Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/March 17

Skip to table of contents

This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/March 17.

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 17 article, see Talk:March 17 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 17, 2025

Wikipedia:Today's featured article/March 17, 2025

create – talk – watch

Picture of the day for March 17, 2025

"The Strike in the Coal Mines — Meeting of Molly M'Guire Men", an 1874 illustration from Harper's Weekly depicting Molly Maguires — members of an Irish 19th-century secret society — meeting to discuss strikes in the Pennsylvania coal mines. After a series of often violent conflicts, twenty suspected members of the Molly Maguires were convicted of murder and other crimes and were executed by hanging in 1877–78. This history remains part of local Pennsylvania lore and the actual facts are much debated among historians.

Image: Paul Frenzeny and Jules Tavernier, restored by Adam Cuerden

Recently featured:

← Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/March 16 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/March 18 →

1673 - Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet begin their exploration of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi river.
- Marquette article says they left on 17 May and the Jolliet article says 18 May. howcheng {chat} 16:52, 16 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
2003 - Military preparations for 2003 invasion of Iraq with 270,000 men in the order of battle
- Article now redirects to 2003 invasion of Iraq. howcheng {chat} 16:52, 16 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Battle of Munda is signaled in Talk, but is not here. Shall i put this here or in Media Wiki 17 March? Muriel 11:22, 13 Mar 2004 (UTC)

It is already there - in an HTML comment. --mav

Change of Image

~~{{editprotected}}~~ It seems like File:Golda_Meir_03265u.jpg would be more beneficial to the main page as there is already a picture of Discovery featured and Vanguard I is a bit redundante. This could be changed throughout the day. ERK^talk 23:46, 16 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

DoneValley2city^‽ 04:00, 17 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The picture of Discovery has been replaced, and now we have enough portrait images. --BorgQueen (talk) 04:02, 17 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

2012 notes

New articles (unused): United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 (there has been a spate of Arab Spring articles on in recent months, giving rise to WP:RECENT concerns)
Omitted: SS Utopia, Belzec extermination camp, Richard Riot, 1957 Cebu Douglas C-47 crash
Included: Californium (4th appearance, last in 2010), Mount Agung (first appearance), Battle of Afabet (first appearance), Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God (3rd appearance, last in 2010)
Repeats: Siege of Boston (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 06:01, 16 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2013 notes

New articles (unused): Soviet Union referendum, 1991; 1992 attack on Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires
Omitted: Siege of Boston; Californium; Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God
Included: Petronius Maximus (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; moved from May 31); SS Utopia (2nd appearance, last in 2011); Golda Meir (8th appearance, last in 2010)
Repeats: Mount Agung (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 50th anniversary); Battle of Afabet (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 25th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 06:55, 16 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2014 notes

New articles (unused): Edward, the Black Prince; Battle of Los Alporchones; Richard Ramirez (not really new—had made an appearance back in 2004, but was later removed)
Omitted: Petronius Maximus; SS Utopia; Mount Agung; Golda Meir; Battle of Afabet
Included: Kingdom of Butuan (first appearance); First Taranaki War (2nd appearance, last in 2010; rescued from Ineligible); 1957 Cebu Douglas C-47 crash (2nd appearance, last in 2011); Burst of Joy (first appearance); United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 04:43, 16 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2015 notes

Omitted: Kingdom of Butuan; First Taranaki War; 1957 Cebu Douglas C-47 crash; Burst of Joy; United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973
Included: Edward, the Black Prince (first appearance); Battle of Los Alporchones (first appearance); Siege of Boston (3rd appearance, last in 2012); Richard Riot (2nd appearance, last in 2011; 60th anniversary); Richard Ramirez (2nd appearance, last in 2004; 30th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 06:40, 15 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

2016 notes

Omitted: Edward, the Black Prince; Battle of Los Alporchones; Siege of Boston; Richard Riot; Richard Ramirez
Included: Petronius Maximus (3rd appearance, last in 2013); First Taranaki War (3rd appearance, last in 2014); SS Utopia (3rd appearance, last in 2013; 125th anniversary); Californium (5th appearance, last in 2012); Soviet Union referendum, 1991 (first appearance; 25th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 16:12, 15 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

