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.

• 1607 - The JamestownSettlement is established in Virginia
• 1787 - In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, delegates begin to meet to write a new Constitution for the United States.
• 1948 - Israel declares itself to be an independent state and a provisional government is established.
• 1955 - Cold War: Eight communist bloc countries including the Soviet Union sign a mutual-defense treaty called the Warsaw Pact.
• 1961 - American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders bus is fire-bombed near Anniston, Alabama and the civil rights protestors are beaten by an angry mob.
• 1973 - Skylab, the United States' first space station, is launched.
• 1995 - Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama proclaims 6-year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the eleventh reincarnation of the Panchen Lama.

The Paraguy flag day isn't mentioned at Paraguay or May 14. At Flag Day it's listed at "August 14" but that article has no references. -- Jeandré, 2007-05-19 t18:11z

August not May according to ^{[1] [2]} (thanks Lambiam). -- Jeandré, 2007-05-21 t21:01z

• Omitted: Mise of Lewes; Lina Medina; Talyllyn Railway; Skylab
• Included: Constitutional Convention (United States) (first appearance); AHS Centaur (2nd appearance, last in 2010); Israeli Declaration of Independence (6th appearance, last in 2010)
• Repeats: Battle of Utsunomiya Castle (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total); Warsaw Pact (2nd consecutive appearance, 8 total)

— howcheng { chat} 05:36, 13 May 2012 (UTC) reply

• New articles (ineligible): Carrollton, Kentucky bus collision (maintenance)
• Omitted: Constitutional Convention (United States); Israeli Declaration of Independence; Warsaw Pact (ineligible—maintenance)
• Included: Edward Jenner (6th appearance, last in 2009; rescued from Ineligible); Lewis and Clark Expedition (9th appearance, last in 2009; rescued from Ineligible); Mrs Dalloway (first appearance); Skylab (6th appearance, last in 2011; 40th anniversary)
• Repeats: Battle of Utsunomiya Castle (3rd consecutive appearance, 3 total); AHS Centaur (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total; 70th anniversary)

— howcheng { chat} 06:26, 13 May 2013 (UTC) reply

• Moved to Ineligible: AHS Centaur ( TFA for 2014)
• Omitted: Lewis and Clark Expedition; Battle of Utsunomiya Castle; Mrs Dalloway; Skylab
• Included: Mise of Lewes (3rd appearance, last in 2011; 750th anniversary); Jamestown, Virginia (first appearance; rescued from Ineligible); Rockefeller Foundation (first appearance); Israeli Declaration of Independence (7th appearance, last in 2012)
• Repeats: Edward Jenner (2nd consecutive appearance, 7 total)

— howcheng { chat} 07:54, 13 May 2014 (UTC) reply

• Rescued from Ineligible (unused): AHS Centaur
• Moved to Ineligible: Mrs Dalloway (maintenance)
• Omitted: Jamestown, Virginia; Edward Jenner (ineligible—maintenance); Rockefeller Foundation; Israeli Declaration of Independence
• Included: Constitutional Convention (United States) (2nd appearance, last in 2012); Ådalen shootings (first appearance); Battle of the Netherlands (first appearance; 75th anniversary); Freedom Riders (first appearance)
• Repeats: Mise of Lewes (2nd consecutive appearance, 4 total)

— howcheng { chat} 10:39, 12 May 2015 (UTC) reply

• Omitted: Mise of Lewes; Constitutional Convention (United States); Ådalen shootings; Battle of the Netherlands; Freedom Riders
• Included: Battle of Agnadello (first appearance; rescued from Ineligible); Edward Jenner (8th appearance, last in 2014; rescued from Ineligible); Battle of Utsunomiya Castle (4th appearance, last in 2013); AHS Centaur (3rd appearance, last in 2012); Skylab (7th appearance, last in 2013)

— howcheng { chat} 15:58, 13 May 2016 (UTC) reply

• Moved to Ineligible: Jamestown, Virginia (maintenance); Rockefeller Foundation (maintenance); Lina Medina (maintenance); Freedom Riders (maintenance)
• Omitted: Battle of Agnadello (ineligible—maintenance); Battle of Utsunomiya Castle; AHS Centaur; Skylab (ineligible—maintenance)
• Included: Mise of Lewes (5th appearance, last in 2015); Salem witchcraft trial (1878) (first appearance); Ådalen shootings (2nd appearance, last in 2015); Battle of the Netherlands (2nd appearance, last in 2015); Mary Seacole (first appearance); Charlotte Auerbach (first appearance); Marjory Stoneman Douglas (first appearance)
• Repeats: Edward Jenner (2nd consecutive appearance, 9 total)

