Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/December 11

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This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/December 11.

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 December 11 article, see Talk:December 11 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 December 11, 2024

Len Deighton (born 1929) is a British author. His publications have included cookery books and works on history, but he is best known for his spy novels. He had several jobs before writing his first novel, The IPCRESS File, in 1962; it was a critical and commercial success. He wrote several spy novels featuring the same central character, an unnamed working-class intelligence officer. Between 1962 and 1966, Deighton was the food correspondent for The Observer and drew cookstrips – black-and-white graphic recipes with a limited number of words. A selection of these was collected and published in 1965 as Len Deighton's Action Cook Book, the first of five cookery books he wrote. Other topics of non-fiction include military history. Many of his books have been best-sellers and he has been favourably compared with John le Carré. Deighton's fictional work is marked by a complex narrative structure, extensive research and an air of verisimilitude. Several of his works have been adapted for film and radio. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

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Picture of the day for December 11, 2024

The dusky grasswren (Amytornis purnelli) is a species of small passerine bird in the family Maluridae. The species is endemic to Australia, in which it is limited to inland areas of the Northern Territory, Western Australia and South Australia. The dusky grasswren inhabits rocky ranges and outcrops, often preferring tumbled talus or scree, and with areas of thick, long-unburnt spinifex grasses in the genus Triodia. In the wild, it has been observed feeding on a range of small arthropods and other invertebrates as well as seeds. The vocal repertoire of the dusky grasswren is varied and includes trills, high-pitched whistles, rapid twittering, and high-speed warbling. This dusky grasswren was photographed in Ormiston Pound in the Northern Territory.

Photograph credit: John Harrison

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← Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/December 10 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/December 12 →

2011 notes

Vasil Levski, added by User:Tourbillon moved to Ineligible section because it already appeared on February 18
El Mozote massacre, Superfund and Libertarian Party (United States) moved to Ineligible for maintenance reasons
Apollo 17 now a GA, so moved to Eligible, but not included
Swapped out: Shuliavka Republic, UNICEF, International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust
Swapped in: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (3rd appearance, last in 2009), History of Arsenal F.C. (1886–1966) (2nd appearance, last in 2009; 125th anniversary), Capital punishment in Canada (appeared in briefly in 2010, but removed for space reasons), 2005 Cronulla riots (first appearance), Mexican Drug War (first appearance)

--howcheng {chat} 21:53, 10 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

2012 notes

Moved to Ineligible: UNICEF (maintenance)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Superfund
Omitted: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; History of Arsenal F.C. (1886–1966); Capital punishment in Canada; 2005 Cronulla riots; Mexican Drug War
Included: Shuliavka Republic (2nd appearance, last in 2010); The Burning of Cork (first appearance); Apollo 17 (6th appearance, last in 2008; 40th anniversary); El Mozote massacre (4th appearance, last in 2010; rescued from Ineligible); International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust (4th appearance, last in 2010)

—howcheng {chat} 07:27, 10 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2013 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Superfund (maintenance)
Omitted: Shuliavka Republic; The Burning of Cork; Apollo 17; International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust
Included: Three Kingdoms (first appearance); Conquest of Mecca (first appearance); History of Arsenal F.C. (1886–1966) (3rd appearance, last in 2011); UNICEF (6th appearance, last in 2010; rescued from Ineligible); Bernard Madoff (2nd appearance, last in 2010)
Repeats: El Mozote massacre (2nd consecutive appearance, 5 total)

—howcheng {chat} 06:51, 10 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2014 notes

Omitted: Conquest of Mecca (ineligible—maintenance); History of Arsenal F.C. (1886–1966); UNICEF; El Mozote massacre; Bernard Madoff
Included: Burkina Faso (rescued from Ineligible); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (4th appearance, last in 2011; 225th anniversary); Shuliavka Republic (3rd appearance, last in 2012); Capital punishment in Canada (2nd appearance, last in 2011); Mexican Drug War (2nd appearance, last in 2011)
Repeats: Three Kingdoms (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 06:50, 10 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2015 notes

