Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/January 26

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This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/January 26.

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 January 26 article, see Talk:January 26 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 January 26, 2025

Lady Gaga (left) and Beyoncé (right)

"Telephone" is a song by Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé (both pictured) and released on January 26, 2010. "Telephone" conveys Gaga's fear of not finding time for fun given the increasing pressure for her to work harder. The song consists of an expanded bridge and verse-rap; Beyoncé appears in the middle of the song, singing the verses in a "rapid-fire" way, accompanied by double beats. "Telephone" received positive reviews from critics who praised Gaga's chemistry with Beyoncé. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. The song charted in many countries and sold 7.4 million digital copies worldwide in 2010, making it the year's fourth best-selling single. The music video follows Beyoncé as she bails Gaga out of prison for killing her boyfriend and ends with the two trying to escape a high-speed police chase. The video received generally positive reviews and was nominated for three awards at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

view – talk – edit – history – watch

Picture of the day for January 26, 2025

Shinku La is a mountain pass in the Himalayas of northern India. The pass is traversed by the Darcha–Padum road connecting the high-altitude Zanskar region of Ladakh with rest of India. The pass becomes snowbound in the winter leading to closure of the road. Construction of a tunnel under the pass, to ensure all-weather connectivity, began in 2024. This picture shows the Shinku La pass covered in snow, with a frozen lake in the foreground.

Photograph credit: Timothy Gonsalves

Recently featured:

← Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/January 25 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/January 27 →

Sun Yat-sen

Perhaps add the death of Sun Yat-sen, and note his involvement in the Republican movement in China? -- 李博杰 | —Talk contribs 07:27, 25 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Didn't he die on March 12, NOT January 26? Zzyzx11 (Talk) 02:41, 26 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Oops, I'm sorry, I've read the wrong article. -- 李博杰 | —Talk contribs 05:00, 26 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

2012 notes

New articles (unused): Hale telescope, Cairo Fire, 2005 Glendale train crash
No longer Ineligible (unused): The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)
Omitted: Vicente Yáñez Pinzón, Rum Rebellion, Battle of Seattle (1856), Finnish Civil War, Siad Barre
Included: Lee-Enfield (first appearance), Rajendra Prasad (7th appearance, last in 2010), Lewinsky scandal (5th appearance, last in 2006—was previously on August 17 and December 19), 2009 Malagasy political crisis (first appearance)
Repeats: History of Hong Kong (1800s–1930s) (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 06:34, 25 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2013 notes

Deleted: The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical) (featured on October 9)
Moved to Ineligible: Republic Day (India) (maintenance); 2005 Glendale train crash (maintenance)
Omitted: History of Hong Kong (1800s–1930s); Lee-Enfield; Rajendra Prasad (maintenance); Lewinsky scandal; 2009 Malagasy political crisis
Included: Treaty of Karlowitz (first appearance); Rum Rebellion (4th appearance, last in 2011); Finnish Civil War (3rd appearance, last in 2011); Hale telescope (first appearance); Cairo Fire (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 07:39, 25 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2014 notes

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): First Fleet (blurb previously featured Arthur Phillip, which is currently ineligible)
New articles (unused): Audie Murphy (appearing on DYK today)
Omitted: Treaty of Karlowitz; Rum Rebellion; Finnish Civil War; Hale telescope
Included: Vicente Yáñez Pinzón (5th appearance, last in 2011); Battle of Ula (first appearance); Ambrose Burnside (first appearance); Siad Barre (5th appearance, last in 2011)
Repeats: Cairo Fire (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:37, 25 January 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2015 notes

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): 1700 Cascadia earthquake
Omitted: Battle of Ula; Ambrose Burnside; Cairo Fire; Siad Barre
Included: First Fleet (5th appearance, last in 2008); Lee-Enfield (2nd appearance, last in 2012); Audie Murphy (first appearance; 70th anniversary); 2009 Malagasy political crisis (2nd appearance, last in 2012)
Repeats: Vicente Yáñez Pinzón (2nd consecutive appearance, 6 total)

—howcheng {chat} 09:32, 24 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

2016 notes

Moved to Ineligible: 1700 Cascadia earthquake (maintenance)
New articles (unused): Apollo Theater
Omitted: Vicente Yáñez Pinzón; First Fleet; Lee–Enfield; Audie Murphy; 2009 Malagasy political crisis
Included: Treaty of Karlowitz (2nd appearance, last in 2013); Battle of Seattle (1856) (2nd appearance, last in 2011); Finnish Civil War (4th appearance, last in 2013); Beaumont children disappearance (first appearance; 50th anniversary); Siad Barre (6th appearance, last in 2014; 25th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 07:48, 24 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

2017 notes

Omitted: Liberation Day (ineligible—maintenance); Battle of Seattle (1856); Finnish Civil War; Beaumont children disappearance; Siad Barre; Cullinan Diamond
Included: Battle of Ula (2nd appearance, last in 2014); Rum Rebellion (5th appearance, last in 2013); Constitution of India (first appearance as blurb; normally appears observance on November 26); 2009 Malagasy political crisis (3rd appearance, last in 2015)

