here and there, so I wasn't sure if those were in effect "removed," but not literally. Bamos 03:07, 19 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * I can only speak for myself, but I've been working at the edges of this effort. When I'm working through one section of a list page, I'll wait till I've make a pass, then strike 15-25 links at a time. I'll also at least glance at any that show up blue in the section as a result of someone else's work, and if I agree with the action, I'll strike those also. My intent in working this way is to reduce as far as reasonable, the edit history of the list. Lou I 04:44, 19 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Biographies
List_of_encyclopedia_topics/Biographies_A includes links in the format Surname, first name. If someone wants to create a series redirects in that form, he may want to use List of people by name for existing biographies (I could compile a list from that for upload).

I'd appreciate if { {msg:to_sort_name}} would be included with the redirect. This allows to identify them easily later. -- User:Docu

 * I see that many of the articles listed have now been created. Is it considered all right to delete the completed articles or is the complete list being kept for a reason? MK 04:33, 4 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Viruses
Upon inspection, there are a large number of computer viruses on the list. Does every virus deserve an entry?? Most don't seem particularly memorable; it would give a lot of credit, where little is due, to write up a virus for posterity!! JFW | T@lk  17:44, 26 Apr 2004 (UTC)

 * I wouldn't object to write-ups on all of these viruses, but getting them is fairly unlikely. Maybe we should sift them out and move them to a separate list? - SimonP 19:10, Apr 26, 2004 (UTC)

 * Perhaps a list of viruses would be better with the individual ones just redirecting there, rather separate articles for each. Angela. 19:50, Apr 26, 2004 (UTC)

 * I theory good articles could be written on most computer viruses, who created them, what they do, when they first appeared, etc. I think listing them at List of computer viruses and waiting for some computer security buff to come along is fine. - SimonP 20:37, Apr 26, 2004 (UTC)

 * Isn't the most important thing about an entry on viruses instructions on how to get rid of it, or at the least links to a webpage that has such instructions? I'd have thought the casual browser would come across such an entry only when they actually need it (or if it hits the news)sheridan 19:03, 2004 Dec 23 (UTC)

Bot to eliminate a lot of repetitive work on "List of encyclopedia topics"?
I proposed a bot to eliminate the easy redirects/disambig pages that need to be created on this list. Some, like the counties, are fairly obvious and can be easily scripted, I think. However, I think it comes down to whether orphan redirects are acceptable. If they are, and if these should really be made, then I think the easy ones should be scripted. If they're not OK, then I think that should be made clear on the main page ASAP because they seem to be a large segment of the articles to be made. See Wikipedia talk:Bots for the outline of the script I'd like to make. CHL 04:14, 14 May 2004 (UTC)

Stats program
I've created a little javascript program to automatically work out the overall percentage of the redirects done, based on the percentage of each page that is done. Here's the link:. It's geocities, by the way. To use the program, just cut and paste the stats section of the page, that is the bit between where is say, and the last item on the list, including the percentage done of the 78th item (including % sign). Paste that into the text box on the page i've linked to, then click 'findstat', and then a message box should pop-up giving the overall percentage finished. I've checked this against Excel, and it matches, so I'm confident that the program works. It uses Javascript, by the way.

Silverfish 15:07, 19 May 2004 (UTC)

Deleting finished pages
As somebody else commented a while ago, it looks like some of the bio lists have articles on all the people. While it's possible that some of our bios are missing some bits that are here, random sampling seems to show that the list rarely if ever has any additional info. We don't really want or need them on backlink lists for articles. Is there any reason not to summarily delete (or blank?) the no-longer-useful lists? If no one speaks up, I might start doing that in the near future. Stan 19:01, 1 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * I strongly agree with deleting those not needed... but have found that many people name links don't go where you'd expect. I suggrest checking the link, and then 'what links here' to find new candidates for disambiguationn. I'll offer to help, FWIW, Lou I 23:22, 1 Feb 2005 (UTC)
 * For this reason they should be kept for a while - once all biographies are done I will systematically varify all are correct and appropriate. Rather than simply deleting the list I could just remove the links :) --Oldak Quill 22:17, 17 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Several "lists of things Wikipedia hasn't got"
We have 2004 Encyclopedia topics, 1911 Encyclopedia topics and List of encyclopedia topics (generated from various sources). Beyond a mere "tiding up" exercise I can see several advantages to merging the lists. Does anyone object if I do that? Pcb21| Pete 17:57, 28 Mar 2005 (UTC)
 * Good idea. - SimonP 18:03, Mar 28, 2005 (UTC)
 * I think the lists should be kept separate. When checking for redirects, I know the sources of each list, and this makes it easier to eliminate articles. Please do not merge them! Danny 20:28, 28 Mar 2005 (UTC)