Moved to Ineligible: UNICEF (maintenance)
Omitted: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Shuliavka Republic; Capital punishment in Canada; Mexican Drug War
Included: L'Escalade (first appearance); History of Arsenal F.C. (1886–1966) (4th appearance, last in 2013); Burning of Cork (2nd appearance, last in 2012); Apollo 17 (7th appearance, last in 2012); 2005 Cronulla riots (2nd appearance, last in 2011; 10th anniversary)
Repeats: Three Kingdoms (3rd consecutive appearance, 3 total)

—howcheng {chat} 09:27, 9 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

2016 notes

Omitted: History of Arsenal F.C. (1886–1966); Burning of Cork; Apollo 17; 2005 Cronulla riots
Included: Battle of Magersfontein (first appearance); Shuliavka Republic (4th appearance, last in 2014); Superfund (first appearance; rescued from Ineligible); Mexican Drug War (3rd appearnace, last in 2014; 10th anniversary)
Repeats: Three Kingdoms (4th consecutive appearance, 4 total)

—howcheng {chat} 01:18, 11 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

2017 notes

New articles (ineligible): Fall of communism in Albania (maintenance)
Omitted: Three Kingdoms (ineligible—maintenance); Battle of Magersfontein; Shuliavka Republic; Superfund (ineligible—maintenance); Mexican Drug War
Included: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (5th appearance, last in 2014); History of Arsenal F.C. (1886–1966) (5th appearance, last in 2015); Burning of Cork (3rd appearance, last in 2015); Capital punishment in Canada (3rd appearance, last in 2014); El Mozote massacre (6th appearance, last in 2013); Colley Cibber (first appearance); Hector Berlioz (first appearance); Max Born (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 03:33, 11 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2018 notes

Deleted: Shuliavka Republic (moved to December 12)
Omitted: History of Arsenal F.C. (1886–1966); Burning of Cork; Capital punishment in Canada; Colley Cibber; Hector Berlioz; Max Born
Included: Battle of Magersfontein (2nd appearance, last in 2016); Apollo 17 (8th appearance, last in 2015); Bernard Madoff (3rd appearance, last in 2013; 10th anniversary); Averroes (first appearance); Subramania Bharati (first appearance); Big Mama Thornton (first appearance)
Repeats: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2nd consecutive appearance, 6 total); El Mozote massacre (2nd consecutive appearance, 7 total)

—howcheng {chat} 17:07, 11 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2019 notes

Omitted: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Apollo 17; El Mozote massacre; Bernie Madoff; Averroes; Subramania Bharati; Big Mama Thornton
Included: History of Arsenal F.C. (1886–1966) (6th appearance, last in 2017); Burning of Cork (4th appearance, last in 2017); Thai Airways International Flight 261 (first appearance); Mexican Drug War (4th appearance, last in 2016); Al-Fath ibn Khaqan (first appearance); George Mason (first appearance); Marco Pierre White (first appearance)
Repeats: Battle of Magersfontein (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total)

—howcheng {chat} 16:55, 12 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

2020 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Capital punishment in Canada (maintenance); Subramania Bharati (maintenance)
Omitted: Battle of Magersfontein; Thai Airways International Flight 261; Mexican Drug War; Al-Fath ibn Khaqan; George Mason; Marco Pierre White
Included: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (7th appearance, last in 2018); 2005 Cronulla riots (3rd appearance, last in 2015); Averroes (2nd appearance, last in 2018); Webster Paulson (first appearance); Emmanuelle Charpentier (first appearance)
Repeats: History of Arsenal F.C. (1886–1966) (2nd consecutive appearance, 7 total); Burning of Cork (2nd consecutive appearance, 5 total; 100th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 21:00, 12 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2021 notes

Moved to Ineligible: El Mozote massacre (dates unclear)
Omitted: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; History of Arsenal F.C. (1886–1966); Burning of Cork; 2005 Cronulla riots; Averroes; Webster Paulson
Included: Anarchy at Samarra (first appearance); Root and Branch petition (first appearance); Parliament House, Wellington (first appearance); Quas primas (first appearance); Apollo 17 (9th appearance, last in 2018); Al-Fath ibn Khaqan (2nd appearance, last in 2019); Kamehameha V (first appearance)
Repeats: Emmanuelle Charpentier (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 04:22, 13 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]