Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/May 3

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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 May 3 article, see Talk:May 3 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 May 3, 2025
Wikipedia:Today's featured article/May 3, 2025 create – talk – watch
Picture of the day for May 3, 2025
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← Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/May 2 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/May 4 →

I think the first entry today should read:

1791 - The Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791, one of the earliest codified national constitutions in the world, was adopted by the Sejm.

with "constitutions" in the plural. boffy_b 12:31, 3 May 2006 (UTC)Reply

Ooops... careless me. Someone has fixed it already. Thanks for pointing this out. -- PFHLai 14:25, 4 May 2006 (UTC)Reply

2012 notes

Latest comment: 12 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Omitted: Constitution of May 3, 1791; All India Forward Bloc; Invasion of Tulagi (May 1942) (ineligible—TFA for 2012); Royal Festival Hall; Birmingham campaign
Included: João I of Kongo (first appearance); RAF Northolt (first appearance); 1920 Georgian coup attempt (2nd appearance, last in 2010); SS Cap Arcona (1927) (6th appearance, last in 2008); The Fantasticks (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 06:10, 2 May 2012 (UTC)Reply

2013 notes

Latest comment: 11 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

New articles (unused): William Walker (filibuster) (moved from May 4: wrong date)
Omitted: RAF Northolt; 1920 Georgian coup attempt; SS Cap Arcona (1927); The Fantasticks
Included: Constitution of May 3, 1791 (7th appearance, last in 2011); Raja Harishchandra (first appearance; 100th anniversary); In Flanders Fields (2nd appearance, last in 2010); Royal Festival Hall (2nd appearance, last in 2011); Birmingham campaign (2nd appearance, last in 2011; 50th anniversary)
Repeats: João I of Kongo (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 05:51, 2 May 2013 (UTC)Reply

2014 notes

Latest comment: 10 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Omitted: João I of Kongo; Raja Harishchandra; In Flanders Fields; Royal Festival Hall; Birmingham campaign
Included: William Walker (filibuster) (5th appearance, last in 2008); All India Forward Bloc (3rd appearance, last in 2011); Invasion of Tulagi (May 1942) (2nd appearance, last in 2011); Geocaching (first appearance)
Repeats: Constitution of May 3, 1791 (2nd consecutive appearance, 8 total)

—howcheng {chat} 10:21, 2 May 2014 (UTC)Reply

2015 notes

Latest comment: 9 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Omitted: Constitution of May 3, 1791; All India Forward Bloc; Invasion of Tulagi (May 1942); Geocaching
Included: João I of Kongo (3rd appearance, last in 2013); In Flanders Fields (3rd appearance, last in 2013; 100th anniversary); SS Cap Arcona (1927) (7th appearance, last in 2012; 70th anniversary); Birmingham campaign (3rd appearance, last in 2013)
Repeats: William Walker (filibuster) (2nd consecutive appearance, 6 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:45, 1 May 2015 (UTC)Reply

2016 notes

Latest comment: 8 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Omitted: William Walker (filibuster); In Flanders Fields; SS Cap Arcona (1927); Birmingham campaign
Included: Constitution of May 3, 1791 (9th appearance, last in 2014; 225th anniversary); Partition of Ireland (first appearance); The Fantasticks (2nd appearance, last in 2012); Disappearance of Madeleine McCann (first appearance)
Repeats: João I of Kongo (2nd consecutive appearance, 4 total; 525th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 04:40, 2 May 2016 (UTC)Reply

2017 notes

Latest comment: 7 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Moved to Ineligible: William Walker (filibuster) (maintenance); All India Forward Bloc (maintenance)
New articles (unused): 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado
Omitted: Partition of Ireland (ineligible—maintenance); The Fantasticks
Included: RAF Northolt (2nd appearance, last in 2012); Invasion of Tulagi (May 1942) (3rd appearance, last in 2014; 75th anniversary); Alexios II of Trebizond (first appearance); Catherine of St. Augustine (first appearance); Len Shackleton (first appearance)
Repeats: João I of Kongo (3rd consecutive appearance, 5 total); Constitution of May 3, 1791 (2nd consecutive appearance, 10 total); Disappearance of Madeleine McCann (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 10th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 07:01, 3 May 2017 (UTC)Reply