 * Ok, good that I checked first :). What I actually had in mind was to create a merged list but equipped with three columns of tick boxes to indicate whether the title came from 1911, 2004 or Magnus' list. The idea is that if the same name appears on several lists it will have several ticks and stick out as a particularly important topic for us to cover. The ticks will mean that you will still be able to refer to the correct source, and so your life will not get any more difficult. What do you think? Pcb21| Pete 08:02, 29 Mar 2005 (UTC)
 * I believe that each editor has a preferred list, so it would probably be best if things were kept as they are. I personally find the obscurity of most of the topics from Magnus' list quite fascinating, and I have been having quite a learning experience for the past week or so in which I have contributed with filling it with blue links. :) --Sn0wflake 04:03, 30 Mar 2005 (UTC)

 * I put up an example of a merged list at User:Pcb21/list temp for comments. It is volume 1 from each list merged. There is reduced overlap because the alphabetic ordering method is different for each list. However even with this list taking into account I am surprised by how little overlap there is. Pcb21| Pete 07:21, 30 Mar 2005 (UTC)

 * The merged list does look spiffy. Seems like a lot of trouble for a list whose goal in life is to dwindle away to nothing, but they would be OK with me. Stan 14:37, 9 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * I think merging the lists is an excellent idea, I can't really see how anyone can object to it, as it is not replacing existing lists, just working alongside them. It would also be interesting to see a list that also had all the requested articles in as well and all the lists of places without articles, I imagine it would be well over the present size of wikipedia. Is there any way available to measure the number of red links in wikipedia at the moment? Bluemoose 11:55, 4 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Most useful list
Poll: The EB 2004 list should be first priority. I've found it far more useful than the assembled terms listed on the main page. Anyone agree? Lotsofissues 10:41, 9 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * You are right. Pcb21| Pete 10:56, 9 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * I also agree. The original list is full of slang terms that can be deleted immediately, Enochian angels, which are simply moved to List of angels in Enochian, and computer viruses, which are moved to List of computer viruses, as well as redirects to various places. The 2004 list has serious content that needs to be covered. Danny 17:21, 9 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * Agreed. For example, there seems to be no wikipedia article on dry rot (a 2004 item taken at random).  There are tons of subjects that wp needs to cover that aren't getting attention right now, some of which have fairly substancial articles in EB 2004 --jacobolus (t) 22:02, 18 Apr 2005 (UTC)

May I switch them? Lotsofissues 01:51, 13 Apr 2005 (UTC)

OK to delete completed biography pages?
Just cleaning the Wikipedia namespace here...is it OK to tag biography pages marked "Complete and Done" for deletion? -- Beland 00:10, 24 Apr 2005 (UTC)

You can just delete them, provided you check to see that they are really done. I don't see any reason to go through a tedious VfD on them when the sole purpose of creating them was to delete them. Danny 00:12, 24 Apr 2005 (UTC)

 * OK, will do. -- Beland 22:15, 24 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Other encyclopedia comparisons
I know this is a bit premature as we are only 25% done, but we will be finished fairly soon (i estimate about 10 months or so), but Brittanica 2005 is out and no doubt contains lots more articles than 2004, and the online one must be updated all the time, is there any way to easily update our list? also, i know microsoft encarta probably isnt as good as brittanica, but i may be able to access a friends copy of encarta 2005, so is it worth trying to compile a list of the articles on it, even if just for completeness sake? Bluemoose 14:54, 9 May 2005 (UTC)

 * If you can make the data available then I would be delighted. Get it online as soon as you can and then we (either as a group working on this project, or individually) can decide which list(s) to have a crack at/merge/whatever. Pcb21| Pete 16:05, 9 May 2005 (UTC)

Linking to this page
Can there be more obvious (in both senses) links to the List of encyclopedia topics? Might get a few more entries done.

