Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/February 16

Skip to table of contents

This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/February 16.

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 16 article, see Talk:February 16 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 16, 2025
Tropical Storm Gabrielle on September 9 Tropical Storm Gabrielle was a short-lived tropical cyclone that passed over North Carolina before tracking out to sea. The seventh named storm of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season, Gabrielle developed as a subtropical cyclone on September 8 about 385 miles (620 km) southeast of Cape Lookout, North Carolina. Unfavorable wind shear impacted the storm for much of its duration, although a temporary decrease in the shear allowed the cyclone to become a tropical storm. On September 9, it made landfall at Cape Lookout National Seashore in North Carolina with winds of 60 mph (97 km/h). Turning to the northeast, the storm quickly weakened and dissipated on September 11. The storm dropped heavy rainfall near its immediate landfall location but little precipitation elsewhere. Along the coast of North Carolina, slight localized flooding was reported. Along the coast of Florida, rough surf drowned one person. Overall damage was minor. (Full article...) Recently featured: Boot Monument "My Little Love" Gao Qifeng Archive By email More featured articles About view – talk – edit – history – watch
Picture of the day for February 16, 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/February 15 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/February 17 →

This may be a good candidate in future years. Perhaps a little too new now?

2005 - The Kyoto Protocol entered into force.

-- PFHLai 01:22, 16 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Whose Majesty’s Government?

Compton and Carteret are discussed in reference to “Her Majesty’s Government.” Unless there is something about George II that we don’t know, that seems incorrect. — crism (talk) 15:28, 16 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Placement of holidays

Would it be possible to place Shrove Tuesday ahead of Mardi Gras, as it is more recognisable as a religious holiday? If not that's totally cool, but please give a reason for why not. Outback the koala (talk) 18:14, 12 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure exactly why Mardi Gras was originally added to appear first.[1]. In comparing the two articles, it appears two different significant ways were developed to observe the day before the beginning to Lent. As the Shrove Tuesday page says, on the one hand, "Christians are expected to go to confession in preparation for the penitential season of turning to God". On the other hand, we have that it "is analogous to the continuing the Carnival tradition associated with Mardi Gras (and its various names in different countries) that continued separately in European Catholic countries." (emphasis added)

And as the Mardi Gras article currently reads, "Similar expressions to Mardi Gras appear in other European languages sharing the Christian tradition. In English, the day is called Shrove Tuesday, associated with the religious requirement for confession before Lent begins." (emphasis added)

But rather than trying to debate which one has more worldwide significance, I'd rather keep them in a neutral alphabetical order. Cheers. Zzyzx11 (talk) 04:49, 13 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Ok while we are english wikipedia... thanks! :) Outback the koala (talk) 08:00, 19 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]

2012 notes

Moved to Ineligible: USS Triton (SSRN-586)/Operation Sandblast (appears on April 25)
Omitted: Tutankhamun, DuSable Museum of African American History, Ash Wednesday fires
Included: Stephen Decatur/USS Philadelphia (1799) (7th appearance for Decatur, last in 2010 (rescued from Ineligible); 1st appearance for ship), Sikorsky H-5 (first appearance)
Repeats: Act of Independence of Lithuania (5th consecutive appearance, 5 total), Janani Luwum (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total), Ideology of Hezbollah/Hezbollah (4th consecutive appearance for Ideology, 4 total; 2nd consecutive for Hezbollah, 3 total)

—howcheng {chat} 17:13, 15 February 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2013 notes

Omitted: Stephen Decatur/USS Philadelphia (1799); Act of Independence of Lithuania; Sikorsky S-51; Janani Luwum; Ideology of Hezbollah/Hezbollah
Included: Battle of Fort Donelson (first appearance); Tutankhamun (5th appearance, last in 2011; 90th anniversary); DuSable Museum of African American History (2nd appearance, last in 2011); Ash Wednesday fires (2nd appearance, last in 2011; 30th anniversary); Kyoto Protocol (3rd appearance, last in 2008; rescued from Ineligible)

—howcheng {chat} 23:37, 15 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2014 notes

Omitted: Battle of Fort Donelson; Tutankhamun; DuSable Museum of African American History; Ash Wednesday bushfires
Included: Battle of Karuse (first appearance); Stephen Decatur/USS Philadelphia (1799) (Decatur: 8th appearance; Philadelphia: 2nd; both last in 2012); Norwegian heavy water sabotage (first appearance); Janani Luwum (3rd appearance, last in 2012)
Repeats: Kyoto Protocol (2nd consecutive appearance, 4 total)

—howcheng {chat} 09:13, 15 February 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2015 notes

Omitted: Battle of Karuse; Stephen Decatur/USS Philadelphia (1799); Norwegian heavy water sabotage; Janani Luwum
Included: Battle of Fort Donelson (2nd appearance, last in 2013); Act of Independence of Lithuania (6th appearance, last in 2012); Altmark Incident (first appearance; 75th anniversary); Ideology of Hezbollah/Hezbollah (Ideology: 5th appearance; Hezbollah: 4th appearance; both last in 2012; 30th anniversary)
Repeats: Kyoto Protocol (2nd consecutive appearance, 5 total; 10th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 07:33, 14 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]

2016 notes

Omitted: Battle of Fort Donelson; Altmark Incident; Hezbollah; Kyoto Protocol
Included: Battle of Karuse (2nd appearance, last in 2014); Stephen Decatur/USS Philadelphia (1799) (Decatur: 9th appearance; Philadelphia: 3rd appearance; both last in 2014); Sikorsky H-5 (2nd appearance, last in 2012; 70th anniversary); Ash Wednesday bushfires (3rd appearance, last in 2013)
Repeats: Act of Independence of Lithuania (2nd consecutive appearance, 7 total)

—howcheng {chat} 08:57, 14 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Request

I suggest adding Day of the Shining Star. This is the second most important national public holiday in North Korea (we have an OTD for the most important one, Day of the Sun on April 15). We used to have one for Kim Jong-un's birthday on January 8, before it was pointed out that it's not a holiday. Consequentially, I think we have room for this one. – Finnusertop (talk ⋅ contribs) 18:26, 6 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2017 notes

Today marks the first day we are including births and deaths as a regular feature instead of only on centennial anniversaries.