—howcheng {chat} 08:02, 26 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2018 notes

Moved to Ineligible: First Fleet (maintenance); Battle of Seattle (1856) (maintenance); Ambrose Burnside (maintenance); Lee–Enfield (maintenance); Finnish Civil War (TFA for 2018); Apollo Theater (maintenance)
New articles (ineligible): 1531 Lisbon earthquake (inconsistencies in facts)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Cullinan Diamond
Omitted: Battle of Ula; Rum Rebellion; Constitution of India; 2009 Malagasy political crisis
Included: Assassination of Ali (first appearance); 1700 Cascadia earthquake (5th appearance, last in 2007; rescued from Ineligible); James Bremer (first appearance); Cairo fire (3rd appearance, last in 2014); Clinton–Lewinsky scandal (8th appearance, last in 2015; moved from August 17; 25th anniversary); Lady Zhen (first appearance); Charles George Gordon (first appearance); Olga Tufnell (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 02:38, 27 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Bill Clinton video (2018)

The video is nearly 7 minutes long, and the first 6 minutes are on totally unrelated things. Is it appropriate to trick users into watching those 6 minutes to illustrate the OTD item? IMO, it should be either trimmed to cover only the relevant part, or just replaced with other media (maybe related to other OTD entry). Tagging Howcheng. --HaEr48 (talk) 05:48, 27 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2019 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Vicente Yáñez Pinzón (maintenance); Constitution of India (maintenance)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Finnish Civil War
Omitted: Assassination of Ali (ineligible—date not certain); 1700 Cascadia earthquake; Gordon Bremer; Cairo fire; Clinton–Lewinsky scandal; Lady Zhen (ineligible—maintenance); Charles George Gordon; Olga Tufnell
Included: Treaty of Karlowitz (3rd appearance, last in 2016); First Fleet (6th appearance, last in 2015; rescued from Ineligible); Cullinan Diamond (3rd appearance, last in 2010); Hale Telescope (2nd appearance, last in 2013); 2009 Malagasy political crisis (4th appearance, last in 2017; 10th anniversary); Harry Ricardo (first appearance); Athanase David (first appearance); David Kato (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 17:38, 28 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

2020 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Assassination of Ali (maintenance)
New articles (ineligible): Walter Krueger (TFA for 2020)
Omitted: Treaty of Karlowitz; First Fleet; Cullinan Diamond; Hale Telescope; 2009 Malagasy political crisis; Harry Ricardo; Athanase David; David Kato
Included: Battle of Ula (3rd appearance, last in 2017); Gordon Bremer (2nd appearance, last in 2018); Audie Murphy (2nd appearance, last in 2015; 75th anniversary); JAT Flight 367/Vesna Vulović (both: first appearance); 2001 Gujarat earthquake (2nd appearance, last in 2009); Georg Mohr (first appearance); Giuseppe Genco Russo (first appearance); Angela Davis (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 17:33, 27 January 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2021 notes

New articles (ineligible): Henry Briggs (mathematician) (maintenance); Khorloogiin Choibalsan (maintenance)
Omitted: Battle of Ula; Gordon Bremer; Audie Murphy; JAT Flight 367/Vesna Vulović; Georg Mohr; Giuseppe Genco Russo; Angela Davis
Included: Treaty of Karlowitz (4th appearance, last in 2019); Rum Rebellion (6th appearance, last in 2017); Finnish Civil War (5th appearance, last in 2016); Mohamed Farrah Aidid (first appearance; 30th anniversary); Lady Katherine Grey (first appearance); Bessie Coleman (first appearance); Lindy Delapenha (first appearance)
Repeats: 2001 Gujarat earthquake (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total; 20th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 04:28, 28 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]

2022 notes

New articles (unused): Peter Thorburn; Bob McCallister
Omitted: Treaty of Karlowitz; Rum Rebellion; Finnish Civil War; Mohamed Farrah Aidid; 2001 Gujarat earthquake; Lady Katherine Grey; Bessie Coleman; Lindy Delapenha
Included: Assassination of Ali (2nd appearance, last in 2018; rescued from Ineligible); 1700 Cascadia earthquake (5th appearance, last in 2018); Cullinan Diamond (4th appearance, last in 2019); Cairo fire (4th appearance, last in 2018; 70th anniversary); JAT Flight 367/Vesna Vulović (both: 2nd appearance, last in 2020; 50th anniversary); Manuel do Cenáculo (first appearance); Seán MacBride (first appearance); Suleman octuplets (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 17:17, 27 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Chain Island

I've never had an article I created in OTD before, so I will add the listing of Chain Island for sale here. @Howcheng: How do I do this? I am fine with a different thing on a different day, so long as one is listed somewhere. I have a few others, for a few different days in January. jp×g 21:30, 17 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]