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 4 article, see
Talk:July 4 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.
In this 1780 portrait of George Washington by
John Trumbull,
Washington is shown standing on a bluff above the Hudson River with his enslaved personal servant,
William "Billy" Lee, on horseback behind him. The view across the river encompasses
West Point, New York, with a red-and-white banner, possibly the
Navy ensign adopted in 1775, flying atop the fortress. Trumbull had served on Washington’s staff as an
aide-de-camp early in the
Revolutionary War. He painted this portrait from memory about five years later, when he was studying in
London. It was the first authoritative representation of Washington available in Europe and was soon copied throughout the continent.
Removed Deep Impact for severe image abuse, and re-added
Battle of Klushino, which looked like the highest-quality article in the eligible slots (article quality should be the barometer here, not how often they appeared 365 days ago; readers won't remember them).
Ed[talk][majestic titan] 04:05, 4 July 2013 (UTC)reply
That one has the GA mark on it, so quality (as advertised) was indeed taken into account in that case. —howcheng {
chat} 05:40, 4 July 2013 (UTC)reply
No worries, it's an ancient GA in Wikipedia terms, but a GA nonetheless. :-)
Ed[talk][majestic titan] 05:54, 4 July 2013 (UTC)reply
One other note: if you swap out the blurb that goes with the image, don't forget to change the image as well. —howcheng {
chat} 06:56, 4 July 2013 (UTC)reply