— howcheng { chat} 17:43, 15 May 2017 (UTC) reply

• Moved to Ineligible: Lewis and Clark Expedition (maintenance)
• Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Lina Medina
• Omitted: Mo Chutu of Lismore (moved to May 15); Edward Jenner; Salem witchcraft trial (1878); Ådalen shootings; Battle of the Netherlands; Mary Seacole; Charlotte Auerbach
• Included: Battle of Utsunomiya Castle (5th appearance, last in 2016; 150th anniversary); AHS Centaur (4th appearance, last in 2016; 75th anniversary); Israeli Declaration of Independence (8th appearance, last in 2014; 70th anniversary); Skylab (8th appearance, last in 2016; rescued from Ineligible); Sambhaji (first appearance); Fanny Imlay (first appearance)
• Repeats: Mise of Lewes (2nd consecutive appearance, 6 total); Marjory Stoneman Douglas (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 20th anniversary)

— howcheng { chat} 16:04, 14 May 2018 (UTC) reply

• Deleted: Constitutional Convention (United States) (moved to May 25)
• Omitted: AHS Centaur; Israeli Declaration of Independence; Sambhaji (ineligible—maintenance); Fanny Imlay; Marjory Stoneman Douglas
• Included: Lina Medina (2nd appearance, last in 2011; 80th anniversary); Sumpul River massacre (first appearance); William Walcher (first appearance); Fanny Mendelssohn (first appearance); George Lucas (first appearance)
• Repeats: Battle of Lewes/ Mise of Lewes (Battle: 3rd appearance, last in 2008, was previously ineligible; Mise: 2nd consecutive appearance, 9 total); Battle of Utsunomiya Castle (2nd consecutive appearance, 6 total); Skylab (2nd consecutive appearance, 9 total)

— howcheng { chat} 15:50, 14 May 2019 (UTC) reply

I've restored Talyllyn Railway to this page from Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/July 5. It shouldn't be used in 2020 since it will be less than one year since it was last on the main page, but hopefully can be selected for the 70th anniversary in 2021. — O Still Small Voice of Clam 16:59, 11 October 2019 (UTC) reply

• New articles (unused): Talyllyn Railway (moved from July 5); Two-minute silence; Lysander Spooner; Lawrence Weathers
• Omitted: Battle of Lewes/ Mise of Lewes; Battle of Utsunomiya Castle; Lina Medina; Skylab; William Walcher; Fanny Mendelssohn; George Lucas
• Included: Edward Jenner (10th appearance, last in 2017); Lewis and Clark Expedition (10th appearance, last in 2013; rescued from Ineligible); Battle of the Netherlands (3rd appearance, last in 2017; 80th anniversary); Hans Joachim von Zieten (first appearance); Magnus Hirschfeld (first appearance); Cate Blanchett (first appearance)
• Repeats: Sumpul River massacre (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 40th anniversary)

— howcheng { chat} 16:50, 15 May 2020 (UTC) reply

• Omitted: Edward Jenner; Lewis and Clark Expedition; Battle of the Netherlands; Hans Joachim von Zieten; Magnus Hirschfeld; Cate Blanchett
• Included: Salem witchcraft trial (1878) (2nd appearance, last in 2017); Two-minute silence (first appearance); Ådalen shootings (3rd appearance, last in 2017); Talyllyn Railway (5th appearance, last in 2019; 70th anniversary); Fanny Imlay (2nd appearance, last in 2018); Lysander Spooner (first appearance); Lucrezia Bori (first appearance)
• Repeats: Sumpul River massacre (3rd consecutive appearance, 3 total)

— howcheng { chat} 18:50, 15 May 2021 (UTC) reply

• Omitted: Salem witchcraft trial (1878); Ådalen shootings; Talyllyn Railway; Sumpul River massacre; Fanny Imlay; Lysander Spooner; Lucrezia Bori
• Included: Battle of Lewes/ Mise of Lewes (Battle: 4th appearance; Mise: 8th; both last in 2019); United States Camel Corps (2nd appearance, last in 2013); Lina Medina (3rd appearance, last in 2019); 2008 UEFA Cup Final riots (first appearance); Pope John XII (first appearance); Ants Kurvits (first appearance); Christian B. Anfinsen (first appearance)
• Repeats: Two-minute silence (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

— howcheng { chat} 08:16, 15 May 2022 (UTC) reply