Deleted: Gallaudet University (moved to April 8)
Moved to Ineligible: Janani Luwum (maintenance)
Omitted: Lithuania (deleted—incorrect date); Stephen Decatur; Act of Independence of Lithuania; Sikorsky H-5; Ash Wednesday bushfires
Included: Day of the Shining Star (first appearance); Battle of Fort Donelson (3rd appearance, last in 2015); Tutankhamun (6th appearance, last in 2013); Norwegian heavy water sabotage (2nd appearance, last in 2014); DuSable Museum of African American History (3rd appearance, last in 2013); Richard of Dover (first appearance); Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer (first appearance)
Repeats: Battle of Karuse (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total)

—howcheng {chat} 10:40, 16 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2018 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Altmark Incident (maintenance); Sikorsky H-5 (maintenance)
New articles (unused): Theresa Goh
Omitted: Battle of Karuse; Battle of Fort Donelson; Tutankhamun; DuSable Museum of African American History; Richard of Dover; Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer
Included: André de Longjumeau (4th appearance, last in 2007; rescued from Ineligible); Stephen Decatur/USS Philadelphia (1799) (Decatur: 10th appearance; Philadelphia: 4th appearance; both last in 2016); Act of Independence of Lithuania (8th appearance, last in 2016; 100th anniversary); 1996 Maryland train collision (first appearance); Coluccio Salutati (first appearance); Thomas Bracken (first appearance); Mary Amdur (first appearance)
Repeats: Norwegian heavy water sabotage (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total; 75th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 07:57, 16 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2019 notes

Omitted: Stephen Decatur; Act of Independence of Lithuania; Norwegian heavy water sabotage; Coluccio Salutati; Thomas Bracken; Mary Amdur
Included: Battle of Fort Donelson (4th appearance, last in 2017); Tutankhamun (7th appearance, last in 2017); Ash Wednesday bushfires (4th appearance, last in 2016); Jean du Bellay (first appearance); Henry Wilson (first appearance); Lanny McDonald (first appearance)
Repeats: André de Longjumeau (2nd consecutive appearance, 5 total); 1996 Maryland train collision (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 04:06, 19 February 2019 (UTC)[reply]

2020 notes

New articles (unused): Fidel Castro
Omitted: André de Longjumeau; Battle of Fort Donelson; Tutankhamun; Ash Wednesday bushfires; 1996 Maryland train collision; Jean du Bellay; Henry Wilson; Lanny McDonald
Included: Battle of Karuse (4th appearance, last in 2017); Stephen Decatur/USS Philadelphia (1799) (Decatur: 11th appearance; Philadelpha: 5th; both last in 2018); 1936 Spanish general election (first appearance); Hezbollah/Ideology of Hezbollah (Hezbollah: 5th appearance; Ideology: 6th; both last in 2015; rescued from Ineligible); Kyoto Protocol (6th appearance, last in 2015; rescued from Ineligible); Richard of Dover (2nd appearance, last in 2017); Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer (2nd appearance, last in 2017); Theresa Goh (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 19:27, 17 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2021 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Thomas Bracken (maintenance)
Omitted: Battle of Karuse; Stephen Decatur/USS Philadelphia (1799); Hezbollah/Ideology of Hezbollah; Kyoto Protocol; Richard of Dover; Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer; Theresa Goh
Included: André de Longjumeau (6th appearance, last in 2019); Act of Independence of Lithuania (9th appearance, last in 2018); DuSable Museum of African American History (4th appearance, last in 2017; 60th anniversary); 1996 Maryland train collision (3rd appearance, last in 2019; 25th anniversary); Mary the Younger (first appearance); The Weeknd (first appearance); Mary Amdur (2nd appearance, last in 2018)
Repeats: 1936 Spanish general election (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:40, 18 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]

2022 notes

Omitted: André de Longjumeau; Act of Independence of Lithuania; 1936 Spanish general election; DuSable Museum of African American History; 1996 Maryland train collision; Mary the Younger; The Weeknd; Mary Amdur
Included: Stephen Decatur/USS Philadelphia (1799) (Decatur: 12th appearance; ship: 6th; both last in 2020); Concert pitch (first appearance; rescued from Ineligible); Tutankhamun/Tomb of Tutankhamun (Tut: 8th appearance, last in 2019; Tomb: 6th, last in 2015, moved from November 26); Fidel Castro (4th appearance, last in 2006, previously appeared on January 1); February 2013 Quetta bombing (first appearance); Henry Raspe (first appearance); Henry Wilson (2nd appearance, last in 2019); Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer (3rd appearance, last in 2020; 100th birthday)

—howcheng {chat} 07:43, 17 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]