Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/May 18

This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/May 18.

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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 18 article, see Talk:May 18 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.

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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.
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Today's featured article for May 18, 2025
Wikipedia:Today's featured article/May 18, 2025 create – talk – watch
Picture of the day for May 18, 2025
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← Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/May 17 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/May 19 →

"damages" should be "damage". Awien (talk) 14:30, 17 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Edit Request

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The note reads

1991 – The Somali National Movement declared the independence of Somaliland (flag pictured), internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia, following the collapse of central government during the Somali Civil War.

Whereas it would be much more neutral to say;

1991 – The Somali National Movement declared the independence of Somaliland (flag pictured), a de facto state that is internationally recognised as an autonomous region of Somalia, following the collapse of central government during the Somali Civil War.

Thank You. Feel free to ask me questions at my talk. Outback the koala (talk) 00:41, 18 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Okay

Done. In future, please use WP:ERRORS for things on the main page. Thanks — Martin (MSGJ · talk) 08:45, 18 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

2012 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Plessy v. Ferguson (maintenance); 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens (maintenance)
Omitted: Rhode Island; Crimean Tatars; Gwangju Democratization Movement (ineligible—maintenance); Somaliland; 2006 democracy movement in Nepal
Included: Siege of Vicksburg (first appearance); Cinema of India (first appearance); Sada Abe (first appearance); Eli Cohen (first appearance); Nix (moon)/Hydra (moon) (first appearance for both)

Woohoo, all five blurbs are making their debuts! —howcheng {chat} 04:47, 17 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2013 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Rhode Island (maintenance)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Smiling Buddha
Omitted: Cinema of India; Sada Abe (ineligible—maintenance); Eli Cohen; Nix (moon)/Hydra (moon); 2006 democracy movement in Nepal
Included: Republic of Ezo (5th appearance, last in 2008; moved from December 15); Bath School disaster (first appearance); Battle of Monte Cassino (8th appearance, last in 2010); Operation Passage to Freedom (2nd appearance, last in 2010); 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens (7th appearance, last in 2010; rescued from Ineligible)
Repeats: Siege of Vicksburg (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 150th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 08:51, 17 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2014 notes

Deleted: Rhode Island (in 1652 Rhode Island was yet a state and Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations appears on May 4)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Plessy v. Ferguson
Omitted: Siege of Vicksburg; Republic of Ezo; Battle of Monte Cassino; Operation Passage to Freedom; 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
Included: Battle of Buyur Lake (first appearance); Cinema of India (2nd appearance, last in 2012); Deportation of the Crimean Tatars/Crimean Tatars (Deportation: 1st appearance; Tatars: 2nd appearacnce, last in 2011; 70th anniversary); Jacqueline Cochran (first appearance); Smiling Buddha (first appearance; 40th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 10:11, 17 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2015 notes

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Sada Abe
Omitted: Indian film; Deportation of the Crimean Tatars; Jacqueline Cochran; Smiling Buddha
Included: Republic of Ezo (6th appearance, last in 2013); Plessy v. Ferguson (8th appearance, last in 2010); Operation Passage to Freedom (3rd appearance, last in 2013; 60th anniversary); Nix (moon)/Hydra (moon) (both: 2nd appearance. last in 2012; 10th anniversary)
Repeats: Battle of Buyur Lake (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 05:34, 16 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Note on remembrances

May 18 has been designated as the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Crimean Tatar Genocide in Ukraine i.e. for the victims of the deportation of the Crimean Tatars. The article is, I believe, in good shape, and we may want to include this per our usual practice, but we should bear in mind that the designation of genocide is reserved to Ukraine only (though when Greek genocide was first posted it was only recognized by Greece, Cyprus and Sweden) and that genocide is currently not the most popular appellation for this event, even though one of the few experts on this does agree with the designation. --GGT (talk) 13:15, 15 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

2016 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Jacqueline Cochran (maintenance)
Omitted: Republic of Ezo; Plessy v. Ferguson; Operation Passage to Freedom; Nix (moon)/Hydra (moon) (Nix: ineligible—maintenance)
Included: Siege of Vicksburg (3rd appearance, last in 2013); Sada Abe (2nd appearance, last in 2012; 80th anniversary); Somaliland (2nd appearance, last in 2011; 25th anniversary); 2006 democracy movement in Nepal (3rd appearance, last in 2011)
Repeats: Battle of Buyur Lake (3rd consecutive appearance, 3 total)

