Wikipedia:Unsuccessful nominations for Today's Featured Article

This is an attempt to log and explain why some articles that were nominated at Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests were not selected. It currently contains all unsuccessful nominations from the start of Bencherlite's time as TFA delegate/coordinator (late November 2012) and a few earlier relevant discussions.

• Yellow (§) indicates that the article has run at TFA.
• Pink (†) indicates that the article has lost its FA status since nomination.
• Silver (‡) indicates that the article was ineligible because it was not a featured article, or had already appeared as TFA.

Date of TFAR nomination	Article	Note
September 19, 2012	Icelandic Phallological Museum (1st discussion) §	Requested for a non-specific date; as the principal author preferred waiting for Valentine's Day 2013, the request was withdrawn by the nominator. The second request for Valentine's Day was opposed (see below), and the article ran on a non-specific date (March 16, 2013) after a third nomination.
December 7, 2012	Stephen Hawking (1st discussion) †	Concerns about article quality – discussion closed with the comment "not scheduled – rewriting in progress, there is no deadline and no pressing need for this to appear as the TFA while such work is ongoing".
December 14, 2012	Hobey Baker (discussion) §	This was requested for January 15, 2013; a sports-related article had run the day before that, and Baker would have been the third US airman killed in battle to appear within 6 weeks, so it was not selected. Baker appeared on January 15, 2014 without a further nomination.
December 19, 2012	Douglas MacArthur (discussion) §	Nominated for the anniversary of his birth on January 26, 2013. Withdrawn by nominator after three editors expressed concerns about article quality issues. MacArthur appeared on January 26, 2014 (1 year later) after a further nomination.
January 2, 2013	Icelandic Phallological Museum (2nd discussion) §	Nominated for Valentine's Day 2013 but there was opposition to it appearing on that date, so the nominator/principal author withdrew the request. A counter-proposal that the article be saved for April Fools was opposed by the principal author and others. It eventually ran on a non-specific date (March 16, 2013) after a third nomination.
January 11, 2013	History of the National Hockey League (1917–42) (discussion) §	The nominator wanted this to coincide with the start of the 2013 NHL season, but that date had already been given to a previously nominated date-specific request, so the nomination was withdrawn. The article ran on November 22, 2014, without a further nomination.
January 13, 2013	Witold Lutosławski (discussion) ‡	Withdrawn by nominator; it had already appeared as TFA (in 2005) and a TFAR talk page discussion noted that the referencing was not up to current FA standards.
February 11, 2013	Representative peer (discussion) §	Article was already at FAR when nominated. Closed with the comment "remove representative peer, which is at FAR. If it survives FAR, I'll happily run it on the main page". After it kept its status at FAR, the article was TFA on June 14, 2013.
March 18, 2013	Bill Russell (discussion) §	Withdrawn by nominator – "save for a more opportune time"; after a further nomination, it ran as TFA on February 12, 2014 for Russell's 80th birthday.
March 19, 2013	John Le Mesurier (discussion) §	Withdrawn by nominator to leave the date open for Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, to mark the 150th anniversary of her birth. Le Mesurier ran, after a non-specific date nomination, on April 12, 2013.
March 26, 2013	Pipe Dream (musical) (discussion) §	Nominated shortly after Carmen and then the nominator/principal author indicated that he would be without internet access for a while; the article was TFA instead on July 9, 2013.
April 23, 2013	2009 New York Yankees season (discussion) ‡	Not a featured article, so ineligible.
April 26, 2013	Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars (discussion) §	Nominated for a non-specific date, but it was felt to be too close to a recent video game article; the article was TFA on October 13, 2013 after being renominated.
May 1, 2013	Sair Tjerita Siti Akbari (discussion) §	Nominated for a non-specific date, but the principal author and others preferred that it was saved for a later date; the article was TFA on July 18, 2013 after a further nomination.
May 10, 2013	Freedom for the Thought That We Hate (discussion) §	The view was expressed that it was a little too soon after a recent similar article; the article was renominated a few months later and was TFA on September 25, 2013.
May 13, 2013	Battle of Albuera (1st discussion)	Nominated for May 16, after that date had been requested for/given to another article (Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/Final Fantasy XI).
