# Wikiquote API

> Wikiquote returns sourced, disputed, and misattributed quotations by person, available as a workflow and API.

Wikiquote returns sourced, disputed, and misattributed quotations for a person on English Wikiquote; provide the person's name. Sourced quotations include a citation or identified work, but Wikiquote attribution is not independent verification.

- Page: https://fous.com/tools/wikiquote
- Handle: `@wikiquote`
- Category: [Education](https://fous.com/tools/category/education)
- Source website: https://wikiquote.org
- Last verified: Sep 29, 2026

## Methods

### Get quotes by person

Operation `get_quotes_by_person`, version 1. 1 credit per completed call. Failed calls without a completed billing receipt are free; completed work can remain charged if delivery is interrupted.

Get sourced quotations, disputed quotations, and misattributed quotations for a person on English Wikiquote. Sourced quotes are included only when a citation or identified work appears on the page; Wikiquote attribution is not independent verification.

**Input**

| Field | Type | Required | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `person` | string | yes | `"Mark Twain"` | The person to look up, for example Albert Einstein. |
| `max_results` | integer | no | `5` | Maximum number of sourced quotes to return, for example 50. |

**Input schema**

```json
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "person"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "person": {
      "type": "string",
      "minLength": 1,
      "description": "The person to look up, for example Albert Einstein.",
      "examples": [
        "Mark Twain",
        "Albert Einstein",
        "Ada Lovelace"
      ]
    },
    "max_results": {
      "type": "integer",
      "default": 50,
      "maximum": 200,
      "minimum": 1,
      "description": "Maximum number of sourced quotes to return, for example 50.",
      "x-fous-developer": true,
      "examples": [
        5,
        50,
        8
      ]
    }
  },
  "additionalProperties": false,
  "examples": [
    {
      "person": "Mark Twain",
      "max_results": 5
    },
    {
      "person": "Albert Einstein",
      "max_results": 50
    },
    {
      "person": "Ada Lovelace",
      "max_results": 8
    }
  ]
}
```

**Output**

| Field | Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `name` | string | `"Mark Twain"` | Person name as on Wikiquote. |
| `page_link` | string | `"https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mark_Twain"` |  |
| `description` | string or null | `"Samuel Langhorne Clemens ( November 30 , 1835 – April 21 , 1910 ), known as Mark Twain , was an American humorist, nove` | One-line description of the person. |
| `sourced_quotes` | array |  |  |
| `sourced_quotes[].year` | integer or null | `1865` |  |
| `sourced_quotes[].quote` | string | `"I haven't a particle of confidence in a man who has no redeeming petty vices whatsoever."` |  |
| `sourced_quotes[].source` | string | `"\"Answers to Correspondents\", The Californian , 17 June 1865. Anthologized in The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras` |  |
| `disputed_quotes` | array |  |  |
| `disputed_quotes[].note` | string or null | `"Quoted, without attribution, in The Ohio Educational Monthly , vol. 57, no. 3 (March, 1908), p. 121. Attributed to Twai` |  |
| `disputed_quotes[].quote` | string | `"Let us endeavor to live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry."` |  |
| `misattributed_quotes` | array |  |  |
| `misattributed_quotes[].note` | string or null | `"Aphorism 146 from Jenseits von Gut und Böse ( Beyond Good and Evil ) an 1886 book by the German philosopher Friedrich N` |  |
| `misattributed_quotes[].quote` | string | `"The lack of money is the root of all evil."` |  |

**Example input**

```json
{
  "person": "Mark Twain",
  "max_results": 5
}
```

**Example output**

```json
{
  "name": "Mark Twain",
  "page_link": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mark_Twain",
  "description": "Samuel Langhorne Clemens ( November 30 , 1835 – April 21 , 1910 ), known as Mark Twain , was an American humorist, novelist, writer, and lecturer.",
  "sourced_quotes": [
    {
      "year": 1865,
      "quote": "I haven't a particle of confidence in a man who has no redeeming petty vices whatsoever.",
      "source": "\"Answers to Correspondents\", The Californian , 17 June 1865. Anthologized in The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Other Sketches (1867)"
    }
  ],
  "disputed_quotes": [
    {
      "note": "Quoted, without attribution, in The Ohio Educational Monthly , vol. 57, no. 3 (March, 1908), p. 121. Attributed to Twain in The South Side Times (October 6, 1922), p. 2",
      "quote": "Let us endeavor to live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry."
    }
  ],
  "misattributed_quotes": [
    {
      "note": "While this quote does appear in Twain's posthumous The Refuge of the Derelicts (1905), it had previously been published elsewhere. The earliest citation found in Google Books is a 1872 article by Rich…",
      "quote": "The lack of money is the root of all evil."
    }
  ]
}
```

