WIKIPEDIA TALK:SELECTED ANNIVERSARIES JULY 21

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This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/July 21.

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 21 article, see Talk:July 21 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?

A2: The short, basic reason is the systemic bias of Wikipedia. There are not enough good, well-written articles on 19th-century and earlier events for all 365 days in the year. Currently, a majority of users seem to be generally more interested in writing articles about recent events. If you would like to further help mitigate the systemic bias in Wikipedia, see Wikipedia:WikiProject Countering systemic bias.

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 21, 2024

Ernest Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that significantly influenced later 20th-century writers, he is often romanticized for his adventurous lifestyle, and outspoken and blunt public image. Most of Hemingway's works were published between the mid-1920s and mid-1950s; these included seven novels, six short-story collections and two non-fiction works. His debut novel The Sun Also Rises was published in 1926. His wartime experiences as an ambulance driver on the Italian Front in World War I formed the basis for his 1929 novel A Farewell to Arms, and he drew on his experience as a journalist in the Spanish Civil War for his 1940 novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. Hemingway was with Allied troops as a journalist at the Normandy landings and the liberation of Paris. He was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature. ( Full article...)

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Picture of the day for July 21, 2024

Frances Cleveland (July 21, 1864 – October 29, 1947) was the first lady of the United States from 1886 to 1889 and again from 1893 to 1897, as the wife of President Grover Cleveland. She met him while an infant, as he was a friend, and later the executor, of her father, Oscar Folsom. Grover settled Oscar's debts and provided for Frances. She graduated from Wells College, then married Grover while he was president. When he lost reelection in 1888, they went into private life for four years, returning when he was elected again in 1892. Much of her time during Grover's second term was dedicated to their children. They had five; four survived to adulthood. Frances Cleveland served on the Wells College board, supported women's education, and organized kindergartens. Grover died in 1908, and she married Thomas J. Preston Jr. in 1913. During World War I, she advocated military preparedness. She died in 1947 and was buried alongside Grover Cleveland in Princeton Cemetery. This portrait photograph of Frances Cleveland was taken in 1886.

Photograph credit: Charles Milton Bell; restored by Adam Cuerden

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← Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/July 20 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/July 22 →

1579 - Our Lady of Kazan, a holy icon of the Russian Orthodox Church, was discovered underground in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan.

The Our Lady of Kazan article now says July 8, not July 21 anymore. But I guess we can mention the feast day in the Russian Orthodox Church. -- PFHLai 18:06, 19 July 2006 (UTC) reply

Neil Armstrong and Apollo 11

some guy's birthday as an 'on this day' top line?!?!?!?!

How on earth did the "Centennial of the birth of Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan" make it onto the first line of the "On this day" on the english wikipedia main page?!?! Since when are people's birthdays put there at all? But of all the people in history, why such an obscure figure as Marshall McLuhan. Just because some guy ( Tvoz) likes him? How did the editors let this one go through?!?! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 18.98.5.238 ( talk) 22:11, 22 July 2011 (UTC) reply

2012 notes

Omitted: 365 Crete earthquake; Wild Bill Hickok – Davis Tutt shootout; Geneva Conference (1954); Neil Armstrong/ Buzz Aldrin; Aswan Dam (ineligible—maintenance); Bloody Friday (1972)
Included: Temple of Artemis (5th appearance, last in 2010); Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) (first appearance; rescued from Ineligible); First Battle of Bull Run (5th appearance, last in 2007); Scopes Trial (4th appearance, last in 2010); Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (first appearance)

— howcheng { chat} 05:51, 20 July 2012 (UTC) reply

2013 notes

Omitted: Temple of Artemis; Russo-Turkish War (1768–74); First Battle of Bull Run; Scopes Trial; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Included: 365 Crete earthquake (2nd appearance, last in 2011); Queue (first appearance); Wild Bill Hickok – Davis Tutt shootout (2nd appearance, last in 2011); Lillehammer affair (first appearance); Libyan–Egyptian War (2nd appearance, last in 2009)

— howcheng { chat} 03:13, 20 July 2013 (UTC) reply

2014 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Neil Armstrong/ Buzz Aldrin ( Apollo 11 was POTD for 2014)
New articles (unused): Erden Eruç
Omitted: 365 Crete earthquake; Wild Bill Hickok – Davis Tutt shootout; Lillehammer affair; Libyan–Egyptian War
Included: Belgian National Day (first appearance); Pope Pontian (first appearance); Russo-Turkish War (1768–74) (2nd appearance, last in 2012); Battle of Guam (1944) (3rd appearance, last in 2010; rescued from Ineligible; 70th anniversary); Aswan Dam (5th appearance, last in 2011; rescued from Ineligible)
Repeats: Queue (hairstyle) (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

— howcheng { chat} 09:29, 20 July 2014 (UTC) reply

2015 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Libyan–Egyptian War (maintenance)
Omitted: Pope Pontian; Queue (hairstyle) (ineligible—maintenance); Russo-Turkish War (1768–74); Battle of Guam (1944) (ineligible—maintenance); Aswan Dam
Included: Temple of Artemis (6th appearance, last in 2012); Leopold I of Belgium (7th appearance, last in 2010; rescued from Ineligible); Wild Bill Hickok – Davis Tutt shootout (3rd appearance, last in 2013; 150th anniversary); Scopes Trial (5th appearance, last in 2012; 90th anniversary); Third Taiwan Strait Crisis (4th appearance, last in 2010; rescued from Ineligible)