May 18, 2013	Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi (discussion) §	Nominator was happy to let another warship with a centennial anniversary run instead; Akagi was TFA on December 7, 2013.
June 2, 2013	John Y. Brown (politician, born 1835) (discussion) §	Nominated for the anniversary of his birth in 2013, but opposed on the basis that it would appear too soon (3 weeks) after another TFA about a Governor of Kentucky. It was successfully nominated for the anniversary of his birth in 2014 instead.
June 6, 2013	1987 (What the Fuck Is Going On?) (discussion)	Concerns about article quality, title, and proxmity to another music article.
June 21, 2013	London Necropolis Company (discussion)	Related discussion here
June 25, 2013	Central Coast Mariners FC (discussion) §	Withdrawn by principal author after concerns raised about article quality. It underwent a featured article review in 2014 and improvements to the article meant that it kept its featured status. It was TFA on December 16, 2014, without further nomination.
July 3, 2013	Monroe Doctrine Centennial half dollar (discussion)	Withdrawn by nominator before any comments were left
July 18, 2013	Today (The Smashing Pumpkins song) (discussion) §	Too close to another similar article; the article ran on July 18, 2014 after a further nomination.
July 21, 2013	Leningrad première of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 (discussion) §	Principal author preferred to save the article for the 75th anniversary, and another article had already been scheduled for the requested date. Article appeared on August 9, 2017 (the 75th anniversary).
July 25, 2013	Sholay (1st discussion) §	An Indian film, nominated for August 15, 2013; another film ran on August 13 and Priyanka Chopra, an Indian actress, ran on August 14, so this was not selected. It ran on March 8, 2014
August 12, 2013	Istanbul (1st discussion)	Scheduled as "option B" for September 8, 2013, as the day of the announcement of the host city for the 2020 Summer Olympics. It would have run if Istanbul had been successful, but as the Games went to Toyko, "option A" (SummerSlam (2003)) ran instead.
August 18, 2013	Dresden Triptych (discussion)	One of the article's main editors gave various reasons why the article should not appear at that time, and consensus was in favour of respecting this.
August 21, 2013	Australian Defence Force (discussion)§	Promoted to FA status in 2007; principal author noted that it needed updating, including incorporating comments from a recent peer review, so the article was not scheduled. May run in January 2018. Ran January 26, 2018
August 23, 2013	Diamonds (Rihanna song) (discussion) §	Consensus that it was too soon after the last Rihanna-related TFA
August 23, 2013	Isabeau of Bavaria (discussion) §	Primary author did not want the article to run at this time, and consensus was in favour of respecting this wish. Selected as TFA for March 24, 2015 without a further TFAR nomination.
August 24, 2013	Battle of Kaiapit (discussion) §	If selected, it would have been the third TFA in one month of a Japanese—American battle during World War Two.
September 27, 2013	Grace Sherwood (discussion) ‡	The decision (which was not without its critics) was that the reasons put forward for re-running this article at TFA were insufficient to justify such an exceptional course.
October 3, 2013	Witchfinder General (film) (1st discussion)	Nominated for Halloween, but lost out to Malkin Tower
November 13, 2013	Ian Johnson (cricketer) (discussion)	Plenty of cricket articles in 2013 already.
December 6, 2013	Stephen Hawking (2nd discussion) †	As with the 2012 nomination, there were concerns about article quality. After the article was nominated at TFAR, it was taken to featured article review so the nomination was closed. The article was subsequently demoted from FA status.
January 8, 2014	Sholay (2nd discussion) §	Other film articles nominated around the same time got more support. It ran on March 8, 2014
January 9, 2014	Dredd (discussion)	Other film articles nominated around the same time got more support.
February 21, 2014	St James' Church, Sydney (discussion) §	Nominated in February 2014 for Australia Day 2015, 11 months later (and TFAs are not scheduled so far in advance). It was later renominated for the feast-day of St James, and ran on July 25, 2014.
March 11, 2014	Pig-faced women (discussion)	Heavily-opposed suggestion for April Fools' Day; lost out to Disco Demolition Night
March 13, 2014	Only Fools and Horses (discussion) †	A further suggestion for April Fools' Day; lost out to Disco Demolition Night. Demoted at FAR in 2015.
