Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/February 9

Skip to table of contents

This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/February 9.

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 9 article, see Talk:February 9 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 9, 2025

Wikipedia:Today's featured article/February 9, 2025

create – talk – watch

Picture of the day for February 9, 2025

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and the recognition of popular music as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat, and 1950s rock 'n' roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways. The band also explored music styles ranging from folk and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting, and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionized many aspects of the music industry and were often publicized as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements.

Photograph credit: United Press International, photographer unknown

Recently featured:

← Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/February 8 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/February 10 →

What about the Beatles debut, sparking Beatle-mania!!! are you kidding me!?! the byzantine emperor and some actress up the beatles. if it isn't change I quit wikipedia —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 216.249.53.233 (talk • contribs).

I am not sure that The Beatles making their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show has international significance compared to the rest of the events currently listed here. Certainly it was significant in the United States because of the domestic viewership, but maybe not around the world since the Beatles were already well known elsewhere. Zzyzx11 (Talk) 10:27, 11 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

What if we pointed out that it was the start of the British Invasion? Then the entry would be more about the musical movement as a whole, rather than just a fact about one specific band. Brian the Editor (talk) 02:42, 6 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I guess no one saw this in time for 2010, so I'm going to go ahead and add it myself and see what happens. Brian the Editor (talk) 04:02, 27 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

2012 notes

Omitted: Svalbard Treaty/Svalbard, Joseph McCarthy/McCarthyism, British Invasion, Australian Defence Force, Ehime Maru and USS Greeneville collision
Included: John Quincy Adams (4th appearance, last in 2007; JQA previously was on March 4 and this blurb previously featured United States presidential election, 1824, which is ineligible), Meteor procession of February 9, 1913 (first appearance), Action of 9 February 1945 (first appearance), R-7 Semyorka (first appearance), 1971 San Fernando earthquake (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 21:14, 8 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2013 notes

Omitted: John Quincy Adams; Action of 9 February 1945 (ineligible—maintenance); R-7 Semyorka; 1971 San Fernando earthquake
Included: Jefferson Davis (5th appearance, last in 2008; moved from February 18); Guadalcanal Campaign (5th appearance, last in 2010; 70th anniversary); Australian Defence Force (2nd appearance, last in 2011); Ehime Maru and USS Greeneville collision (2nd appearance, last in 2011)
Repeats: Meteor procession of February 9, 1913 (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 100th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 16:57, 8 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2014 notes

Moved to Ineligible: R-7 Semyorka
Omitted: Jefferson Davis; 1913 Great Meteor Procession; Guadalcanal Campaign; Australian Defence Force
Included: John Quincy Adams (5th appearance, last in 2012); Svalbard Treaty/Svalbard (treaty: 4th appearance; Svalbard: 6th appearance; both last in 2011); Black Friday (1945) (first appearance); British Invasion (2nd appearance, last in 2011; 50th anniversary)
Repeats: Ehime Maru and USS Greeneville collision (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total)

—howcheng {chat} 06:47, 8 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2015 notes

Omitted: John Quincy Adams; British Invasion; Ehime Maru and USS Greeneville collision
Included: Jefferson Davis (6th appearance, last in 2013); 1913 Great Meteor Procession (3rd appearance, last in 2013); Australian Defence Force (3rd appearance, last in 2013)
Repeats: Svalbard Treaty/Svalbard (2nd consecutive appearance, Treaty: 5 total, Svalbard: 6 total); Black Friday (1945) (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 70th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 18:24, 7 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

2016 notes

Omitted: Jefferson Davis; 1913 Great Meteor Procession; Black Friday (1945)
Included: John Quincy Adams (6th appearance, last in 2014); Boeing 747 (first appearance); Ehime Maru and USS Greeneville collision (4th appearance, last in 2014)
Repeats: Svalbard Treaty/Svalbard (3rd consecutive appearance, Treaty: 6 total, Svalbard: 7 total); Australian Defence Force (2nd consecutive appearance, 4 total; 40th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 08:46, 8 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