## Quick start

Replace `YOUR_API_KEY` with a Fous API key. To create one, open Developers at the bottom of Fous Studio, turn on Developer mode, then go to API keys (https://app.fous.com/keys). Change the values in `input` to run the same tool on new data.

```bash
curl 'https://api.fous.com/v1/query' \
  --fail-with-body --silent --show-error --max-time 180 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-raw '{
  "api": "@wikiquote",
  "visibility": "public",
  "operation": "get_quotes_by_person",
  "version": 1,
  "input": {
    "person": "Mark Twain",
    "max_results": 5
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "json"
  }
}'
```

```python
# Save as fous.py and run with python3 fous.py. No packages needed.
import json
import urllib.error
import urllib.request

api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY"

body = json.loads("{\n  \"api\": \"@wikiquote\",\n  \"visibility\": \"public\",\n  \"operation\": \"get_quotes_by_person\",\n  \"version\": 1,\n  \"input\": {\n    \"person\": \"Mark Twain\",\n    \"max_results\": 5\n  },\n  \"response\": {\n    \"format\": \"json\"\n  }\n}")
request = urllib.request.Request(
    "https://api.fous.com/v1/query",
    data=json.dumps(body).encode("utf-8"),
    headers={
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {api_key}",
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    method="POST",
)
try:
    with urllib.request.urlopen(request, timeout=180) as response:
        result = json.load(response)
except urllib.error.HTTPError as error:
    raise RuntimeError(f"HTTP {error.code}: {error.read().decode('utf-8', errors='replace')}") from error
if result.get("success") is False:
    raise RuntimeError(result.get("error", {}).get("message", "Request failed"))
print(json.dumps(result["data"]["output"], indent=2))
```

```typescript
// Save as fous.mts and run with npx tsx fous.mts.
const apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY";

const response = await fetch("https://api.fous.com/v1/query", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Authorization": `Bearer ${apiKey}`,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  signal: AbortSignal.timeout(180_000),
  body: JSON.stringify({
  "api": "@wikiquote",
  "visibility": "public",
  "operation": "get_quotes_by_person",
  "version": 1,
  "input": {
    "person": "Mark Twain",
    "max_results": 5
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "json"
  }
}),
});
type ApiResult = { success: boolean; data?: { output: unknown }; error?: { message: string } };
const result: ApiResult = await response.json();
if (!response.ok || result.success === false) {
  throw new Error(result.error?.message ?? `HTTP ${response.status}`);
}
if (!result.data) throw new Error("Missing API response data");
console.log(result.data.output);
```

## Use from an AI assistant

Connect this tool to Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and any MCP client as its own MCP server. Each method is a typed tool whose arguments are the method’s input.

- Server URL: `https://api.fous.com/mcp/tools/wikiquote`
- Authorization: `Authorization: Bearer <Fous API key>`

**Tools**

- `get_quotes_by_person`: Get quotes by person. 1 credit per completed call. Failed calls without a completed billing receipt are free; completed work can remain charged if delivery is interrupted.
- `fous_get_run`: the result of a run that was still going, by its `request_id`. Free.

Claude Code:

```bash
claude mcp add --scope user --transport http fous-wikiquote https://api.fous.com/mcp/tools/wikiquote --header "Authorization: Bearer ${FOUS_API_KEY:?Set FOUS_API_KEY to your Fous API key}"
```

To give the assistant every tool, connect `https://api.fous.com/mcp`: it finds one with `fous_search_tools` and runs it with `fous_run_tool`. Setup for other clients: https://fous.com/llms-full.txt.

## Use cases

- Research a person's sourced quotations and their cited works.
- Identify quotations marked as disputed.
- Check which quotations are listed as misattributed.
- Gather quotations about a person for editorial review.

## FAQ

### Can I run it with my own inputs?

Yes. Change the inputs in Studio and press Run, or send new inputs from your code, or ask a connected AI assistant.

### Can I call this Wikiquote tool as an API?

Yes. Send a POST request to /v1/query with your Fous API key and the inputs, and get JSON back.

### How much does it cost?

Each completed run costs 1 credit. Failed runs without a completed receipt are free; completed work can remain charged if delivery is interrupted. With pay as you go, a credit costs 1¢. Monthly plans cost less per credit.

### Do I need a Wikiquote account?

No. You only need a Fous account.

### How current is the data?

Fous gets the data from wikiquote.org when you run it. Some results are reused for up to 24 hours, and results that use your account or key are never reused. It was last verified on Sep 29, 2026.

### What sourced quotations are listed for a person?

Get quotes by person returns sourced quotations and their sources when the page includes a citation or identified work.

### Which quotations are marked as disputed?

Get quotes by person returns disputed quotations and their notes.

### Which quotations are listed as misattributed?

Get quotes by person returns misattributed quotations and their notes.

## Related

- [BrainyQuote API](https://fous.com/tools/brainyquote.md): BrainyQuote returns topic-matched quotes in displayed order, a person’s description and up to 100 quotes with topic tags and links, or the quote shown for the chosen daily category and BrainyQuote’s current day.
- [Wikipedia API](https://fous.com/tools/wikipedia.md): Wikipedia returns article summaries, images, facts, relevant search matches, readable text and daily historical events, plus human-view counts from July 2015 onward.
- [Goodreads API](https://fous.com/tools/goodreads.md): Goodreads returns public book searches, matched-book details with variable editions, popular or newest reviews, author books by popularity or date, and up to 100 quotes.
- [IMDb API](https://fous.com/tools/imdb.md): IMDb returns movie, TV, person, episode, chart and Parents Guide details, including available weekly rank changes; missing details are null, and unaired or unrated episodes lack ratings.
- [Wikidata API](https://fous.com/tools/wikidata.md): Wikidata is a free public knowledge base returning facts and item lists about people, places, organizations, and more; values may be historical and dates incomplete.
- [Open Library API](https://fous.com/tools/open-library.md): Open Library returns book search results, catalog details, and author works; availability reflects listed editions, not current loan availability, and catalog details may be missing.
- [Britannica API](https://fous.com/tools/britannica.md): Britannica returns public encyclopedia articles with introductions, quick facts, headings, update dates and images, plus search results with titles, descriptions, links and images when shown.
- [Project Gutenberg API](https://fous.com/tools/project-gutenberg.md): Project Gutenberg offers free public-domain ebooks and reading materials, with searchable book details and plain text from the most-downloaded matching edition available.
- [All Education tools](https://fous.com/tools/category/education)