Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/August 21

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

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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 August 21 article, see Talk:August 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?

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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 August 21, 2025
Wikipedia:Today's featured article/August 21, 2025 create – talk – watch
Picture of the day for August 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/August 20 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/August 22 →

2002 - Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien announces he will step down in 18 months due largely to the internal revolt, in his Liberal Party of Canada, led by supporters of his former Finance Minister Paul Martin.

Worthy of inclusion? -- User:Jord

probably not... -- PFHLai 05:23, 2005 August 22 (UTC)

1911 - The Mona Lisa was stolen. (for 2006 ?) -- PFHLai 05:23, 2005 August 22 (UTC)

I support this. How do we get it in for this year (2010)? I'd prefer it over the Hawaii hook. Casliber (talk · contribs) 19:54, 1 May 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Like to suggest a reword on the following...

1986 - Carbon dioxide vented from Cameroon's Lake Nyos, called a limnic eruption, suffocating over 1700 people.

The lake may be volcanic but the limnic eruption is not a direct feature of volcanic activity with the lake, and why can't we be more specific about which gas came out of the lake, how the gas killed the people, and the phenomena's name? Revmachine21 10:12, 18 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Better now ? -- PFHLai 16:37, 12 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Latvia

Latvia has its independence day on 4 May, as Independence Day states. lv:Latvija doesn't help, however :(. --Monk 09:44, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Latvia has its independence day on November 18th - ask any Latvian, like me. The history is such - independence of Latvia was declared on 18.Nov.1918. However, Latvia lost its independence during WWII. Then, at 04.May.1990 it declared the renewal of independence de iure. 21.Aug.1991 was simply the date when the independence was gained de facto. Neither 04.May.1990 nor 21.Aug.1991 are celebrated as independence days in Latvia. Take a look at the homepage of the official page of Latvian Institute if you don't believe me: http://www.li.lv/en/?id=9

from WP:ERRORS

Missing Context

"1772 - A bloodless coup led by Gustav III was completed with the adoption of a new Instrument of Government."

needs more context. Namely, "Sweden" should appear in there somewhere. Maybe write out Gustav III of Sweden instead of just piping to it? ^L_Wizard @ 03:07, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Or perhaps "Swedish Constitution" instead of "Instrument of Government"?Guille 11:48, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I agree -- it's in the links, but it should be clearer. Mdotley 14:14, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

2nd or 3rd Korean War?

The 4th OTD, regarding the Axe Murder Incident and Operation Paul Bunyan, suggests the Operation "almost triggering a second Korean War" in 1976. But, according to Wikipedia an event primarilly known as "the Second Korean War" had already happened between 1966 and 1970.

So the OTD should probably be corrected to something like "...almost triggering a second full-scale Korean War" or "...almost triggering a third Korean War" --Myfanwy 10:50, 21 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Ninoy Aquino Day

On this page, the link for Ninoy Aquino Day is to the article about Benigno Aquino, Jr. when there is actually a seperate article about this holiday, can somebody fix it. Highfields (talk, contribs) 13:48, 21 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

2012 notes

New articles (unused): Harry K. Daghlian, Jr.; Mars Observer (save for 2013: 20th anniversary)
Omitted: Pueblo Revolt; Mona Lisa; Operation Tractable; Hurricane Dean
Included: Battle of Dunkeld (first appearance); Lincoln–Douglas debates (first appearance); Battle of the Tenaru (first appearance); Ruby Ridge (first appearance); Lake Nyos (6th appearance, last in 2010; rescued from Ineligible)

—howcheng {chat} 20:12, 19 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2013 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Hawaii (maintenance)
New articles (unused): Dumbarton Oaks Conference
Omitted: Battle of Dunkeld; Lincoln–Douglas debates; Battle of the Tenaru; Lake Nyos; Ruby Ridge
Included: Nat Turner's slave rebellion (5th appearance, last in 2010); Mona Lisa (5th appearance, last in 2011); Xá Lợi Pagoda raids (5th appearance, last in 2011; 50th anniversary); Al-Aqsa Mosque (first appearance); Mars Observer (first appearance; 20th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 04:49, 20 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2014 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Ruby Ridge (maintenance)
Omitted: Nat Turner's slave rebellion; Xá Lợi Pagoda raids; Al-Aqsa Mosque; Mars Observer
Included: Battle of Yancheng (first appearance); Battle of Dunkeld (2nd appearance, last in 2012; 325th anniversary); Dumbarton Oaks Conference (first appearance; 70th anniversary); Hurricane Dean (2nd appearance, last in 2011)
Repeats: Mona Lisa (2nd consecutive appearance, 6 total)

—howcheng {chat} 05:45, 20 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2015 notes

Omitted: Battle of Yancheng; Mona Lisa; Dumbarton Oaks Conference; Hurricane Dean
Included: Lincoln–Douglas debates (2nd appearance, last in 2012); Harry K. Daghlian, Jr. (first appearance; 70th anniversary); Lake Nyos (7th appearance, last in 2012); Ghouta chemical attack (first appearance)
Repeats: Battle of Dunkeld (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total)

—howcheng {chat} 06:52, 19 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

2016 notes

Omitted: Battle of Dunkeld; Lincoln–Douglas debates; Harry Daghlian; Ghouta chemical attack
Included: Pueblo Revolt (2nd appearance, last in 2011); Nat Turner's slave rebellion (6th appearance, last in 2013); Operation Tractable (2nd appearance, last in 2011); Al-Aqsa Mosque (2nd appearance, last in 2013)
Repeats: Lake Nyos (2nd consecutive appearance, 8 total; 30th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 09:48, 21 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