There appears to be a problem with the Clubman entry - or link to there from this listing.

Encarta
All of the Encarta links have been removed at Jimbo's request. Danny 13:47, 28 August 2005 (UTC)
 * That is fine, still we should continue to bridge all the gaps. --Bhadani 17:50, 2 September 2005 (UTC)

Dividing up the list
Perhaps the acronyms and the possible computer viruses could be put into two separate lists, as what remains of the various lists seems to be composed largely of such items. "Items done" could be removed by someone (or several) with sufficient patience.

Perhaps this redivision and renumbering of lists could be done when ~50% of the original lists have been done.

redirect to french wiki?
i have redirected Lola Cordova in the list to the french wiki. is this acceptable? have left the entry on the list, in case this is to be changed. Doldrums 10:49, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

 * I would be against inter-language redirections Bluap 12:02, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

 * Especially as the French article isn't in an encyclopedic style Bluap 12:05, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

 * is there guideline/policy about this? i dont speak french. if there is a problem with the redirection, pls consider taking appropriate action. Doldrums 12:25, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Question about the lists
What are the initials alongside quite a few of the entries for? Is somebody doing them, checking to see that they are valid or what?

Jackiespeel 21:26, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

Reorganization
I'm reorganizing this list in the hopes to make it a little easier to use. It will be close to the format of the Hotlist which I think is excellent. Pages will be organized under letter rather than a number and will have mulitple letter pages e.g. A, A2, A3, B, B2. Each page will start with 500 entries and be consolidated on an as needed basis. I'm going to remove all existing blues from the list. Additionally each page will have search capabilities, google search and a google search of wikipedia. I could have used a template for the search but for only two search parameters I don't think it's necessary. In the mean time, work on some of the other excellent projects while I try to clean this one up. Comments are appreciated. --Reflex Reaction 14:10, 27 October 2005 (UTC)
 * I don't think this is a very useful change. The old format has worked perfectly well for years, and those of us working on this project are well used to it. Moreover the new format make it far harder to find a particular article or group of articles. If I want to find all the pages beginning with "Canada" I now have to sort through nine articles starting with the letter "C" to find the right one. - SimonP 17:00, 27 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Thanks for responding Simon! I've been thinking about doing the reorg when I tried navigating the project around I had no idea what each of the page numbers corresponeded to.  There was no way for me to know that Page 55 had topics from PH-PO, or that Page 42 covered LL-LO without going to the front page, but if it was reorganized I could find "Canada" pretty easily under "C" or "C2" from any page.  Even with letter with several pages like 'B' or 'S' should be easier to sort through and find an area when rearranged.  It would also eliminate some of the need to update the main project page so often, so  errors like this [which has been up since early October] would not happen and updating like this would not need to happen.  I was also using this as an opportunity to add searches to each of the entries to make redirecting or article creation a little bit easier.  But if none of this convinces you and no one else steps up to the plate to try to change your mind, I'm willing to defer because you have been active in the project for a while and I don't want to make editing difficult for you. --Reflex Reaction 21:40, 27 October 2005 (UTC)
 * How about this: the subpages can be named A-Ae, Ae-Ag and Ag-Am instead of A2 and A3? There would be some overlap between letters and require some moving of pages but the list has already been pruned pretty well so it wouldn't be so frequent while still making the navigation a bit easier.    --Reflex Reaction 15:19, 28 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Why not just rework Encyclopedia so that ranges rather than numbers are displayed? To me, That seems like a much simpler, and less disruptive, solution. - SimonP 05:02, 31 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Simon, it sounds like you are satisfied with the current situation. I don't actively work with this project and don't mind leaving it as it is but I thought a reorg would make it easier to work with but this appears not the case.  Happy editing and thanks for your comments.  I will revert most of my changes. --Reflex Reaction 15:35, 31 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Thank you, I do appreciate your effort, and I am sorry that it seems to have gone to waste. - SimonP 16:53, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

Suggestions: remove the "probable viruses" to a separate group: with most of the other topics people will look under different headings - eg all Canada, all wildlife, so a strict alphabetical is more practical. Perhaps this time every year the pages could be reorganised for the new year - and any new entries added.

