To report an error when this list is currently on the
Main Page, see
Main Page errors. Please remember that this list defers to the supporting articles, so it is best to achieve consensus and make any necessary changes there first.
Before making a suggestion, please read the
selected anniversaries guidelines. Please remember that this list usually defers to supporting pages when there is disagreement, so it is best to achieve consensus and make any necessary changes there first.
To discuss improvements to the corresponding
July 1 article, see
Talk:July 1 instead.
Frequently asked questions
Q1: Why is [Insert event here], an event that is "more important and significant" than all the others that are currently listed, not posted?
A1: Relative article quality along with the mix of topics already listed are often deciding factors in what gets posted. Any given day of the year can have a great many
important or significant historical events. The problem is that there is generally only room on the Main Page to list about 5 events at a time, so not everything can be posted.
As stated on
Wikipedia:FAQ/Main Page, the items and events posted on the Main Page are chosen based more on how
well they are written, not based on how much important or significant their subjects are. It is easier for admins to select a well-written,
cited,
verifiable article over a poor one versus trying to determine objectively how much a subject is important or significant.
Keep in mind that the quality requirements only apply to the selected bolded article, not the other links. Thus, an event may qualify for multiple dates in a year if there is an article written in a
summary style and an article providing detailed content; if one of those pages have cleanup issues, the other page can be bolded as an alternate.
Another criterion is to maintain some variety of topics, and not exhibit, just for example, tech-centrism, or the belief that the world stops at the edge of the
English-speaking world. Many days have a large pool of potential articles, so they will rotate in and out every year to give each one some Main Page exposure. In addition, an event is not posted if it is also the subject of this year's scheduled
featured article or
featured picture.
Q2: There are way too many 20th-century events listed. Why aren't there more events from the 19th century and before?
Q3: This page seems to be biased toward events based in [Insert country or region here]. What can be done about it?
A3: This again is attributed to the
systemic bias of Wikipedia. Many users are generally more interested in working on good, well-written articles pertaining to their home country. Since this is the English Wikipedia, there will be more English-speaking users, and thus more articles pertaining to English-speaking countries. And if there are more users who are from the
United States, there will probably be more well-written articles about events based in the United States. Again, if you would like to further help mitigate the systemic bias in Wikipedia, see
Wikipedia:WikiProject Countering systemic bias.
Q4: Why is the birthday/death anniversary of [Insert name here] not listed?
A4: There are only four slots available for birth and death anniversaries. As with the events, article quality and diversity in time period, geography, and reason for notability are all contributing factors in whether an article gets selected for inclusion.
Q5: Are the holidays/observances listed in any particular order?
A5: Yes, there is a specified order: International observances first, then alphabetically by where observed.
Q6: Some of the holidays/observances that are listed have dates in parentheses beside them. What do they mean?
A6: There are two reasons that some holidays/observances have dates next to them:
Non-
Gregorian-based holidays/observances are marked with the current year as a reminder to others that their dates do in fact vary from year to year.
National Days,
Independence Days, and other holidays celebrating the nationhood of a country are generally marked by the year of the significant historic date being observed.
Today's featured article for July 1, 2024
The Flag of Canada is a red flag with a white square in its centre, featuring a stylized 11-pointed red
maple leaf. It has become the predominant and most recognizable
national symbol of Canada. It was adopted in 1965 to replace the
Union Flag for most official purposes, although the
Canadian Red Ensign had also been unofficially used since the 1860s and approved by a 1945
Order in Council. In 1964, Prime Minister
Lester B. Pearson appointed a committee to discuss these issues, sparking a serious
debate about a flag change. Out of three choices, the maple leaf design by
George Stanley, based on the flag of the
Royal Military College of Canada, was chosen. It made its first appearance on February 15, 1965, a date now celebrated annually as
National Flag of Canada Day. Other flags, usually containing the maple leaf motif in some fashion, have been created for use by Canadian officials, government bodies, and military forces. (Full article...)
Mundus alter et idem is a
satiricaldystopian novel written by
Joseph Hall
c. 1605. In the novel, the narrator takes a voyage in the ship Fantasia, in the southern seas, visiting the lands of Crapulia, Viraginia, Moronia and Lavernia (populated by gluttons, nags, fools and thieves, respectively). Hall’s map of the novel was written when he was a student at the
University of Cambridge in 1607. It "is the first known example of a satirical atlas that was moralistic." Hall was born 450 years ago today on July 1st, 1574.
Oh, right. I didn't realise an article could only be featured once a year. If that's the case, I'd prefer to feature International Criminal Court on
1 July next year. 11 March 2003 was the date the court held its first session but 1 July 2002 is hugely significant: it's the date the ICC officially came into existence, and the court can only prosecute crimes committed on or after that date. Maybe we could feature Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on
17 July, the date the treaty was adopted in 1998.
Sideshow Bob Roberts (
talk) 18:24, 13 March 2008 (UTC)reply
Tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of the death of Rabbi
Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the chabad rebbe. There have been a number of books and biographies published recently in connection with the anniversary as well as media coverage and book reviews, etc. (one of the books made it to the top 15 on amazon and the NYT bestsellers list). They are expecting at least 50000 people tomorrow visiting his grave in queens.
I've never done this before so I don't know the guidelines or how to put it up, if anyone can help it would be greatly appreciated.
Just to note: it is the Jewish date of the anniversary, which corrosponds this year to July 1st, not every year is it the same date.
Westminster Assembly is the featured article this July 1. According to
WP:OTD, shouldn't it be removed from OTD in that case?
Spike (
talk) 15:06, 28 June 2018 (UTC)reply
I have just now looked at the histories of the Selected Anniversaries pages and have seen that they are normally updated one or two days before they go live. So, I assume this change would have been made in the next days even without my comment. So, I'm sorry that my original comment implied some kind of error on the editors' side.
Spike (
talk) 15:25, 28 June 2018 (UTC)reply
On July 1, you marked the birthday of Diana, Princess of Wales. However, the bulletin said Princess Diana, which is incorrect. Why was this error made? CookieMonster755✉ 05:46, 9 July 2018 (UTC)reply