Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/February 20

This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/February 20.

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 February 20 article, see Talk:February 20 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 February 20, 2025
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Picture of the day for February 20, 2025
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← Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/February 19 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/February 21 →

re: "Denmark–Norway" in 1472

Latest comment: 16 years ago4 comments3 people in discussion

Moved from WP:ERRORS

The Main Page today states that Scotland annexed the Orkney and Shetland Islands from Denmark-Norway in 1472. Actually, the state that ceded these islands was the Kalmar Union of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Heff01 (talk) 18:51, 20 February 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.71.174.100 (talk) Reply

Not exactly. The Orkney and Shetland articles agree that Christian I of Denmark ceded the islands, and his article says he lost control of Sweden in 1464. Art LaPella (talk) 21:20, 20 February 2008 (UTC)Reply

But Denmark–Norway was 'formed' in 1536, well after 1472. --199.71.174.100 (talk) 21:59, 20 February 2008 (UTC)Reply

It wasn't "Denmark, Norway and Sweden" either. Would you prefer something like "Denmark and Norway", the phrase used at Shetland#Pawned to Scotland? Or "Christian I, in his capacity as king of Norway", as used at Orkney#Scottish rule? Art LaPella (talk) 23:02, 20 February 2008 (UTC)Reply

2012 notes

Latest comment: 12 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Deleted: Edward VI of England (already featured on January 28), Swan Lake (moved to March 4, Gregorian date)
Moved to Ineligible: Ranger 8 (maintenance)
Omitted: French colonization of Texas, Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow, 2009 suicide air raid on Colombo
Included: History of Orkney/History of Shetland (first appearance for both; blurb previously featured Orkney/Shetland, but neither article included the date), Parícutin (first appearance), Tara Lipinski (first appearance), 2010 Madeira floods and mudslides (first appearance)
Repeats: Nagorno-Karabakh War (4th consecutive appearance, 4 total; article also previously appeared on May 5)

—howcheng {chat} 09:39, 19 February 2012 (UTC)Reply

2013 notes

Latest comment: 11 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Ranger 8
Omitted: History of Orkney/History of Shetland (both: maintenance)
Included: The Barber of Seville (4th appearance, last in 2010; rescued from Ineligible); Metropolitan Museum of Art (2nd appearance, last in 2010; rescued from Ineligible); Four Freedoms (Norman Rockwell) (first appearance); Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow (8th appearance, last in 2011)
Repeats: Nagorno-Karabakh War (5th consecutive appearance, 5 total; 25th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 06:20, 19 February 2013 (UTC)Reply

2014 notes

Latest comment: 10 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Omitted: The Barber of Seville; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Four Freedoms (Norman Rockwell); Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow; Nagorno-Karabakh War
Included: Kraków Uprising (first appearance); Battle of Olustee (first appearance; 150th anniversary); Ranger 8 (4th appearance, last in 2007); Tara Lipinski (2nd appearance, last in 2012); 2009 suicide air raid on Colombo (2nd appearance, last in 2011)

—howcheng {chat} 06:24, 19 February 2014 (UTC)Reply

2015 notes

Latest comment: 9 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Omitted: Kraków Uprising; Battle of Olustee; Tara Lipinski; 2009 suicide air raid on Colombo
Included: French colonization of Texas (2nd appearance, last in 2011); The Barber of Seville (5th appearance, last in 2013); Parícutin (2nd appearance, last in 2012); 2010 Madeira floods and mudslides (2nd appearance, last in 2012)
Repeats: Ranger 8 (2nd consecutive appearance, 5 total; 50th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 07:50, 18 February 2015 (UTC)Reply

Protected edit request on 19 February 2015

Latest comment: 9 years ago4 comments2 people in discussion

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

Dozens of Euromaidan anti-government protesters died in in Ukraine's capital Kiev, many reportedly killed by snipers on 20 February 2014. I think this should be placed in the "Staging area" of the Selected anniversaries of February 20. — Yulia Romero • Talk to me! 14:55, 19 February 2015 (UTC)Reply

Although tragic, I'm not sure that this event of 21 deaths is the most noteworthy in the series of events of Euromaidan. Perhaps the removal of Yanukovych would be a more symbolic entry. In any case I suggest this would benefit from further discussion. — Martin (MSGJ · talk) 15:07, 19 February 2015 (UTC)Reply

PS, I see you have now added this to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/February 22, which I support. So I am deactivating this request here for now. — Martin (MSGJ · talk) 15:10, 19 February 2015 (UTC)Reply

I agree; the removal of Yanukovych is a better entry. And it will not be good to have many Euromaidan-events as "Selected anniversaries (in Wikipedia)". — Yulia Romero • Talk to me! 18:52, 19 February 2015 (UTC)Reply

2016 notes

Latest comment: 8 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Moved to Ineligible: Tara Lipinski (maintenance)
Omitted: French colonization of Texas; Parícutin; Ranger 8; 2010 Madeira floods and mudslides
Included: Metropolitan Museum of Art (3rd appearance, last in 2013); Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow (9th appearance, last in 2013); Nagorno-Karabakh War (6th appearance, last in 2013); 2009 suicide air raid on Colombo (3rd appearance, last in 2014)
Omitted: The Barber of Seville (2nd consecutive appearance, 6 total; 200th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 07:46, 18 February 2016 (UTC)Reply