Jackiespeel 22:37, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

Primarily English source?
I can't find any notes on where this list comes from, other than "various sources". My guess is that it is primarily an older English source, perhaps the 1911 edition of Brittanica? I'm led to this conclusion by the lengthy list of small English hamlets on the list. I started at the W's and have added on already, but now I'm thinking many of these should not be included because they are simply too small, and should instead simply be marked as such?

I'd like comments on this sooner if possible. I'm working my way back through the alphabet and plan on adding an article for everything that I can find any information on. I'd hate to spend time on article that are best left out (or deleted).

Maury 12:26, 19 March 2007 (UTC)
 * I believe it is an amalgam of a number of modern sources. We don't want to list exactly which were used because of copyright concerns. - SimonP 13:22, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

 * A listing of topics is not copywritable. And if this really was a concern, don't use it, obviously. But no need to worry, after some poking about it's clear this is scraped from the Probert Encyclopaedia. Maury 16:37, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Notes for other users
Some general notes that might come in handy:

 * 1) if it's a name and it has a middle initial, it's likely scraped from The Political Graveyard, and likely refers to some minor US politician. Many of these are of no note.
 * 2) if it's a name without a middle initial, it is most likely an actor scraped from one of the Probert lists. Most of these are "historical" (1970's and older?) and many are of little import.
 * 3) if it's a single-word name, it most likely a small town in England. I'm not sure what list these were scraped from. Many of these are *tiny* and perhaps should be removed.
 * 4) Latin names are scraped from another Probert list, and typically refer to species of insects.

Since many of these entries come from Probert, if you're having trouble tracking them down, simply add the word " Probert" to your Google search. That will typically make the "correct" item the first or second hit on the resulting list.

Most of the items on this list are not really suitable for the wiki, many fail notability. I recommend removing them en-mass.

Maury 18:39, 19 March 2007 (UTC)


text:
Talk:Perception management

Influence and Perception Management Office
Probably should have something here (or elsewhere) about the new U.S. Influence and Perception Management Office. - Jmabel | Talk 18:30, 17 May 2023 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Perception management


text:
Eldoret

Eldoret is town and urban centre in Kenya. Gazetted as a municipality, it is in the Rift Valley region, and it serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. The town was referred to by white settlers as Farm 64 and colloquially by locals as 'Sisibo '. As per the 2019 population census, Eldoret is the fifth most populated urban area in the country after Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru and Ruiru. Lying south of the Cherangani Hills, the local elevation varies from about 2100 m at the airport to more than 2700 m in nearby areas. The population was 289,380 in the 2009 Census, and it was the fastest growing city in Kenya with 475,716 people according to 2019 National Census. Eldoret was on course to be named Kenya's fourth city, but was edged out by Nakuru in 2021.

Etymology
The name "Eldoret" is based on the Maasai word "eldore" meaning "stony river"; a reference to the bed of the Sosiani River (a tributary of the Nile), that runs through the town.

History
Eldoret and the plateau around it had been occupied by the Sirikwa for several centuries prior to the era of Maasai ascendancy. Innovation in weaponry was introduced by the Maasai era of the late 18th and 19th centuries. With new weapons and forms of governance, they swept down from their original homelands in the north, closer to Lake Turkana, down to their present homelands south of Kenya. The Maasai clan that took over the Plateau were known as the Ilwasin Kishu, after whom it is presently named.

In August 1908, fifty-eight families of displaced Afrikaners left Nakuru for the Uasin Gishu plateau after a journey from South Africa by sea and by rail from Mombasa. Led by Jan van Rensburg, they traveled using wagons that would often get stuck in mud, finally arriving at Sergoit Hill  on 22 October of that year. Jan Ernest Kruger would later own the 5000 acre Sergoit farm, now owned by Sergoit Golf and Wildlife resort.

The land had earlier been surveyed by a certain van Breda and the new arrivals took up leaseholds of between 800 and 5000 acre on condition that they would develop it within five years. Each family built a shack, put up fences, in-spanned oxen to simple ploughs and turned the first furrows. They sowed wheat, maize and vegetables. These actions laid the foundation for the transformation of the Plateau into a prosperous agricultural region.

The farms were later officially registered and each was given a number.

