Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/January 15

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This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/January 15.

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 January 15 article, see Talk:January 15 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 January 15, 2025
Wikipedia:Today's featured article/January 15, 2025 create – talk – watch
Picture of the day for January 15, 2025
The featured picture for this day has not yet been chosen. In general, pictures of the day are scheduled in order of promotion to featured status. See Wikipedia:Picture of the day/Guidelines for full guidelines. create

← Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/January 14 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/January 16 →

Please add John Chilembwe Day in Malawi. Thanks. -- 199.71.174.100 04:43, 15 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia Day

Surely Wikipedia Day should be mentioned on the front page! User:Mdiamante, midnight PST 1/15/007

Agreed. Jon Ace ^T ^C 20:58, 15 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Korean Alphabet Day

Do you think that perhaps the North Korean Korean Alphabet Day (Chosŏn'gŭllal) should be added?

It currently does not have its own article, but shares one with the South Korean Hangul Day (October 9), which is not a public holiday; I do not know whether January 15 is a holiday in North Korea.

While listing it here would provide better balance compared to including the South Korean day while omitting its North Korean equivalent, it would go against “Ideally, any particular selected article should only be listed once”. Wikipeditor 14:50, 24 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Easter shows up once for Western Christianity, once for Eastern Christianity. So showing Hangul Day once for North Korea and once for South Korea is perfectly alright. BTW, Mother's Day shows up several times as it's celebrated on a different date in different countries. -- PFHLai 16:10, 28 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. Wikipeditor 20:27, 1 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Coronation of Elizabeth I of England

Though Elizabeth I of England ascended the throne on November 17, 1558, she was crowned January 15, 1559. Her accession is indeed listed on the appropriate date; I think she might (still) popular enought to warrant listing her coronation, too. — AnnaKucsma (Talk to me!) 16:20, 17 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Birth of Molière

January 15, 1622 was the date Molière was baptized- not the date of his birth. Should this be changed?

Source: Reisman, Rosemary M. Canfield. “Molière.” Great Lives from History: the 17th Century. 2006 ed.

random "apply"

Why does the word "apply" randomly appear in the {{SelAnnivFooter}} line? Can an admin remove it. Thanks -- AJR | Talk 00:31, 25 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed; looking at the page history, it seems to have been added in error. Should be fixed, now. Luna Santin 02:39, 25 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Ooops. Thanks for fixing my careless typo. --PFHLai 03:17, 14 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Holidays in 2007

Looks like a lot of holidays/observances are going to fall on this day on 2007. Not only the three that are normally on this day, but also Martin Luther King Day and Pongal will be here in 2007. Since they are all significant in one way or another around the globe, I am hesitant to follow the SA guidelines' 3 holidays/observances limit and remove one or two. Zzyzx11 (Talk) 00:32, 10 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Good call, Zzyzx11. You have my support on this case of WP:IAR. --PFHLai 03:19, 14 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I've hidden Jallikattu for now. If today in Pongal, it can't also be Jallikattu, the third day of the Pongal celebrations according to the Pongal article. --PFHLai 23:22, 14 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

ΑΚΑ clarification

The text about ΑΚΑ’s founding implies that they were the first sorority to use Greek letters; the article makes it clearer that they were the first Greek-letter sorority founded by African-American women. The item could be clearer, perhaps, “the first African-American-founded Greek-lettered sorority…” —crism (talk) 00:23, 15 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

2009 holidays

Pongal (Tamils, 2009) falls on Jan 14 and not on Jan 15. Please correct. Thanks.--Kanags (talk) 11:33, 14 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

2012 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Super Bowl I (maintenance), Dennis Rader (maintenance)
New articles (unused): Buffalo Bill Dam
Omitted: USS President (1800)/Capture of USS President, Wilson Bentley, Victoria Cross for Australia, Račak massacre (ineligible—maintenance), US Airways Flight 1549
Included: British Museum (first appearance), Boston Molasses Disaster (3rd appearance, last in 2009), Second Battle of the Corunna Road (first appearance), Alvor Agreement/Angolan War of Independence (first appearance for both), Salvatore Riina (4th appearance, last in 2010)

—howcheng {chat} 06:43, 14 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2013 notes

Omitted: Boston Molasses Disaster; Second Battle of the Corunna Road; Alvor Agreement/Angolan War of Independence
Included: Buffalo Bill Dam (first appearance); The Pentagon (7th appearance, last in 2010; 70th anniversary); Victoria Cross for Australia (2nd appearance, last in 2011)
Repeats: British Museum (2nd consecutive appearance, 8 total); Salvatore Riina (2nd consecutive appearance, 5 total; 20th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 06:57, 14 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2014 notes

Omitted: Armed Forces Day (ineligible—maintenance); British Museum; Buffalo Bill Dam; The Pentagon; Victoria Cross for Australia; Salvatore Riina
Included: Vermont Republic (3rd appearance, last in 2010); Wilson Bentley (6th appearance, last in 2011); Second Battle of the Corunna Road (2nd appearance, last in 2012); Alvor Agreement/Angolan War of Independence (both: 2nd appearance, last in 2012); Hill Street Station (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 04:17, 14 January 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2015 notes