2017 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Mount Agung; Golda Meir; 1992 attack on Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires; Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God
Omitted: Petronius Maximus; First Taranaki War; SS Utopia; Californium; Soviet Union referendum, 1991
Included: Rajahnate of Butuan (2nd appearance, last in 2014); Siege of Boston (4th appearance, last in 2015); Bełżec extermination camp (2nd appearance, last in 2011; 75th anniversary); 1957 Cebu Douglas C-47 crash (3rd appearance, last in 2014; 60th anniversary); 2004 unrest in Kosovo (4th appearance, last in 2010); Jocelin of Glasgow (first appearance); Pattie Boyd (first appearance); William Gibson (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 04:14, 17 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2018 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Edward the Black Prince (maintenance)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Golda Meir
Omitted: History of Song; Siege of Boston; 1957 Cebu Douglas C-47 crash; 2004 unrest in Kosovo (ineligible—maintenance); Jocelin of Glasgow; Pattie Boyd; William Gibson
Included: Battle of Los Alporchones (2nd appearance, last in 2015); SS Utopia (4th appearance, last in 2016); Richard Riot (3rd appearance, last in 2015); Dugway sheep incident (first appearance; 50th anniversary); Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God (4th appearance, last in 2012; rescued from Ineligible); Emily Sartain (first appearance); Margaret Bondfield (2nd appearance, last in 2016; normally appears on June 8); Shu Xiuwen (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 02:17, 17 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2019 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Rajahnate of Butuan (maintenance)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Edward the Black Prince
Omitted: Battle of Los Alporchones; SS Utopia; Richard Riot; Dugway sheep incident; Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God; Emily Sartain; Margaret Bondfield (returned to her normal date of June 8)
Included: Petronius Maximus (4th appearance, last in 2016); Siege of Valenciennes (1676–77) (first appearance); First Taranaki War (4th appearance, last in 2016); Golda Meir (9th appearance, last in 2013; 50th anniversary); Penmanshiel Tunnel (first appearance; 40th anniversary); Edith New (first appearance); Toni Preckwinkle (first appearance)
Repeats: Shu Xiuwen (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 50th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 15:48, 18 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Edward

The anniversary of Edward becoming the first duke in England strikes me as very trivial. There is no practical difference between dukes and earls so this is not exactly an earth-shattering moment in English history, let alone global history. It looks particularly silly next to blurbs about wars, mass murder, and the discovery of a chemical element. And on top of it all, Edward is the one pictured. Surtsicna (talk) 17:14, 17 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]

@Surtsicna: Sorry for the late reply, but do you have a suggestion for a better date to put Edward on? —howcheng {chat} 16:07, 15 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]

2020 notes

New articles (ineligible): William F. Raynolds (TFA for 2020)
Omitted: Petronius Maximus; Siege of Valenciennes (1676–77); First Taranaki War; Golda Meir; Penmanshiel Tunnel; Edith New; Toni Preckwinkle; Shu Xiuwen
Included: Edward the Black Prince (2nd appearance, last in 2015); Siege of Boston (5th appearance, last in 2017); Californium (6th appearance, last in 2016; 70th anniversary); Battle of Afabet (3rd appearance, last in 2013); Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God (5th appearance, last in 2018; 10th anniversary); Gertrude of Nivelles (first appearance); Menno van Coehoorn (first appearance); Stormy Daniels (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 06:12, 19 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Anniversary of the Unification of Italy

Can it be added, after "Saint Patrick's Day (Christianity)", Anniversary of the Unification of Italy (1861) ? --LukeWiller (talk) 13:33, 16 March 2021 (UTC).[reply]

@Ritchie333: Would you be able to help with this? Vaselineeeeeeee^★★★ 15:02, 16 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@Cullen328: Maybe? Vaselineeeeeeee^★★★ 17:08, 16 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I am not familiar with the standards for this section of the main page, and I am at work right now. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 17:58, 16 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

No worries. I just realized User:Howcheng is the admin who follows these—perhaps you can address this? Vaselineeeeeeee^★★★ 18:01, 16 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@LukeWiller: Sorry, the article is not good enough. There are too many paragraphs that have no footnotes. —howcheng {chat} 06:55, 17 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@Howcheng: Don't worry, thanks anyway. --LukeWiller (talk) 13:08, 17 March 2021 (UTC).[reply]

@Howcheng: I improved the article with the addition of footnotes: now could it be okay? --LukeWiller (talk) 14:35, 17 March 2021 (UTC).[reply]

@LukeWiller: Nice work, I've put it in. —howcheng {chat} 18:46, 17 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@Howcheng: Thanks... :-) --LukeWiller (talk) 19:55, 17 March 2021 (UTC).[reply]

2021 notes

Omitted: Edward the Black Prince; Siege of Boston; Californium; Battle of Afabet; Battle of Afabet; Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God; Gertrude of Nivelles; Menno van Coehoorn; Stormy Daniels
Included: Anniversary of the Unification of Italy (first appearance); Battle of Los Alporchones (3rd appearance, last in 2018); First Taranaki War (5th appearance, last in 2019); 1957 Cebu Douglas C-47 crash (4th appearance, last in 2017); 1991 Soviet Union referendum (2nd appearance, last in 2016; 50th anniversary); United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 (2nd appearance, last in 2014; 10th anniversary); William F. Raynolds (first appearance; rescued from Ineligible); Walter Rudolf Hess (first appearance); Margaret Whitlam (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 06:56, 19 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

2022 notes

New articles (unused): Chuck Muncie
Omitted: Battle of Los Alporchones; First Taranaki War; 1957 Cebu Douglas C-47 crash; 1991 Soviet Union referendum; United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973; William F. Raynolds; Walter Rudolf Hess
Included: Siege of Valenciennes (1676–1677) (2nd appearance, last in 2019); SS Utopia (5th appearance, last in 2018); Belzec extermination camp/Operation Reinhard (Belzec: 3rd appearance, last in 2019; Operation: first); Richard Riot (4th appearance, last in 2018); Richard Ramirez (3rd appearance, last in 2015); Rosina Heikel (first appearance); Toni Preckwinkle (2nd appearance, last in 2019; 75th birthday)
Repeats: Margaret Whitlam (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 10th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 07:31, 18 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]