Eldoret was established in the midst of the farms they created on what was known to the settlers as "Farm 64", "64" or "Sisibo" to the locals because at that time it was 64 mi from the newly built Uganda Railway railhead at Londiani. Willy van Aardt owned the farm. The Central Lounge in Eldoret is all that remains of Willy's farm.

The official town site started in 1910 with the development of a Post Office at "Sisibo". This was followed shortly after by the arrival of 60 more Afrikaner families in 1911. The governor decided to establish an administrative centre in the area in 1912 and thus the Post Office was renamed from "64" to a new official town name: "Eldoret". Becoming an administrative centre caused an enormous increase in trade within the prospective city. A bank and several shops were built.

The Uganda Railway extension, from Londiani towards Uganda, reached Eldoret in 1924, starting a new era of prosperity and growth. In 1928, a piped water supply from the Sosiani River was installed and in 1933, an electricity generator plant was installed by the East African Power and Lighting Company. By that time, Eldoret had a small airport, and low-cost rental housing had been constructed.

In the 1950s the town was literally divided into two, along the main street (now Uganda Road), with the Afrikaners on the north and the British on the south. The former took their children to Highland School, (now Moi Girls High School) and the latter, to Hill School. Recreation was also along the divide – 'Brits' used the Lincoln Hotel and the Race-Course near the now "Chinese Area" while the Afrikaners converged at the Wagon Wheel for recreation.

Daniel Arap Moi was born in the neighboring Baringo District, and under his presidency, the town was developed further. The country's second institution of higher learning, Moi University, was established by the government in 1984 and the third international airport was subsequently constructed, significantly boosting the fortunes of the town.

By 1987, only two Afrikaner households remained in Eldoret, with the rest having moved back to South Africa in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the aftermath of the Mau Mau rebellion and in anticipation of independence.

The town was significantly impacted by the 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis when violence gripped Kenya in the aftermath of controversial general elections. The athlete Lucas Sang was murdered about 10 km away from the town while on his way home to Chepkoilel. On 1 January 2008, a mob attacked and set fire to a church located near Burnt Forest, a satellite town of Eldoret. Hundreds of people had taken refuge during Kenyan massacres. As a result, about forty to eighty people, mostly Kikuyu, were burnt to death.

William Ruto the current President of the Republic of Kenya was born in Kamagut Ward of Turbo Constituency that straddles Eldoret town. He has previously represented Eldoret North Constituency in parliament.

Climate
Eldoret has a subtropical highland climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb). The town, lying over 2000 m above sea level, has a moderate to cool climate. The temperature falls significantly at night, and in the cold season (May–August) it is regularly in the single digits Celsius.

Local governance
Eldoret is governed by the County Government of Uasin Gishu which manages all the town's affairs. The city is divided into thirteen wards. Six of them (Huruma, Kamukunji, Kapyemit, Kidiwa/Kapsuswa, and Stadium/Industrial, Market) are in Eldoret North Constituency, Three (Hospital, Kapsoya and Kimumu/Sergoit) are in Eldoret East Constituency, and the remaining four (Kipkenyo, Langas, Pioneer/Elgon View and Race Course) are part of Eldoret South Constituency. All of these three constituencies have more wards within other local authorities than Eldoret municipality.

Suburbs
Eldoret has a number of estates. Estates vary in that some are posh and others are resided in by the middle-class community. Almost every estate has its own identity. Some of the estates include Elgon View, Langas, Kapseret, Huruma, Kapsoya, Shauri, Kipkorgot, Kahoya, West Indies, West, Kipkaren, Kimumu, Jerusalem, Annex, Mwanzo,Hawaii, Action, Mailinne, Pioneer, Outspan, Kiplombe, Kamkunji, Samar, Silas, Kenya Service, Cheplaskei, Chinese, Road Block, Peris, Junction, Munyaka, Hillside, Eldoville, Juniorate among many others.

Economy
Eldoret is surrounded by prime agricultural lands and acts as a trading centre for Uasin Gishu's economy which is driven by large-scale grain farming, dairy and horticultural farming. The town is also a local manufacturing hub with a number of nationally recognised manufacturing concerns, including Raiplywoods, Rupa Textiles, Kenya Pipeline Company, Kenya Co-operative Creameries as well as corn, wheat and pyrethrum factories all within the town.

