Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/March 21

Skip to table of contents

This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/March 21.

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 March 21 article, see Talk:March 21 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 March 21, 2025
Wikipedia:Today's featured article/March 21, 2025 create – talk – watch
Picture of the day for March 21, 2025
The featured picture for this day has not yet been chosen. In general, pictures of the day are scheduled in order of promotion to featured status. See Wikipedia:Picture of the day/Guidelines for full guidelines. create

← Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/March 20 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/March 22 →

J.S. Bach's birthday

Johann Sebastian Bach surely deserves to be mentioned.

March 10th ?!

The "This date in recent years" feature is showing March 10th, not March 21st...

Someone else

Just my two cents, but that Alcatraz thumb is so small as to be unrecognizable. Radagast 03:28, Mar 21, 2004 (UTC)

A crop would be best, but I increased the width to 150px. For now, another U.S. topic has replaced it. --mav 03:51, 21 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Americans boycotting the 1980 Summer Olympics vs Pete Rose

1980 - The United States announced the boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan.

Is this a better item to feature than Pete Rose ? -- PFHLai 19:57, 2005 Mar 20 (UTC)

1989 - An article in Sports Illustrated alleged that Pete Rose, the Manager of the Cincinnati Reds, was involved in baseball gambling.

Never mind. We have no room. Perhaps we can do some event cycling.... -- PFHLai 23:59, 2005 Mar 20 (UTC)

Norouz, The Persian New-Year's Day

already featured on MainPage the day before --PFHLai 16:14, 24 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I didn't see it in March 21. This year, March 21 was the Persian New-Year's Day. Bidabadi 05:45, 26 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Norouz

Happens at an exact moment of vernal equinox which this year occurs at exactly 12:07 GMT [1]. If someone could add this information it would be great.

I would suggest the format of:

Norouz in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan and also for Bahai faith and Zoroastrians at the exact moment of vernal equinox (12:07 GMT)

Regards, --Rayis 23:05, 11 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, it's 00:07 UTC, not 12:07. It's already there. --PFHLai 14:45, 14 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Purim (2008)

Purim is a Jewish holiday that is on March 21 in 2008. Can an Admin please add Purim for this year only? Manassehkatz 05:00, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

Doesn't Purim begin on sunset on the previous day, like all other Jewish holidays? That is what was displayed on Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/March 20. Zzyzx11 (Talk) 05:33, 21 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, it does. But like the other Jewish holidays, more of the holiday takes place in the day than at night. And unlike Passover where the main commandments/observances are at night, in Purim there are 4 commandments for the day and only 1 for the night (which is also in the day). Manassehkatz 13:13, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

Thank you, Y and Happy Purim! Manassehkatz 17:24, 21 March 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Manassehkatz (talk • contribs) [reply]

2012 notes

Omitted: Báb, Ponce massacre; Kenny Washington (American football); Murder of Amanda Dowler
Included: True Cross (first appearance; rescued from Ineligible); Thomas Cranmer (8th appearance, last in 2010); Pope Pius VII (4th appearance, last in 2010); Otto von Bismarck (first appearance); Pete Rose (3rd appearance, last in 2009)
Repeats: Erawan Shrine (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 08:46, 21 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2013 notes

Omitted: Pope Pius VII (ineligible–maintenance); True Cross; Thomas Cranmer; Pete Rose (ineligible–maintenance); Erawan Shrine
Included: Great Dayton Flood (first appearance; 100th anniversary); Ponce massacre (3rd appearance, last in 2011); Battle of the Transdanubian Hills (first appearance); Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary/Alcatraz Island (penitentiary: first appearance; island: 2nd appearance, last in 2004; 50th anniversary)
Repeats: Otto von Bismarck (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:09, 20 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Edit request on 22 March 2013

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

INSTEAD OF...

1937 – A police squad, acting under orders from Governor of Puerto Rico Blanton Winship, opened fire on demonstrators protesting the arrest of Puerto Rican Nationalist leader Pedro Albizu Campos, killing 17 people and injuring over 200 others.