—howcheng {chat} 08:00, 16 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

2017 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Cinema of India (maintenance); Battle of Monte Cassino (maintenance); Lockheed F-104 Starfighter (maintenance)
Omitted: Siege of Vicksburg; Sada Abe; Somaliland; 2006 democracy movement in Nepal
Included: Republic of Ezo (7th appearance, last in 2015); Bath School disaster (first appearance; 90th anniversary); Eli Cohen (2nd appearance, last in 2012); Smiling Buddha (2nd appearance, last in 2014); Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran (first appearance); Frank Hsieh (first appearance); Mary McLeod Bethune (first appearance)
Repeats: Battle of Buir Lake (4th consecutive appearance, 4 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:46, 18 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2018 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Somaliland (maintenance)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Velupillai Prabhakaran
Omitted: Republic of Ezo (moved to June 27; wrong date); Bath School disaster; Eli Cohen (ineligible—maintenance); Smiling Buddha; Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran; Frank Hsieh; Mary McLeod Bethune
Included: Public holidays in Haiti (rescued from Ineligible); Magtymguly Pyragy (rescued from Ineligible); Plessy v. Ferguson (9th appearance, last in 2015); Deportation of the Crimean Tatars/Crimean Tatars (Deportation: 2nd appearance, as blurb; Tatars: 3rd appearance; both last in 2014); Operation Passage to Freedom (4th appearance, last in 2015); 2006 democracy movement in Nepal (4th appearance, last in 2016); John George Children (first appearance); Thomas Midgley Jr. (first appearance); Ian Curtis (first appearance)
Repeats: Battle of Buir Lake (5th consecutive appearance, 5 total)

—howcheng {chat} 05:54, 18 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2019 notes

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Nix (moon)/Hydra (moon)
Omitted: Plessy v. Ferguson; Deportation of the Crimean Tatars; Operation Passage to Freedom; 2006 democracy movement in Nepal; John George Children; Thomas Midgley Jr.; Ian Curtis
Included: Siege of Vicksburg (4th appearance, last in 2016); Sada Abe (3rd appearance, last in 2016); Eli Cohen (3rd appearance, last in 2017; rescued from Ineligible); Velupillai Prabhakaran (first appearance; 10th anniversary); Guido Luca Ferrero (first appearance); Elijah Craig (first appearance); Jean-François Théodore (first appearance)
Repeats: Battle of Buir Lake (6th consecutive appearance, 6 total)

—howcheng {chat} 17:02, 20 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

2020 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Bath School disaster (TFA for 2020)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Tennessee Valley Authority; Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
New articles (unused): William Hood Simpson; Hedley Verity;
Omitted: Siege of Vicksburg; Sada Abe; Eli Cohen; Velupillai Prabhakaran; Guido Luca Ferrero; Elijah Craig; Jean-François Théodore
Included: Aimee Semple McPherson/Reported kidnapping of Aimee Semple McPherson (McPherson: 2nd appearance, last in 2004; Kidnapping: first appearance; rescued from Ineligible); Deportation of the Crimean Tatars (5th appearance, last in 2018); 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens (8th appearance, last in 2013; 40th anniversary); Omar Khayyam (first appearance); Ester Boserup (first appearance); Ian Curtis (2nd appearance, last in 2018; 40th anniversary)
Repeats: Battle of Buir Lake (7th consecutive appearance, 7 total)

—howcheng {chat} 17:42, 19 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2021 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Somaliland (maintenance); Nix (moon)/Hydra (moon) (date not certain)
New articles (ineligible): Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry (maintenance)
Omitted: Aimee Semple McPherson (Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson was also featured but is now ineligible); Deportation of the Crimean Tatars; Ester Boserup; Ian Curtis
Included: Plessy v. Ferguson (10th appearance, last in 2018); Sada Abe (4th appearance, last in 2019); William Hood Simpson (first appearance); Frank Hsieh (2nd appearance, last in 2017; 75th birthday)
Repeats: Battle of Buir Lake (8th consecutive appearance, 8 total); 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens (2nd consecutive appearance, 9 total); Omar Khayyam (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 06:41, 20 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

2022 notes

Deleted: Cinema of India (Raja Harishchandra on May 3 is usually considered the first Indian film)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Aimee Semple McPherson (blurb also previously featured Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson, which remains ineligible)
Omitted: Battle of Buir Lake; Plessy v. Ferguson; Sada Abe; 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens; Omar Khayyam; William Hood Simpson; Frank Hsieh
Included: Haitian Flag Day (first appearance; replaces Flag of Haiti); Matins of Bruges (first appearance); 1695 Linfen earthquake (first appearance); Bath School disaster (2nd appearance, last in 2017); Operation Passage to Freedom (5th appearance, last in 2018); 2006 Nepalese revolution (5th appearance, last in 2018); Guido Luca Ferrero (2nd appearance, last in 2019); Elijah Craig (2nd appearance, last in 2019); Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran (2nd appearance, last in 2017; 100th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 07:21, 19 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]