2017 notes

Latest comment: 6 years ago3 comments2 people in discussion

Moved to Ineligible: 2010 Madeira floods and mudslides (maintenance)
Omitted: The Barber of Seville; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow; 2009 suicide air raid on Colombo
Included: French colonization of Texas (3rd appearance, last in 2015); Kraków Uprising (2nd appearance, last in 2014); Parícutin (3rd appearance, last in 2015); Ranger 8 (6th appearance, last in 2015); Hod Stuart (first appearance); Maria Goeppert-Mayer (first appearance)
Repeats: Nagorno-Karabakh War (2nd consecutive appearance, 7 total)

—howcheng {chat} 09:38, 20 February 2017 (UTC)Reply

@Howcheng: Can I ask you to put death of Fatimah, Mohammad prophet's daughter as observation for tomorrow? (Twelver Shi'a, especially Iranians, hold ceremonies every year for 20 days in Jumada al-awwal to commemorate the anniversary of the martyrdom of Fatimah. Mourners march in procession through the streets to reaffirm their allegiance to the ideals of Fatima). Thanks! Saff V. (talk) 07:56, 19 February 2018 (UTC)Reply
- @Saff V.: The article needs to have a section about the celebration, which is missing right now. Otherwise, readers will not understand why we are listing the article. Thanks. —howcheng {chat} 18:48, 19 February 2018 (UTC)Reply

2018 notes

Latest comment: 6 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

New articles (unused): 1835 Concepción earthquake
Omitted: French colonization of Texas; Ranger 8; Hod Stuart; Maria Goeppert-Mayer
Included: The Barber of Seville; Battle of Olustee; Alfred Escher (first appearance); P. G. T. Beauregard (first appearance; 125th anniversary); Gail Kim (first appearance)
Repeats: Kraków uprising (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total); Parícutin (2nd consecutive appearance, 4 total; 75th anniversary); Nagorno-Karabakh War (3rd consecutive appearance, 8 total; 30th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 02:38, 20 February 2018 (UTC)Reply

2019 notes

Latest comment: 5 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Omitted: The Barber of Seville; Kraków uprising; Battle of Olustee; Parícutin; Nagorno-Karabakh War; P. G. T. Beauregard; Gail Kim
Included: 1835 Concepción earthquake (first appearance); Metropolitan Museum of Art (4th appearance, last in 2016); Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow (10th appearance, last in 2016; 60th anniversary); 2009 suicide air raid on Colombo (4th appearance, last in 2016; 10th anniversary); Hod Stuart (2nd appearance, last in 2017); Audrey Munson (first appearance)
Repeats: Alfred Escher (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 200th birthday)

—howcheng {chat} 17:11, 20 February 2019 (UTC)Reply

2020 notes

Latest comment: 4 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

New articles (unused): Laura Bassi
Omitted: Metropolitan Museum of Art; Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow; 2009 suicide air raid on Colombo; Alfred Escher (ineligible—maintenance); Hod Stuart; Audrey Munson
Included: The Barber of Seville (8th appearance, last in 2018); Parícutin (5th appearance, last in 2018); Ranger 8 (7th appearance, last in 2017); Ross Perot 1992 presidential campaign (first appearance); Judith Montefiore (first appearance); Elizabeth Holloway Marston (first appearance); Toru Takemitsu (first appearance)
Repeats: 1835 Concepción earthquake (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 16:48, 21 February 2020 (UTC)Reply

2021 notes

Latest comment: 3 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

New articles (ineligible): Ansel Adams (POTD for 2021)
Omitted: The Barber of Seville; 1835 Concepción earthquake; Ranger 8; Ross Perot 1992 presidential campaign; Judith Montefiore; Elizabeth Holloway Marston; Toru Takemitsu
Included: French colonization of Texas (4th appearance, last in 2017); Kraków uprising (4th appearance, last in 2018); First Nagorno-Karabakh War (9th appearance, last in 2018); 2009 suicide air raid on Colombo (5th appearance, last in 2019); Wulfric of Haselbury (first appearance); Ivan Albright (first appearance); Johnny Checketts (first appearance)
Repeats: Parícutin (2nd consecutive appearance, 6 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:50, 23 February 2021 (UTC)Reply

2022 notes

Latest comment: 2 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): 2010 Madeira floods and mudslides
New articles (unused): Jacobson v. Massachusetts
Omitted: French colonization of Texas; Kraków uprising; Parícutin; First Nagorno-Karabakh War; 2009 suicide air raid on Colombo; Wulfric of Haselbury; Ivan Albright; Johnny Checketts
Included: The Barber of Seville (9th appearance, last in 2020); Metropolitan Museum of Art (5th appearance, last in 2019); Taking of Encarnación (first appearance); Ross Perot 1992 presidential campaign (2nd appearance, last in 2020; 30tu anniversary); Johann Christian Reil (2nd appearance, last in 2018; also appears on November 22, his death anniversary); Ansel Adams (first appearance); Maria Goeppert Mayer (3rd appearance, last in 2017; 50th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 08:09, 21 February 2022 (UTC)Reply

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