I PROPOSE THIS BE CHANGED TO THIS:

1937 – A police squad, acting under orders from Governor of Puerto Rico Blanton Winship, opened fire on demonstrators protesting the arrest of Puerto Rican Nationalist leader Pedro Albizu Campos, killing 17 people and injuring over 200 others in what came to be known as the Ponce massacre.

RATIONALE:
Unlike the other events listed for March 21, nowhere is the name of the event mentioned in this listing's text. While there is a link to the event via a wikilink at "opened fire", such method is not the clearest way to link to the article about the event in this listing since the name of the event is never mentioned.

Regards, Mercy11 (talk) 19:43, 22 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Mercy11 (talk) 19:43, 22 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Not done. This is fairly standard syntax for OTD listings. It just happens that today's bunch only has one blurb in this style instead of multiple. —howcheng {chat} 23:12, 22 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2014 notes

Deleted: Báb (already appears on October 20); 1980 Summer Olympics boycott (moved to January 20)
Omitted: Otto von Bismarck; Great Dayton Flood; Ponce massacre; Battle of the Transdanubian Hills; Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary/Alcatraz Island
Included: Thomas Cranmer (9th appearance, last in 2012); Pope Pius VII (5th appearance, last in 2012; rescued from Ineligible); Operation Michael (first appearance); Kenny Washington (American football) (2nd appearance, last in 2011); A House Divided (Dallas) (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 07:07, 20 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Protected edit request on 21 March 2014

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

Tiara link. --Revenge of the Sith (talk) 13:11, 21 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Your request is not clear. But I had a guess about what you meant. If it's something else, please be more specific ... — Martin (MSGJ · talk) 15:19, 21 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2015 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Ponce massacre (maintenance)
Omitted: Pope Pius VII; Operation Michael; Kenny Washington (American football); A House Divided (Dallas)
Included: True Cross (2nd appearance, last in 2012); Otto von Bismarck (3rd appearance, last in 2013); Battle of the Transdanubian Hills (2nd appearance, last in 2013; 70th anniversary); Murder of Milly Dowler (2nd appearance, last in 2011)
Repeats: Thomas Cranmer (2nd consecutive appearance, 10 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:00, 19 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

2016 notes

Omitted: Mother's Day (ineligible—maintenance); Thomas Cranmer; Battle of the Transdanubian Hills; Murder of Milly Dowler
Included: Pope Pius VII (6th appearance, last in 2014); Kenny Washington (American football) (3rd appearance, last in 2014; 70th anniversary); Erawan Shrine (3rd appearance, last in 2012; 10th anniversary)
Repeats: True Cross (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total); Otto von Bismarck (2nd consecutive appearance, 4 total)

—howcheng {chat} 08:09, 19 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

There has been a mistake with Naw-Rúz (Bahá'í calendar). It varies with the spring equinox and is on March 20 in 2016. It should be included on the March 20 page (it was accidentally placed on the March 21 page). Reference: http://www.religiouslife.emory.edu/documents/Baha_i%20Holy%20Days%2050%20year%20calendar.pdf — Preceding unsigned comment added by 120.22.5.196 (talk) 01:00, 21 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]
- There was a note on the page stating the Bahai Naw-Ruz was always on March 21. I've now changed it so that it's listed with Nowruz. —howcheng {chat} 16:47, 21 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

2017 notes

Deleted: Murder of Milly Dowler (sensitive to family)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Battle of Karameh
Omitted: Pope Pius VII; Otto von Bismarck (ineligible—maintenance); Kenny Washington (American football); Erawan Shrine
Included: Thomas Cranmer (11th appearance, last in 2015); Mit brennender Sorge (3rd appearance, last in 2013; moved from March 14); Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary (2nd appearance, last in 2013; blurb also previously featured Alcatraz Island, which is currently ineligible); A House Divided (Dallas) (2nd appearance, last in 2014); Al Williamson (first appearance); Nobuo Uematsu (first appearance); Chinua Achebe (first appearance)
Repeats: True Cross (3rd consecutive appearance, 4 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:55, 21 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2018