2017 notes

Moved to Ineligible: British Invasion (maintenance)
New articles (unused): Budd SPV-2000; USS Constellation vs L'Insurgente (TFA for 2017)
Omitted: Australian Defence Force; Ehime Maru and USS Greeneville collision
Included: Guadalcanal Campaign (6th appearance, last in 2013); 1996 Docklands bombing (first appearance)
Repeats: John Quincy Adams (2nd consecutive appearance, 7 total); Svalbard (4th consecutive appearance, 9 total; blurb also previously featured Svalbard Treaty, which is currently ineligible); Boeing 747 (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 08:35, 9 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2018 notes

Deleted: Budd SPV-2000 (not notable enough)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): British Invasion
Omitted: John Quincy Adams; Svalbard; Boeing 747 (deleted; moved to January 22); 1996 Docklands bombing
Included: USS Constellation vs L'Insurgente (first appearance; rescued from Ineligible); Jefferson Davis (7th appearance, last in 2015); Australian Defence Force (5th appearance, last in 2016); Bad Aibling rail accident (first appearance); Judith Quiney (first appearance); Alberto Vargas (first appearance); Gerhard Richter (first appearance)
Repeats: Guadalcanal Campaign (2nd consecutive appearance, 7 total; 75th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 07:59, 9 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2019 suggestions

Births: Aletta Jacobs(b. 1854). First woman officially to attend a Dutch University, and one of the first female physicians in the Netherlands.Moira Paul (talk) 23:28, 10 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

2019 notes

Omitted: Jefferson Davis; Guadalcanal Campaign; Australian Defence Force; Bad Aibling rail accident; Judith Quiney; Alberto Vargas; Gerhard Richter
Included: Mud March (suffragists) (8th appearance, last in 2018; moved from February 8); Svalbard (10th appearance, last in 2017); McCarthyism (2nd appearance, last in 2011; blurb previously also featured Joseph McCarthy, which is currently ineligible); Copernicium (first appearance); George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney (first appearance); Aletta Jacobs (first appearance); Howard Martin Temin (first appearance)
Repeats: USS Constellation vs L'Insurgente (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 17:00, 11 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

2020 notes

New articles (ineligible): Adele Spitzeder (TFA for 2020)
Omitted: USS Constellation vs L'Insurgente; Mud March (suffragists); McCarthyism; Copernicium; George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney; Aletta Jacobs; Howard Martin Temin
Included: John Quincy Adams (8th appearance, last in 2017); Black Friday (1945) (3rd appearance, last in 2015; 75th anniversary); Ehime Maru and USS Greeneville collision (5th appearance, last in 2016); Agnès Sorel (first appearance); Thomas Paine (2nd appearance, last in 2008; previously appeared on January 10); Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (first appearance)
Repeats: Svalbard Treaty/Svalbard (Treaty: first appearance; Svalbard: 2nd consecutive appearance, 11 total; 100th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 18:51, 10 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2021 notes

Omitted: John Quincy Adams; Svalbard Treaty; Black Friday (1945); Ehime Maru and USS Greeneville collision; Agnès Sorel; Thomas Paine; Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
Included: USS Constellation vs L'Insurgente (3rd appearance, last in 2019); Devil's Footprints (5th appearance, last in 2017; moved from February 8); Mud March (suffragists) (9th appearance, last in 2019); 1971 San Fernando earthquake (2nd appearance, last in 2012; 50th anniversary); 1996 Docklands bombing (2nd appearance, last in 2017); John Frederick, Duke of Pomerania (first appearance); Adele Spitzeder (first appearance); Masatoshi Gündüz Ikeda (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 07:40, 11 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]

2022 notes

New articles (ineligible): Falstaff (opera) (POTD for 2022)
Omitted: USS Constellation vs L'Insurgente; Mud March (suffragists); 1971 San Fernando earthquake; 1996 Docklands bombing; John Frederick, Duke of Pomerania; Adele Spitzeder; Masatoshi Gündüz Ikeda
Included: Siege of Caizhou; 1913 Great Meteor Procession (4th appearance, last in 2015); Beatlemania/British Invasion (Beatlemania: 2nd appearance, last in 2019, moved from August 19; Invasion: 3rd appearance, last in 2014); Australian Defence Force (6th appearance, last in 2018); Minamoto no Yoritomo; Gerhard Richter (2nd appearance, last in 2018; 90th birthday); Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (2nd appearance, last in 2020; 20th anniversary)
Repeats: Devil's Footprints (2nd consecutive appearance, 6 total)

—howcheng {chat} 02:51, 11 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]