March 13, 2014	SMS Kaiser (1911) (discussion) §	Also suggested for April Fools' Day; lost out to Disco Demolition Night; ran in March 2017
March 15, 2014	Rainbow trout (discussion) §	Another unsuccessful suggestion for April Fools' Day; lost out to Disco Demolition Night; it subsequently ran on January 23, 2015 without a further nomination.
March 16, 2014	Jenna Jameson (discussion) †	Concerns about article quality – after it was nominated, it was taken to featured article review so the nomination was closed. The article was subsequently demoted from FA status.
March 17, 2014	Pixies (discussion)	Suggested for April Fools' Day; lost out to Disco Demolition Night
March 20, 2014	Quehanna Wild Area (discussion)	Another unsuccessful suggestion for April Fools' Day; lost out to Disco Demolition Night
April 11, 2014	History of a Six Weeks' Tour (discussion) §	Nominated just after Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/Original Stories from Real Life, both intending to honour the memory of Wadewitz. Original Stories had much more support; Six Weeks' Tour ran as TFA on September 19, 2014.
April 14, 2014	Geology Hall (1st discussion)	Nominator / principal author of the article was blocked for sockpuppetry after starting the nomination, and there were concerns about the reliability of his work.
June 10, 2014	Ezra Pound (discussion)	"Closing as not scheduled, but (for the avoidance of doubt) without prejudice to renominating at a later date – no support for running at this time to mark a minor anniversary particularly in the unavoidable absence of one of the primary editors."
June 13, 2014	Speechless (Michael Jackson song) (discussion) §	It was nominated for June 25, 2014, but there had been two modern music TFAs within the preceding ten days and there was no support for a third. Ran as TFA on May 29, 2015, without a further TFAR nomination.
June 18, 2014	Woman (discussion) ‡	Not a featured article, so ineligible.
July 27, 2014	Mike Capel (discussion)	Nominated in July 2014 for an appearance in May 2015 – closed without prejudice to renomination nearer the time (TFAs are not scheduled that far in advance).
August 11, 2014	Grand Theft Auto V (discussion) §	Unsuccessful as the principal author preferred a later date and it was also felt by some to be too close to another video game TFA.
August 14, 2014	Football League Two play-offs (discussion) ‡	Not a featured article, so ineligible.
August 15, 2014	Anfield (discussion) §	Unsupported by time of closure (September 9, 2014) in circumstances where there had been two football TFAs since mid-August 2014. Ran as TFA on March 6, 2016, without a further TFAR nomination.
August 16, 2014	Derby County F.C. (discussion) ‡	Not a featured article, so ineligible.
September 3, 2014	HMS Royal Oak (08) (discussion)	Unresolved concerns about article quality
September 16, 2014	Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa (discussion) ‡	Not a featured article, so ineligible.
November 18, 2014	George B. McClellan (discussion)	"Too many articles about mid 19th-century US politics/history recently, besides which the article is an old FA and has been given the thumbs-down at User:Dweller/Featured Articles that haven't been on Main Page."
November 19, 2014	2013 Rosario gas explosion (discussion) §	Primary author preferred waiting for the anniversary of the event in 2015.
January 19, 2015	Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (discussion} §	Primary author preferred a later date and a chance to update the article before a further nomination
February 6, 2015	P. K. van der Byl (discussion) †	Fly-by nomination by uninvolved editor. Consensus that this old FA requires considerable work before it can be said to meet current FA standards
February 12, 2015	Jack Parsons (rocket engineer) (discussion) §	Lack of support for nominated date. One primary author indicated preference for a later date. Ran as TFA in October 2016.
February 13, 2015	Josh Hutcherson (discussion) §	Weak date relevance - congestion in film-related requests suggests TFA appearance should be postponed to later date, and it ran in March 2015.
February 17, 2015	Kareena Kapoor Khan (discussion) §	Nominated in February for an appearance in September, outside the timeframe within which TFAR operates.
