Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/December 29

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This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/December 29.

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 29 article, see Talk:December 29 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 29, 2024

A modern statue of Jochi

Jochi (c. 1182 – c. 1225) was a prince in the Mongol Empire. For many months before his birth, his mother Börte had been a captive of the Merkit tribe, one of whom forcibly married and raped her. Although there was thus considerable doubt over his parentage, Börte's husband Genghis Khan considered Jochi his son and treated him accordingly. Many Mongols, most prominently Börte's next son Chagatai, disagreed; these tensions eventually caused Jochi's exclusion from the line of succession. After Genghis founded the Mongol Empire in 1206, he entrusted Jochi with nine thousand warriors and a large territory in the west of the Mongol heartland; Jochi campaigned extensively to extend Mongol power in the region. He also commanded an army during the invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire, but during the Siege of Gurganj in 1221, tensions arose between him and his family. They were still estranged when Jochi died of ill health c. 1225. His descendants continued to rule his territories, which became known as the Golden Horde. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

view – talk – edit – history – watch

Picture of the day for December 29, 2024

The cinnamon hummingbird (Amazilia rutila) is a species of hummingbird in the "tribe of the emeralds", Trochilini. Currently, four regional subspecies are recognized. It is predominantly found along the Pacific western coast of Mexico and south through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, with some also residing in Belize and the southern Mexican states of Campeche, Quintana Roo and Yucatán. Cinnamon hummingbirds are typically found at or just slightly above sea level, often inhabiting coastal and lowland areas, as well as further inland in warmer locations in the southern parts of their range. The bird has a length of approximately 9.5 to 11.5 cm and on average weighs about 5 to 5.5 g. Its diet usually consists food foraged from the understory to the mid-story, but also will visit taller flowering trees. It feeds on nectar from a very wide variety of flowering plants and also eats insects and is a territorial species, defending its feeding sites from intrusion by other hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. This cinnamon hummingbird was photographed in Los Tarrales natural reserve in Patulul, Suchitepéquez, Guatemala.

Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp

Recently featured:

← Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/December 28 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/December 30 →

Could someone change Image:Tomwindo.JPG to Image:Tomwindo.png? --evrik 16:22, 18 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Done. Thanks. -- PFHLai 19:29, 19 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Error re: 1937 Ireland (Moved from Talk:Main Page)

This is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG:

- 1937 - A new state called the Republic of Ireland replaced the Irish Free State when a new constitution was adopted.

NO new state called the Republic of Ireland replaced the Irish Free State on 29 December 1937. A new CONSTITUTION for the Irish Free State took effect on 29 December 1937 and changed the name of the country to "Eire" - or in English, "Ireland" - but it remained a dominion of the British Empire until 1949. The other important innovation in 1937 was the replacement of the Governor General, appointed on the advice of the Irish Prime Minister to represent King George VI, with an elected president - who still represented George VI. The accrediting of ambassadors to Ireland was still done by the King, not by the president.

The Republic of Ireland came into existence on 18 April 1949, when the Republic of Ireland Act - passed in 1948 - came into force. The Republic of Ireland Act, 1948, severed the link between Ireland and the British monarch, as well as severing Ireland's official links with the Commonwealth of Nations.

No mention of Wounded Knee?

I will say, I am loathe to question anything on the main page of Wikipedia, but in the list of "on this day" suggestions, I find the omission of the Wounded Knee Massacre quite glaring. In my understanding, that event is a kind of archetypal touchstone which represents to Native Americans, as metonymy, all the atrocities and injustices of the "Indian Wars." Certainly this event is more deserving of mention than, say, Feynman's lecture. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lapisphil (talk • contribs) 00:47, 29 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by 209.244.43.2 (talk • contribs) 05:54, 2006 December 29 (UTC).

2011 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Ashtabula River Railroad Disaster
New observances: Mongolian independence day
Swapped out: Thomas Becket, Wounded Knee Massacre, History of basketball (ineligible), There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom, Fernando Collor de Mello
Swapped in: Treaty of New Echota (first appearance), HMS Warrior (1860) (5th appearance, last in 2009), Sun Yat-sen (6th appearance, last in 2009, 100th anniversary), Two-Nation Theory (first appearance), Constitution of Ireland (3rd appearance, last in 2007)

--howcheng {chat} 07:12, 28 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Addendum: There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom added to balance the columns. howcheng {chat} 00:49, 29 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

2012 notes

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Ashtabula River Railroad Disaster
Omitted: Treaty of New Echota; HMS Warrior (1860); Sun Yat-sen; Muhammad Iqbal/Two nation theory; There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom
Included: Thomas Becket (7th appearance, last in 2010); Capture of Savannah (first appearance); Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 (first appearance; 40th anniversary); Fernando Collor de Mello (2nd appearance, last in 2010; 20th anniversary)
Repeats: Constitution of Ireland (2nd consecutive appearance, 4 total; 75th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 06:35, 28 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2013 notes

Omitted: Thomas Becket; Capture of Savannah; Constitution of Ireland; Eastern Air Lines Flight 401
Included: HMS Warrior (1860) (6th appearance, last in 2011); Wounded Knee Massacre (4th appearance, last in 2006); Sun Yat-sen (7th appearance, last in 2011); Two-nation theory (2nd appearance, last in 2011; blurb also previously featured Muhammad Iqbal, which also appears on November 9)
Repeats: Fernando Collor de Mello (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:57, 28 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2014 notes