The town is home to a large market and is known for the Doinyo Lessos cheese factory, Moi University and Eldoret International Airport. The runners from Eldoret have also contributed significantly to the economy of Eldoret town, primarily investing in small businesses and real estate, from their winnings in races all over the world. Moses Kiptanui is a stake holder in one of the largest buildings Komora that houses a large supermarket chain and many offices. Notable professional firms include Nyairo and Company, the oldest law firm in the town`, founded by Alfred Momanyi Nyairo in the sixties. Other law firms include Wabomba Masinde and Associates advocates, Gumbo and Associate Advocates, Mburu Maina & Company Advocates, Nyaundi Tuiyott & Company Advocates, Kalya & Company Advocates, Chebii and Company Advocates and Gicheru & Company Advocates.

Textiles
The town has an industry that is led by Ken Knit (Kenya). It is the first, fully integrated textile manufacturing company in East and Central Africa and has been based in Eldoret for close to 50 years. It is Kenya's leading manufacturer of wool products and with a workforce of 2,000, is presently the largest textile related employer in the North-Rift.

Another notable textile firm is Rivatex EA which was opened in 1975 by then Vice President, Daniel Toroitich arap Moi as Rift Valley Textiles (Rivatex), a parastatal that was the first Kenyan textile mill to operate computerized mills. It quickly became a success, achieving profitability within three years while employing 400 people and consuming 3,000 tons of cotton a year at its peak. By the late 1990s, the liberalization of Kenya's market which led to massive imports of cheap used clothing coupled with mismanagement led to the decline of the country's textile industry. Rivatex in Eldoret was placed under receivership in 1998 and finally shut its doors in 2000.

The town of Eldoret, through Moi University and its subsidiary firm Rivatex, has played a leading role in the revival of the Kenyan textile industry.

The defunct Rivatex was purchased from the Government of Kenya in 2007 by Moi University as a facility for research, product development, extension and production. The university identified the high cost of imported dyes as a factor affecting profitability. This was resolved in 2008, when Prof Richard Mibey, invented the Tami Dye, a natural dye made from Mexican Marigold which was previously considered a weed in the surrounding regions. The university holds the patent to this dye.

Being able to produce affordable dye in Kenya has been a key contributing factor to the revival of Rivatex East Africa and the wider Kenyan textile industry. The university won a $60 million grant from the World Bank to carry out a face-lift as a result of the work on the Tami Dye. It also secured a pledged investment of $40 million from the Indian Government.

Digital assembly
In mid-2019, Rivatex reopened following major renovations and restructuring. As part of this effort, it opened a Digital Assembly Plant with the capacity to produce laptops, tablets, electric meters, smartphones and other digital devices.

Military
The town is host to the Moi Barracks for the Kenya Defence Forces. The barracks has a memorial for Kenyan soldiers killed in battle in Somalia. The town is also home to the Kenya Ordnance Factories Corporation since 1997, a military installation that was the first manufacturer of small arms and ammunition in the region. Its customers include the Kenya Police, Wildlife Service, the Army, licensed dealers and carriers as well as friendly governments.

Fertilizer
The Toyota Tsusho Corporation built Kenya's first full scale fertilizer blending factory at Ngeria on the outskirts of Eldoret. The $15 million plant has the capacity to produce 150,000 tonnes per year which is 25% of Kenya's 600,000 annual requirement.

ICT
In early 2019, Safaricom, Kenya's largest mobile network operator, set up its second largest call centre, and its first outside Nairobi, in Eldoret town. The Kshs 900 million facility provides employment to 800 individuals of whom 300 are paid interns from local universities.

The town is also home to the MGW site, located at Kapsoya, the first of Safaricom's data centre in the North Rift, set up in 2015.

Tourism
Eldoret has traditionally not been known as a tourist destination and does not have much to differentiate it from Kenya's other highland centres. Being Kenya's fifth-largest town however, it is a great deal bigger and serves as a base for touring the North-Rift circuit. The town has a decent variety of accommodation options, notably the Sirikwa Hotel, Poa Place, The Noble Hotel and Conference Centre and the ultra-modern Boma Inn as well as enough night-life options to interest one for an evening or two.