2018 notes

Latest comment: 6 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Moved to Ineligible: SS Cap Arcona (maintenance)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): William Walker (filibuster)
Omitted: Constitution of 3 May 1791; RAF Northolt; Invasion of Tulagi (May 1942); Disappearance of Madeleine McCann; Alexios II of Trebizond; Catherine of St. Augustine; Len Shackleton
Included: Benty Grange helmet (first appearance); Raja Harishchandra (2nd appearance, last in 2013); 1920 Georgian coup attempt (3rd appearance, last in 2012); 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado (first appearance); Elizabeth Bacon (died 1621) (first appearance); Richard D'Oyly Carte (first appearance); Sugar Ray Robinson (first appearance)
Repeats: João I of Kongo (4th consecutive appearance, 6 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:29, 3 May 2018 (UTC)Reply

2019 notes

Latest comment: 5 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Moved to Ineligible: Royal Festival Hall (maintenance)
New articles (ineligible): Élisabeth of France (maintenance)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): SS Cap Arcona
Omitted: João I of Kongo; Benty Grange helmet (ineligible—TFA for April 26, 2019); Raja Harishchandra; 1920 Georgian coup attempt; Elizabeth Bacon (died 1621); Richard D'Oyly Carte; Sugar Ray Robinson
Included: World Press Freedom Day (rescued from Ineligible); Constitution Memorial Day/3 May Constitution Day (both: first appearance); Constitution of 3 May 1791 (11th appearance, last in 2017); William Walker (filibuster) (7th appearance, last in 2015); All India Forward Bloc (4th appearance, last in 2014; 80th anniversary); Erich Honecker (first appearance); Catherine of St. Augustine (2nd appearance, last in 2017); Jacob Riis (first appearance); John O'Connor (cardinal) (first appearance)
Repeats: 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 20th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 16:22, 3 May 2019 (UTC)Reply

2020 notes

Latest comment: 4 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Moved to Ineligible: Disappearance of Madeleine McCann (maintenance)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Benty Grange helmet
New articles (unused): Henry Garnet; William Shakespeare (moved from April 23); Red Ruffing; Ron Hextall
Omitted: Constitution of 3 May 1791; William Walker (filibuster); All India Forward Bloc; Erich Honecker; 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado; Catherine of St. Augustine; Jacob Riis
Included: 1481 Rhodes earthquake (first appearance); Treaty of Loudun (first appearance); 1920 Georgian coup attempt (4th appearance, last in 2018; 100th anniversary); SS Cap Arcona (8th appearance, last in 2015; 75th anniversary); The Fantasticks (3rd appearance, last in 2016; 60th anniversary); Béla IV of Hungary (first appearance); Eppa Rixey (first appearance)
Repeats: John O'Connor (cardinal) (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 20th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 18:14, 4 May 2020 (UTC)Reply

2021 notes

Latest comment: 3 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Omitted: 1481 Rhodes earthquake; Treaty of Loudun; 1920 Georgian coup attempt; SS Cap Arcona; The Fantasticks; Béla IV of Hungary; Eppa Rixey; John O'Connor (cardinal)
Included: João I of Kongo (7th appearance, last in 2018); Benty Grange helmet (2nd appearance, last in 2018); Partition of Ireland (2nd appearance, last in 2016; 100th anniversary; rescued from Ineligible); Birmingham campaign (4th appearance, last in 2015); Erich Honecker (2nd appearance, last in 2018; 50th anniversary); Elizabeth Bacon (died 1621) (2nd appearance, last in 2018; 400th anniversary); Sugar Ray Robinson (2nd appearance, last in 2018; 100th birthday); Dhananjay Ramchandra Gadgil (first appearance; 50th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 07:43, 5 May 2021 (UTC)Reply

2022 notes

Latest comment: 2 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Omitted: João I of Kongo; Benty Grange helmet; Partition of Ireland; Birmingham campaign; Erich Honecker; Elizabeth Bacon (died 1621); Sugar Ray Robinson; Dhananjay Ramchandra Gadgil
Included: Constitution of 3 May 1791 (12th appearance, last in 2019); Milwaukee Bridge War (first appearance); Raja Harishchandra (3rd appearance, last in 2018); Invasion of Tulagi (May 1942) (5th appearance, last in 2017; 80th anniversary); 1999 Bridge Creek–Moore tornado (3rd appearance, last in 2019); Catherine of St. Augustine (3rd appearance, last in 2019); Jacob Riis (2nd appearance, last in 2019); Len Shackleton (2nd appearance, last in 2017; 100th birthday)

—howcheng {chat} 06:30, 4 May 2022 (UTC)Reply

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