March 9, 2015	The Mummy (1999 film) (discussion)	Nuisance nomination by uninvolved editor. Article requires considerable further work to meet current FA standards
March 16, 2015	William H. Seward‎ (discussion) §	Delegates concerned that the article was too similar to the Andrew Johnson article, which was run instead. Article ran in May 2019.
March 30, 2015	Toledo War‎ (discussion) §	Nominated for an already scheduled date, the article for which had been determined by discussion beforehand.
May 2, 2015	L'Arianna (discussion) §	Deferred in view of a 300-yr anniversary for a classical music article three days later. Ran in June 2015.
May 10, 2015	Hurricane Alex (2010) (discussion) ‡	Not featured at the time of nomination, nor was it at FAC.
July 3, 2015	Anna May Wong (discussion) ‡	Previously featured
July 5, 2015	Toontown Online (discussion) ‡	Not a featured article, not at FAC, not within date range for TFA nomination
July 8, 2015	Percy Grainger (discussion)	Date relevance not thought sufficient to justify another classical music article in view of recent similar noms
September 4, 2015	Enthiran (discussion)	Too many other film articles scheduled already
September 19, 2015	Cucurbita (discussion) §	Withdrawn at the request of main editors who request a relevant date
September 25, 2015	Geology Hall (2nd discussion)	Second nomination; issues with representation of sources
October 3, 2015	Gwen Stefani (discussion) §	Quality not sufficient for a TFA; numerous issues
October 24, 2015	Denbies (1st discussion)	Over-representation in this category, and primary author's non-availability
November 2, 2015	Warren G. Harding (discussion)	Date clash; main author conceded date to other article. On TFAP for Nov 2, 2017.
November 2, 2015	The Story of Miss Moppet (discussion)	Copyright issues
November 30, 2015	Scotland national football team (discussion) §	Prose and quality issues; ran in 2016
December 1, 2015	Frank Jenner (discussion)	No consensus to run
December 26, 2015	Guy Sebastian discography (discussion) (‡)	Featured list, not featured article
December 26, 2015	John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan (discussion) §	Concern over lack of inclusion of a recent book on the subject; TFA in December 2016
January 6, 2016	Super Columbine Massacre RPG! (discussion)	Controversial article: no consensus to run
January 1, 2016	Bristol (discussion) §	Concern over MOS compliance; ran on March 7 after a further nomination.
February 12, 2016	The Heart of a Woman (discussion) §	Too close in date to similar autobiographical article; appeared as the TFA on April 4, 2017
February 16, 2016	Hitler Diaries (discussion) §	April Fools' Day nomination; withdrawn; ran in June 2016
February 21, 2016	Presque Isle State Park (discussion) §	Old FAC with numerous dead source links needing attention
February 24, 2016	Pixies (2nd discussion)	April Fools' Day nomination (again); withdrawn
February 27, 2016	Hey Jude (discussion) ‡	Already run as a TFA
March 28, 2016	From The Doctor to my son Thomas (discussion) §	Nominated for a specific date at a time when too many visual media articles had run; ran in November 2016 without further nomination
March 30, 2016	Carousel (musical) (discussion) §	No consensus to run
April 3, 2016	William Shakespeare (discussion) ‡	Already run as a TFA
April 4, 2016	Webley Revolver (discussion)‡	Already run as a TFA
April 4, 2016	Morotai Mutiny (discussion)‡	Already run as a TFA
April 29, 2016	History of Aston Villa F.C. (1961–present) (discussion) §	Old FA, needs serious attention before it's ready for TFA
April 29, 2016	Battle of Albuera (2nd discussion) §	Date near-clash with a centenary nom. Also, needs further work
May 14, 2016	Margate F.C. (discussion)	Old FA, needs further work to meet current FA standard
May 15, 2016	Istanbul (2nd discussion) §	Second refusal (see 2014). Needs further work to meet current FA standard
May 15, 2016	Denbies (2nd discussion)	Second refusal (see 2015). Over-representation in this category, and primary author's non-availability
June 22, 2016	Hurricane Daniel (2006) (discussion) §	Withdrawn by nominator to allow a centenary TFA
June 29, 2016	Noye's Fludde (discussion) §	Withdrawn by nominator in favour of a music centenary TFA the following day
August 2, 2016	September Morn (discussion)	Multiple objections
August 7, 2016	Catherine Zeta-Jones (discussion) §	Ran 25 Sept 2017
September 8, 2016	Battle of Hastings (discussion) §	Norman conquest of England scheduled for the 950th anniversary instead
September 16, 2016	Half-Life 2: Lost Coast (discussion)	Lost out to another video game article that month marking its 20th anniversary
November 5, 2016	History of Norwich City F.C. (discussion) §	Not ready for renomination, six weeks of inactivity at WP:TFAR
November 9, 2016	2007 ACC Championship Game (discussion)	"not scheduled; too close to several other sports subjects (cricket and soccer)"
November 22, 2016	Witchfinder General (film) (2nd discussion)	Not ready for renomination. See User:Dweller/Featured Articles that haven't been on Main Page.