Surrounding region
The town and its surrounding regions has also lately grown into a sports tourism destination thanks to a number of residents, renowned world runners and a high-altitude that makes the local area suitable for athletics training.

Notable attractions within easy distance of Eldoret include the Nandi Hills area to the south, home of the Nandi, the fiercest early opponents to British rule. It is also the home of the Chemosit, a crypto-beast that is said to devour human brains.

To the north lies the town of Iten, capital of Elgeyo Marakwet county and the world's foremost source of elite-middle and long distance runners. It is a popular destination for foreigners looking to hone their athletics talent and time at its high altitude training centres form part of a number of elite athletes training regimens. Notably, altitude training here was a key element of Mo Farah's preparations before his 5000m and 10000m gold medals at London 2012 and World Championships 2013.

Elgeyo Marakwet is also increasingly gaining a global reputation as a paragliding destination. It has become the place to go to fly 100 - 200 km out-and-returns in January with world records across both distances having been set in the Kerio Valley in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

Champions Monument
The Champions Monument is situated at the junction of Kaptagat and Nairobi roads and was erected in honour of retired, elite and upcoming athletes in the country. The bronze monument, erected by Mediheal Group of Hospitals, depicts two female athletes and two male athletes attached on a world map running towards different directions. One of the males is holding an Olympic torch in one hand while the rest have their hands raised up as a sign of victory. It also has an image of a male athlete mounted on the top draped in the Kenyan flag.

Chepkiit Waterfalls
Located some 25 km away from Eldoret at a point where the River Sosiani plunges 100 m from the plateau and over a granite escarpment is the Chepkiit Waterfalls. Located in Nandi County, the name loosely translates to "view from above" and it features four viewpoints which are favorite locations for picnics and bird-seeing excursions. In the past, the location was a site of the ancient practice of Sheu Morobi where very old members of the Nandi community would jump to their deaths for a variety of reasons including loneliness and so as not to burden the community.

Eldoret Arboretum
The Eldoret Arboretum is located next to the Kipchoge Keino stadium and is jointly managed by the County Government of Uasin Gishu and the Kenya Forest Service (KFS). The arboretum hosts a Wall of Fame that features the names of legendary and elite Kenyan athletes, most of whom come from the surrounding regions. The Wall of Fame is styled as four pillars each holding the names scripted across four categories; Olympians, World Champions, World Cross Country champions and marathon greats.

Iten Viewpoint
Situated north-east of Eldoret at the high altitude of 2,400 m above sea level, the small town of Iten is known for its regional honey, being home to training camps for international athletes and the viewpoints of the Great Rift Valley. The Iten Viewpoint offers views of natural landmarks such as Kerio valley, Lake Kamnarok, Kerio River with its crocodiles, Tugen Hills and Cherangani Hills. Iten viewpoint allows visitors to see more of the Great Rift Valley than any other place in Africa.

Daima Towers
At 26 floors and 70 m tall, this is the tallest building in Kenya west of Nairobi and stands as a landmark of the town. It was built by the Moi University Pension Scheme and was opened in 2016.

The building features a rooftop restaurant as well as a variety of boutiques and office spaces.

Eldoret Club
Eldoret Club is a private members club that was established in 1924 on the edge of town. It is situated on large well-manicured grounds that house a clubhouse, a 9-hole golf course and a variety of other facilities.

Athletics Training Centres
Athletics is by far the most popular sport in the region with wins at the Olympics and World Athletics Championships as well as road races across the world having propelled many local residents to stardom and financial success. Current and future athletes can be seen training at the IAAF High Altitude Training Center and other privately run training centers, the Kipchoge Keino stadium or even along the streets on most mornings.

Education
Eldoret is home to Moi University. Though the university's main campus is located about 30 km away in Kesess, located due South, four of its campuses are within the town limits of Eldoret. These campuses are; Annex Campus (School of Law), Town Campus (School of Medicine and School of dental sciences), Rivatex Campus (School of aeronautical engineering) and Eldoret West campus (for privately sponsored students) a student population of 14,855 as of 2006.

The University of Eldoret is the second largest university in the city having been awarded its charter in 2013. Its main campus is located within the city limits to the north of the town.