I would like to add this historical picture in place of a Thomas Cranmer portrait as the Battle of Karameh marks a special 50th anniversary. Makeandtoss (talk) 15:22, 18 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2018 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Pope Pius VII (maintenance); Battle of the Transdanubian Hills (maintenance)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Sharpeville massacre
New articles (unused): Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube; 1983 West Bank fainting epidemic
Omitted: True Cross (ineligible—maintenance); Mit brennender Sorge (ineligible—maintenance); Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary; A House Divided (Dallas); Al Williamson; Nobuo Uematsu (ineligible—maintenance); Chinua Achebe (ineligible—maintenance)
Included: Operation Michael (2nd appearance, last in 2014; 100th anniversary); Moondog Coronation Ball (first appearance); Battle of Karameh (first appearance; 50th anniversary); Erawan Shrine (4th appearance, last in 2016); Absalon (first appearance); Alice Henry (first appearance); Emily Infeld (first appearance)
Repeats: Thomas Cranmer (2nd consecutive appearance, 12 total)

—howcheng {chat} 05:45, 21 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2019 notes

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Mit brennender Sorge; Nobuo Uematsu; Chinua Achebe
Omitted: Thomas Cranmer; Operation Michael; Moondog Coronation Ball; Battle of Karameh; Absalon; Alice Henry; Emily Infeld
Included: Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube (first appearance); Cornerstone Speech (first appearance); Ponce massacre (4th appearance, last in 2013); 1983 West Bank fainting epidemic (first appearance); Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. (first appearance); Salvador Lutteroth (first appearance); Wolfgang Wagner (first appearance)
Repeats: Erawan Shrine (2nd consecutive appearance, 5 total)

—howcheng {chat} 17:05, 21 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

2020 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Nobuo Uematsu (maintenance)
Omitted: Cornerstone Speech; Ponce massacre; 1983 West Bank fainting epidemic; Erawan Shrine; Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.; Salvador Lutteroth
Included: Thomas Cranmer (13th appearance, last in 2018); Mit brennender Sorge (4th appearance, last in 2017); Sharpeville massacre (3rd appearance, last in 2009; 60th anniversary); A House Divided (Dallas) (3rd appearance, last in 2017; 40th anniversary); Ælla of Northumbria (first appearance); Evelina Haverfield (first appearance; 100th anniversary)
Repeats: Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total); Wolfgang Wagner (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 10th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 22:23, 22 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2021 notes

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Nobuo Uematsu
Omitted: Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube; Mit brennender Sorge; Sharpeville massacre; A House Divided (Dallas); Ælla of Northumbria; Evelina Haverfield; Wolfgang Wagner
Included: Cornerstone Speech (2nd appearance, last in 2019); Battle of Karameh (2nd appearance, last in 2018); Erawan Shrine (6th appearance, last in 2019); John Law (economist) (first appearance); Al Williamson (2nd appearance, last in 2017; 90th birthday); Marina Salye (first appearance)
Repeats: Thomas Cranmer (2nd consecutive appearance, 14 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:28, 23 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

2022 notes

Moved to Ineligible: 1983 West Bank fainting epidemic (maintenance)
New articles (ineligible): Hanna Greally (date not cited)
Omitted: Thomas Cranmer; Cornerstone Speech; Battle of Karameh; Erawan Shrine; John Law (economist); Al Williamson
Included: Oltenia Day (first appearance); Great New Orleans Fire (1788) (first appearance); Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube (3rd appearance, last in 2020); Moondog Coronation Ball (2nd appearance, last in 2018; 70th anniversary); 2019 Xiangshui chemical plant explosion (first appearance); Salvador Lutteroth (2nd appearance, last in 2019; 125th birthday); Nobuo Uematsu (2nd appearance, last in 2017)
Repeats: Marina Salye (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 10th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 16:19, 22 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]