January 5, 2017	Bradley Cooper (discussion) §	Too close to Kalki Koechlin, a similar article
January 20, 2017	Heffernan v. City of Paterson (discussion) §	Another law article is running this month; and 19 January would be a better date in any case but is unavailable. Ran in April 2017.
March 11, 2017	2003 Cricket World Cup Final (discussion)	Nominated after the desired date had already been scheduled
March 17, 2017	Lexington-Concord Sesquicentennial half dollar (discussion)	Too close to another coin article
May 11, 2017	Richard Feynman (discussion) §	centenary in 2018
November 7, 2017	Pru (album) (discussion) §	ran Vladimir Lenin on 7 November as that was the 100th anniversary of an important date in the Bolshevik Revolution, ran this article on November 3, 2017 instead.
November 14, 2017	Sonic the Hedgehog (2006 video game) (discussion) §	Already scheduled Super Mario Galaxy for 10th anniversary on 1st November - too close. Ran on April 8, 2022.
December 13, 2017	Taylor Swift (discussion) §	Withdrawn by nominator. Nights: Journey of Dreams was also nominated for December 13, and there seemed to be general agreement that Nights should run on a 10th anniversary.
January 1, 2018	Goldcrest (discussion) §	Better date-link run instead
April 1, 2018	Harry R. Truman (discussion) §	Better date-link run instead
April 1, 2018	Harry S. Truman (discussion) §	Better date-link run instead
June 23, 2018	2007 AT&T 250 (discussion)	FAC passed and it was added to TFA/R after June was scheduled though the Raul counter still said June 16. The 11th anniversary of the race did not strike the scheduling coordinator, Wehwalt, as urgent enough to undo the scheduling of the existing article, and a sports article had already been scheduled for June.
September 5, 2018	Tropical Storm Henri (2003) (discussion)	Nominated by Casliber but objected to by the principal author, Hurricanehink, who nominated another storm article for September.
March 27, 2020	Samuel Mulledy (discussion)	Originally scheduled, Removed with nominator consent to make way for Introduction to viruses. See discussion in multiple places, including WT:TFA.
September 9, 2020	The Holocaust in Slovakia (discussion)	Removed with nominator consent to make way for Michelle Williams (actress) for her 40th birthday
May 1, 2021	Yugoslav destroyer Beograd (Discussion)	A very similar Yugoslav destroyer ran two weeks earlier
March 3, 2022	Socrates Nelson (Discussion)	Originally scheduled, but removed by coordinator Wehwalt (who had scheduled it) when certain aspects of the article were questioned. Wehwalt suggested there by a further TFA/R before the article is scheduled again, among other reasons because the article had been considerably changed. See discussions at article talk, WT:FAC, WT:TFAR
August 15, 2022	J. Havens Richards	There were three nominations for this date and this one missed out. See notification at Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/August 2022#15 August.
August 15, 2022	Political history of medieval Karnataka	There were four nominations for this date and this one missed out. See discussion at Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/Political history of medieval Karnataka
September 2022	1257 Samalas eruption	Withdrawn at nominator's request. See discussion at Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/1257 Samalas eruption.
November 2023	Titanis	See discussion at WT:Today's featured article/November 2023.
November 2023	Badnjak (Serbian)	See discussion at WP:Today's featured article/requests/Badnjak (Serbian). The vetting and reviews for this one (going back to 2009) felt a little lightweight to me.