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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.
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 September 30, 2024
James Meredith (center) being escorted to class after the riot
The Ole Miss riot of 1962 was a violent disturbance at the University of Mississippi—commonly called Ole Miss—in Oxford, Mississippi, as Segregationist rioters sought to prevent the enrollment of an African American applicant, James Meredith. In the wake of the Supreme Court's 1954 decision Brown v. Board of Education, Meredith applied to Ole Miss in 1961. His admission was delayed and obstructed, including by Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett. Barnett even had Meredith temporarily jailed. Multiple attempts by Meredith, accompanied by federal officials, to enroll were physically blocked. A riot erupted on campus when a mob assaulted reporters and federal officers, burned and looted property, and hijacked vehicles. Two civilians were murdered and 160 marshals were injured, including 28 who received gunshot wounds. Kennedy invoked the Insurrection Act of 1807, mobilized more than 30,000 troops, and quelled the riot. A statue of James Meredith on campus commemorates the event. (Full article...)
The Dewey Arch was a triumphal arch in Madison Square, New York City, United States, which was erected for a parade on September 30, 1899, in honor of Admiral George Dewey, celebrating his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay in the Philippines the previous year. Constructed in around two months before the parade, the arch was made of the plaster-based material staff, typically used in temporary buildings. After the parade, the arch began to deteriorate and it was demolished in 1900 after an attempt to raise money to rebuild it in stone was unsuccessful. The arch's larger sculptures were sent to Charleston, South Carolina, for an exhibit, after which they were either destroyed or lost.
According to the respective articles, the Duchy of Lancaster was merged into the crown in 1413, when Henry V became king of England. Which year was it, 1399 or 1413? /Ludde23TalkContrib08:25, 30 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Both. The Duke of Lancaster currently reads that "There were three creations of the Dukedom of Lancaster..."
"...Later that same year [1399], the 2nd Duke usurped the throne of England from Richard II, ascending the throne as Henry IV, at which point the Dukedom merged in the Crown."
"The third creation was on 10 November 1399 ... When the 1st Duke ascended the throne as King Henry V in 1413, the Dukedom merged in the crown again.
So the blurb is technically correct. The Duchy was merged when Henry IV became King in 1399, but was re-created about a couple of months later, and then merged back again in 1413. Zzyzx11(Talk)09:27, 30 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Whoops. That's exactly what I meant. And I see that somebody has added it, which is great. Also, it is perhaps worthy to note that it lasts for three days. And "beginning of Eid ul-Fitr" sound somewhat strange. Maybe "first day of Eid ul-Fitr" would be better? --83.226.64.212 (talk) 19:22, 30 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]
Included: Battle of the Baggage (2nd appearance, last in 2012); MTR (2nd appearance, last in 2011); Giant squid (2nd appearance, last in 2011; 10th anniversary)
So I'll just say it: What the fuck is that and how is it relevant? Could I also make up a bullshit yearly celebration and come here and post it and you guys will accept it? This is offensive to religious people as it is to me, so what if my bullshit celebration satirized or made fun of a minority such as homosexuals? It would still make it to the front page if it was funny enough? How is it ok to criticize a majority but not a minority they have a special license or what? I know Wikipedia has never been very serious, with articles about unknown Japanese cartoons and what not but Blasphemy is completely irrelevant and ridiculous, just leave it blank if you don't have any legitimate anniversary.
@Howcheng:Rosh Hashanah and Blasphemy Day coincide this year. I think it looks kinda funny to see the two in one line in OTD. Regardless, Blasphemy day is of waning importance. A google search limited to the last year - and discounting results from CFI (the organization which created it) - brings up a significant mention from newsweek and not much else. Doesn't seem to have much impact anymore, certainly not outside the US and Canada. Can it be removed this year? Hydromania (talk) 17:48, 24 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]
1139 Ganja earthquake - Hi Vaticidalprophet, firstly, thanks so much for your work. I just checked this entry for tomorrow. The date for this earthquake is was not cited. I could not find the date in lede, or anywhere in prose actually. The only place I could see it was in the infobox.
I had a quick look in refs. First I checked was FN 2 Earthquake.usgs.gov (now FN 3), used in lede, but cannot see this quake mentioned in there? Found a date mentioned in FN 17 Ambraseys (now FN 1) so have added it to the date in infobox.
Also the estimated death toll in article has a range of 230,000 to 300,000, whereas OTD item has "killing an estimated 300,000 people." I think that should be changed to either the range or 'up to' 300,000 people or similar. Ravenpuff, I usually agree with (and very much appreciate) 99% of your tweaks but this one seems odd?