2017 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Battle of Dunkeld (maintenance); Dumbarton Oaks Conference (maintenance)
New articles (ineligible): Haitian Revolution (moved from August 22)
Omitted: Public holidays in Morocco/Mohammed VI of Morocco (both: maintenance); Pueblo Revolt (maintenance); Nat Turner's slave rebellion; Operation Tractable; Al-Aqsa Mosque; Lake Nyos
Included: Battle of Yancheng (2nd appearance, last in 2014); Lincoln–Douglas debates (3rd appearance, last in 2015); Mona Lisa (6th appearance, last in 2014); Battle of the Tenaru (2nd appearance, last in 2012; 75th anniversary); Hurricane Dean (3rd appearance, last in 2014; 10th anniversary); Alphonse, Count of Poitiers (first appearance); Emily Tinne (first appearance); Emma Mashinini (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 16:14, 21 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2018 notes

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Battle of Dunkeld; Ruby Ridge
Omitted: Lincoln–Douglas debates; Mona Lisa; Battle of the Tenaru; Hurricane Dean; Alphonse, Count of Poitiers; Emily Tinne; Emma Mashinini
Included: Nat Turner's slave rebellion (7th appearance, last in 2016); Operation Tractable (3rd appearance, last in 2016); Mars Observer (2nd appearance, last in 2012; 25th anniversary); 2015 Thalys train attack (first appearance); John Claypole (first appearance); John MacCulloch (first appearance); Eve Torres (first appearance)
Repeats: Battle of Yancheng (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total)

—howcheng {chat} 03:32, 21 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2019 notes

New articles (unused): Zahir al-Umar; Thomas S. Monson; Art Farmer; Stephen Hillenburg; Sergey Brin; Jerry Finn
Omitted: Battle of Yancheng; Nat Turner's slave rebellion; Mars Observer; 2015 Thalys train attack; John Claypole; John MacCulloch; Eve Torres
Included: Battle of Dunkeld (4th appearance, last in 2015); Lincoln–Douglas debates (4th appearance, last in 2017); Xá Lợi Pagoda raids (6th appearance, last in 2013); Al-Aqsa Mosque (3rd appearance, last in 2016; 50th anniversary); Baldwin II of Jerusalem (first appearance); Emily Tinne (2nd appearance, last in 2017); Emma Mashinini (2nd appearance, last in 2017; 90th birthday)
Repeats: Operation Tractable (2nd consecutive appearance, 4 total; 75th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 16:59, 23 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

2020 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Battle of Yancheng (maintenance); Nat Turner's slave rebellion (maintenance); Mars Observer (maintenance); Alphonse, Count of Poitiers (maintenance); Zahir al-Umar (date not certain)
Omitted: Lincoln–Douglas debates; Operation Tractable; Xá Lợi Pagoda raids; Al-Aqsa Mosque; Baldwin II of Jerusalem; Emily Tinne; Emma Mashinini
Included: Mona Lisa (8th appearance, last in 2017); Harry Daghlian (2nd appearance, last in 2015; 75th anniversary); Ghouta chemical attack (2nd appearance, last in 2015); Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (first appearance); Christopher Robin Milne (first appearance); Art Farmer (first appearance)
Repeats: Battle of Dunkeld (2nd consecutive appearance, 5 total)

—howcheng {chat} 00:38, 24 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2021 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Hurricane Dean (maintenance)
New articles (unused): Siege of Belgrade (1717)
Omitted: Battle of Dunkeld; Harry Daghlian; Ghouta chemical attack; Lady Mary Wortley Montagu; Christopher Robin Milne; Art Farmer
Included: Siege of Corfu (1716) (first appearance); Battle of Vimeiro (first appearance); San Quentin Six (first appearance; 50th anniversary); Lake Nyos disaster (first appearance; blurb previously featured Lake Nyos and is making its 3rd appearance, last in 2016); Juan de Tassis, 2nd Count of Villamediana (first appearance); Jules Michelet (first appearance); Stephen Hillenburg (first appearance)
Repeats: Mona Lisa (2nd consecutive appearance, 9 total)

—howcheng {chat} 06:55, 23 August 2021 (UTC)[reply]

2022 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Al-Aqsa Mosque (maintenance); Ruby Ridge (maintenance)
Omitted: Siege of Corfu (1716); Battle of Vimeiro; Mona Lisa; San Quentin Six; Lake Nyos disaster; Juan de Tassis, 2nd Count of Villamediana; Jules Michelet (ineligible—maintenance); Stephen Hillenburg
Included: Siege of Belgrade (1717) (first appearance); Cockade of Italy (first appearance); Operation Tractable (5th appearance, last in 2019); Xá Lợi Pagoda raids (7th appearance, last in 2019); 2015 Thalys train attack (2nd appearance, last in 2018); Baldwin II of Jerusalem (2nd appearance, last in 2019); Art Farmer (2nd appearance, last in 2020); Sergey Brin (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 17:04, 22 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]

2023 rationale

War heavy facts, need more variety
1963 fact is ineligible this year due to it being the TFA

Heart ^(talk) 03:33, 8 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]