Omitted: Vermont Republic; Wilson Bentley; Hill Street Station
Included: USS President (1800)/Capture of USS President (both: 2nd appearance, last in 2011; 200th anniversary); Second Battle of Fort Fisher (first appearance; 150th anniversary); Victoria Cross for Australia (2nd appearance, last in 2013)
Repeats: Second Battle of the Corunna Road (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total); Alvor Agreement/Angolan War of Independence (both: 2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total; 40th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 08:59, 13 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

2016 notes

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Super Bowl I; Dennis Rader
Omitted: Second Battle of Fort Fisher; Second Battle of the Corunna Road; Alvor Agreement/Angolan War of Independence; Victoria Cross for Australia
Included: British Museum (9th appearance, last in 2013); Our Lady of Banneux (first appearance); Ilse Koch (first appearance); US Airways Flight 1549 (2nd appearance, last in 2011)
Repeats: USS President (1800)/Capture of USS President (both: 2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total)

—howcheng {chat} 11:32, 13 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

2017 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Wilson Bentley (maintenance); Dennis Rader (maintenance); Salvatore Riina (maintenance)
Omitted: Capture of USS President; Our Lady of Banneux; Ilse Koch; US Airways Flight 1549
Included: Second Battle of Fort Fisher (2nd appearance, last in 2015); Second Battle of the Corunna Road (4th appearance, last in 2015; 80th anniversary); Super Bowl I (4th appearance, last in 2007; 50th anniversary); Victoria Cross for Australia (3rd appearance, last in 2015)
Repeats: British Museum (2nd consecutive appearance, 10 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:25, 15 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2018 notes

Moved to Ineligible: The Pentagon (maintenance)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Black Dahlia; Dennis Rader
Omitted: Hangul Day (ineligible—maintenance); British Museum (ineligible—maintenance); Second Battle of Fort Fisher; Second Battle of the Corunna Road; Super Bowl I; Victoria Cross for Australia
Included: Wilson Bentley (7th appearance, last in 2014; rescued from Ineligible); 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake (first appearance); Ilse Koch (2nd appearance, last in 2016); Derveni papyrus (first appearance); Alvor Agreement (7th appearance, last in 2015; blurb also previously featured Angolan War of Independence, which is currently ineligible); Wang Jingchong (Five Dynasties) (first appearance); Marjorie Fleming (first appearance); Millie Knight (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 04:25, 15 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2019 notes

Omitted: Wilson Bentley; 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake; Ilse Koch; Derveni papyrus; Alvor Agreement (ineligible—maintenance); Wang Jingchong (Five Dynasties); Marjorie Fleming; Millie Knight
Included: Great Molasses Flood (4th appearance, last in 2012; 100th anniversary); Our Lady of Banneux (2nd appearance, last in 2016); Victoria Cross for Australia (5th appearance, last in 2017); US Airways Flight 1549 (3rd appearance, last in 2016; 10th anniversary); Theophylact (son of Michael I) (first appearance); Peter Christen Asbjørnsen (first appearance); Ben Shapiro (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 17:17, 15 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

2020 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Vermont Republic (maintenance)
New articles (ineligible): Makar Sankranti (maintenance)
Omitted: Great Molasses Flood; Our Lady of Banneux; Victoria Cross for Australia; US Airways Flight 1549; Theophylact (son of Michael I); Peter Christen Asbjørnsen; Ben Shapiro
Included: Second Battle of Fort Fisher (3rd appearance, last in 2017); Wilson Bentley (8th appearance, last in 2018); Black Dahlia (first appearance); Alvor Agreement (5th appearance, last in 2018; rescued from Ineligible); Salvatore Riina (6th appearance, last in 2013; rescued from Ineligible); Philip Livingston (first appearance); Friedrich Parrot (first appearance); Sylvia Lawler (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 17:17, 16 January 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Adding the Birth of MLK

Martin Luther King, Jr. is now elgible to be added as a birth anniversary, would anyone object to adding him? P,TO 19104 (talk) (contribs) 22:12, 11 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]

2021 notes

New articles (ineligible): Afonso V of Portugal (maintenance)
Omitted: Second Battle of Fort Fisher; Wilson Bentley; Black Dahlia; Alvor Agreement; Salvatore Riina (ineligible—maintenance); Philip Livingston; Friedrich Parrot; Sylvia Lawler
Included: Regent's Park skating disaster (first appearance); 1934 Nepal–India earthquake (2nd appearance, last in 2018); Ilse Koch (3rd appearance, last in 2018; 70th anniversary); Hill Street Station (2nd appearance, last in 2014; 40th anniversary); Victoria Cross for Australia (5th appearance, last in 2019; 30th anniversary); Wang Jingchong (Five Dynasties) (2nd appearance, last in 2018); Martin Luther King Jr. (4th appearance, last in 2007; previously appeared on April 4); Regina Margareten (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 19:28, 16 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]

2022 notes

Omitted: Regent's Park skating disaster; 1934 Nepal–India earthquake; Ilse Koch; Hill Street Station; Victoria Cross for Australia; Wang Jingchong (Five Dynasties); Martin Luther King Jr.; Regina Margareten
Included: USS President (1800) (4th appearance, last in 2016); Second Battle of the Corunna Road (5th appearance, last in 2017); Black Dahlia (2nd appearance, last in 2020; 75th anniversary); Derveni papyrus (2nd appearance, last in 2018; 60th anniversary); Alvor Agreement (6th appearance, last in 2020); Wilhelm Marx (first appearance); Sylvia Lawler (2nd appearance, last in 2020; 100th birthday); Bo Yibo (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 00:24, 16 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]