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 May 1 article, see Talk:May 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 May 1, 2024
Handbook cover
La Salute è in voi! ("Health/Salvation is in you!") was an early 1900s bomb-making handbook associated with the Galleanisti, followers of anarchistLuigi Galleani, particularly in the United States. The anonymously written, Italian-language handbook repackaged technical content from encyclopedias and applied chemistry books into plain directions for non-technical amateurs to build explosives. It wrapped this content in a political manifesto advocating for impoverished workers to overcome their despair and commit to individual, revolutionary acts. American police and historians used the handbook to profile anarchists and imply guilt by possession. It figured prominently in the prosecution of the Bresci Circle, a case that revolved around the anarchists' right to read. Successful political bombers of this era ultimately had career backgrounds in explosives and were not the self-taught amateurs the handbook sought to create. (Full article...)
The Rock Springs massacre occurred in 1885 in the present-day United States city of Rock Springs, Wyoming. The riot, and resulting massacre of immigrant Chinese miners by white immigrant miners, was the result of racial prejudice toward the Chinese miners, who were perceived to be taking jobs from the white miners. The Union Pacific Coal Department found it economically beneficial to give preference in hiring to Chinese miners, who were willing to work for lower wages than their white counterparts, angering the white miners. When the rioting ended, at least 28 Chinese miners were dead and 15 were injured. Rioters burned 78 Chinese homes, resulting in approximately $150,000 in property damage (equal to $5.09 million in 2020 terms). The massacre in Rock Springs touched off a wave of anti-Chinese violence, especially in the Puget Sound area of Washington Territory.
Shouldn't May Day maybe come first? It's a lot more international in scope.--Pharos 23:02, 30 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I fully agree. --Soman 21:04, 3 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]
May Day a.k.a. Labour Day or International Workers Day is the most prominent worldwide event of the day. This should come first. Linhart.stephen (talk) 16:58, 1 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
(begins at sunset the previous day). It needs to be moved to May 1 as the Israeli government advanced it one day this year due to it's adjacency to the Jewish Sabbath.[1] (it doesn't say the reason for it at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs but they, and everywhere else, mark the day this year as the 26th of Nisan, sunset April 30-May 1). Thanks, Valley2city 16:41, 30 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Hello @Howcheng:, this year (2015), the birthday of Ali which is of a great importance for both shia and sunni muslims, coincides with the 1 of May, based on this link. Please consider that his birthday is not based on Georgian calendar it changes from year to year. How can we include it here in "on this day"? Mhhossein (talk) 12:47, 26 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
@Mhhossein:: First of all, the article is currently ineligible to be listed due to the ((external links)) template at the bottom. Secondly, it is already listed on WP:Selected anniversaries/January 27. As the rules state, an article may only be featured once per year, so if we were to include the article on his birthday annually, we would have to remove it from the other day. Which is fine, and I don't mind doing that, as long as you understand how this works. Thanks. —howcheng {chat} 07:12, 27 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]
Shouldn't International Workers' Day be mentioned maybe? There are three holidays or festivals in specific countries mentioned, but International Workers' Day is observed all over the world and an official public holiday in most of the world! (see the little map in the article!). On top of that the Loyalty Day mentioned in the USA that is included is, according to its article, only some ploy to prevent International Workers' Day from being celebrated. It isn't a holiday and doesn't seem to have any widespread traditions associated with it. --83.128.131.207 (talk) 09:54, 1 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]
In the past year, the consensus has been to begin ensuring that articles featured in OTD are of high quality. We have taken out a number of high-profile holidays/observances, including Mother's Day, Father's Day, and a number of major religious holidays including Passover and Easter. Nobody is targeting International Worker's Day specifically. @El C: Two of the faults that you mentioned (((cn)) tag in the lead and the malformed reference) are not enough to disqualify the article from appearing. The section that you identify has having no references does in fact have a reference to the law itself as an external link instead of footnote. However, one could make the argument that because Loyalty Day was created specifically in opposition to Int'l Workers Day, it doesn't make sense to include it if the thing it opposes also omitted, so I'm fine with taking that out. —howcheng {chat} 16:39, 1 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]