Omitted: HMS Warrior (1860); Wounded Knee Massacre; Two-nation theory
Included: Treaty of New Echota (2nd appearance, last in 2011); History of basketball (2nd appearance, last in 2010; rescued from Ineligible); Constitution of Ireland (5th appearance, last in 2012)
Repeats: Sun Yat-sen (2nd consecutive appearance, 8 total); Fernando Collor de Mello (3rd appearance, 4 total)

—howcheng {chat} 08:26, 27 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2015 notes

Moved to Ineligible: HMS Warrior (1860) (TFA for 2015)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Tian Tan Buddha
Omitted: Treaty of New Echota; History of basketball; Sun Yat-sen; Fernando Collor de Mello
Included: Thomas Becket (8th appearance, last in 2012); Wounded Knee Massacre (5th appearance, last in 2013; 125th anniversary); Two-nation theory (3rd appearance, last in 2013); Global spread of H5N1 (first appearance)
Repeats: Constitution of Ireland (2nd consecutive appearance, 6 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:36, 28 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

2016 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Treaty of New Echota (maintenance); Consolidated B-24 Liberator (maintenance); Fernando Collor de Mello (maintenance)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): HMS Warrior (1860)
Omitted: Wounded Knee Massacre; Two-nation theory; Constitution of Ireland; Global spread of H5N1
Included: Capture of Savannah (2nd appearance, last in 2012); History of basketball (3rd appearance, last in 2014; 125th anniversary); Sun Yat-sen (9th appearance, last in 2014); There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom (3rd appearance, last in 2011); Tian Tan Buddha (4th appearance, last in 2008)
Repeats: Thomas Becket (2nd consecutive appearance, 9 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:34, 29 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

2017 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Two-nation theory (maintenance); Constitution of Ireland (maintenance)
Omitted: Mongolia (ineligible—maintenance); Thomas Becket (ineligible—maintenance); Capture of Savannah; History of basketball (ineligible—maintenance); 1975 LaGuardia Airport bombing; Global spread of H5N1; Stephen Bocskai; Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee; Twinkle Khanna
Included: Texas annexation (first appearance); HMS Warrior (1860) (7th appearance, last in 2013); 1975 LaGuardia Airport bombing (first appearance); Global spread of H5N1 (2nd appearance, last in 2015); Stephen Bocskai (first appearance); Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee (first appearance); Twinkle Khanna (first appearance)
Repeats: Sun Yat-sen (2nd consecutive appearance, 9 total)

—howcheng {chat} 18:12, 29 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2018 notes

Omitted: Texas annexation; 1975 LaGuardia Airport bombing; Stephen Bocskai; Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee; Twinkle Khanna
Included: Ashtabula River railroad disaster (first appearance); There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom (4th appearance, last in 2016); Maria Margaretha Kirch (first appearance); Christina Rossetti (first appearance); Ashleigh Banfield (first appearance)
Repeats: HMS Warrior (1860) (2nd consecutive appearance, 8 total); Sun Yat-sen (3rd consecutive appearance, 11 total); Global spread of H5N1 (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total)

—howcheng {chat} 18:02, 29 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2019 notes

Omitted: HMS Warrior (1860); Ashtabula River railroad disaster; Global spread of H5N1 (ineligible—maintenance); Maria Margaretha Kirch; Ashleigh Banfield
Included: Capture of Savannah (3rd appearance, last in 2016); Second Great Fire of London (first appearance); Adele Zay (first appearance); Ann Demeulemeester (first appearance; 60th birthday)
Repeats: Sun Yat-sen (4th consecutive appearance, 12 total); There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom (2nd consecutive appearance, 5 total; 60th anniversary); Christina Rossetti (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 125th birthday)

—howcheng {chat} 21:00, 30 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

2020 notes

New articles (unused): Empress Genmei
Omitted: Capture of Savannah; Sun Yat-sen; There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom; Christina Rossetti; Adele Zay; Ann Demeulemeester
Included: HMS Java (1811) (first appaerance); Texas annexation (2nd appearance, last in 2017); 1975 LaGuardia Airport bombing (2nd appearance, last in 2017); Guatemalan Civil War (first appaerance); Maria Margaretha Kirch (2nd appearance, last in 2018; 300th birthday); Diogo de Carvalho e Sampayo (first appaerance); C. T. Hsia (first appaerance)
Repeats: Second Great Fire of London (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 80th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 03:24, 1 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]

2021 notes

New articles (ineligible): Ezra Meeker (TFA for 2021)
Omitted: HMS Java (1811); Texas annexation; Second Great Fire of London; 1975 LaGuardia Airport bombing; Maria Margaretha Kirch; Diogo de Carvalho e Sampayo; C. T. Hsia
Included: HMS Warrior (1860) (9th appearance, last in 2019); Wounded Knee Massacre (6th appearance, last in 2015; rescued from Ineligible); Sun Yat-sen (13th appearance, last in 2019); There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom (6th appearance, last in 2019); Empress Genmei (first appearance; 1300th anniversary); William Ewart Gladstone (first appearance); Marie Menken (first appearance)
Repeats: Guatemalan Civil War (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 25th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 09:32, 30 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]