Other universities with campuses in the town include Catholic University of East Africa, Jomo Kenyatta University, University of Nairobi, University of East Africa - Baraton, Kabarak University, Mount Kenya University and Kisii University

The city also is home to many technical and vocational institutes including Rift Valley Technical Training Institute, Eldoret National Polytechnic, African Institute for Research and Applied Studies.

Health
There are a number of medical facilities in the city, notably Moi Teaching & Referral Hospital; The only referral national hospital in western Kenya. The town has the Uasin Gishu District Hospital, and there are several private institutions: St. Luke Orthopaedic And Trauma Hospital, Eldoret Hospital, Mediheal Hospital, Eldoret Oncology Associates Cancer Hospital, Reale Hospital, Alexandria Cancer Centre and Palliative Care Hospital and Elgon View Hospital among others.

In 2015, East & Central Africa's first public children's hospital, The Shoe4Africa Children's Hospital, a 200-bed general teaching hospital, was opened, behind the Moi Referral.

Also in 2015, a new out patient cancer treatment centre was opened at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, funded principally by Ruth Lily, an American philanthropist. It has been named after the businessman, Manu Chandaria, a later funder, and is now known as The Chandaria Cancer and Chronic Disease Centre.

Sport
Eldoret, in particular the Elgon View area, is the hometown of numerous Kenyan runners, the most renowned of whom are Kipchoge Keino and Eliud Kipchoge. The high altitude is an ideal training ground for many middle and long distance athletes.

Kipchoge Keino Stadium is the town's main stadium and is a multi-use stadium with a capacity of 10,000 people. The stadium is used for athletic meetings and hosts local football teams including Rivatex and Eldoret KCC. The stadium fell into disrepair and was refurbished beginning in 2007 when the Kenyan Government allocated Ksh100 million for its upgrade. In 2018, it began going through a second major expansion and renovation.

Eldoret Falcons is a women's football team that represents the city in the nationwide league while Eldoret RFC is a men's rugby team in the nationwide league. The city has also been a popular stage in the KCB Safari Rally.

The town is home to the Eldoret City Marathon, whose $35,000 winners purse during its second edition in 2019 made it the richest marathon race in Africa. The event is organised by the Uasin Gishu county government and is patronized by the County Governor, H.E Jonathan Kimeli Bii Chelilim and John Kibet Barorot.

The town is also host to a leg of the annual national sevens circuit rugby tournament. The Eldoret leg is played in June and referred to as the Sepetuka Sevens. It is extremely popular and brings the city to a halt for the entire weekend with fans coming into the city from all over the country.

Eldoret is also home to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)'s High Altitude Training Centre for Kenyan and international athletes.

Eldoret Club, a golf club is located a short distance from its CBD.

Airports
The town of Eldoret is served by two aerodromes, Eldoret International Airport and Eldoret Airstrip.

Eldoret International Airport is a regional airport approximately 14 km from Eldoret city. It has daily scheduled flights to Nairobi and Lodwar and weekly international cargo flights operated by Emirates and Etihad Airways. Situated at 6941 ft above sea level, the airport has a single asphalt runway that measures 3475 m in length.

Four domestic airline companies operate in this airport: Fly 540, Jambojet, Skyward Express and Silverstone Air.

The Eldoret Airstrip, also known as the Eldoret Boma Airport, is a small airstrip located within Eldoret on the Eldoret Iten road. It has an elevation of 7,050 ft above sea level and a single runway measuring 1,130 m. The county government of Uasin Gishu took over operations of the Eldoret airstrip in July 2015 County to take over Eldoret airstrip July 1

Roads
The Trans-African highway passes through the town's central business district.

Railway
The town is also served by the Kenya-Uganda railway.

Power
The French renewable energy firm Voltalia is building a 40-megawatt (MW) solar plant for compatriot Kenya-based French solar firm Alten Africa in Kesses, Eldoret. Once it goes into commercial operation, scheduled for March 2020, approximately 123.6GWh of clean electricity will be injected into the grid every year, enough to meet the annual energy consumption needs of over 824,000 Kenyans.

Oil pipelines
The Kenya Pipeline Company operates a pipeline that passes through the town. It is connected to the refinery at the coastal city of Mombasa and extends further from Eldoret to the lakeside city of Kisumu. One of 5 national oil depots is located in the town.

Sister cities
Eldoret is a sister town to the cities of:

title: Eldoret