Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/April 15

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This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/April 15.

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 April 15 article, see Talk:April 15 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 April 15, 2025
Wikipedia:Today's featured article/April 15, 2025 create – talk – watch
Picture of the day for April 15, 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/April 14 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/April 16 →

tank image

the image with the tanks took place in early June of 1989. the image should not be used for April 15. Kingturtle 08:26, 15 Apr 2004 (UTC)

And yet that photo of Jackie Robinson was taken after the event depicted on this page. --mav

Touche...but I see a difference between a portrait and an actual event. Portraits tend to be "timeless." But an image of historical context should be accurate date-wise. Kingturtle 16:33, 15 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Titanic

I think mention of the RMS Titanic belongs on April 15, not 14. The important part of the Titanic event happened on April 15 (meaning the actually sinking) The only actual significant part of the Titanic disaster that happened on April 14 was striking the iceberg MechBrowman 21:40, Apr 11, 2005 (UTC)

I think it's okay on either day, as long as the item is accurately worded. Hitting the iceberg was the critical starting point of the sinking, which took hours. Anyway, a 5th item is needed for the SA template for April 14th, while the template for the 15th has 6 items, i.e. 1 too many. Hence the move seems alright to me. ... However, for 2006, the bombing of Mumbai on April 14th, 1944 (See Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/April 14.) may bump the Titanic item back to April 15th to avoid featuring 2 catastrophes on the same day .... How's that ? :-) -- PFHLai 16:21, 2005 Apr 13 (UTC)

Now that I thought about it, it doesn't matter too much since most people know what happens to Titanic after it hits the iceberg, but if April 15 ever has room (for whatever reason) Titanic should be moved back. MechBrowman 16:31, Apr 13, 2005 (UTC)

The item on boxing would probably be the first to go .... -- PFHLai 16:52, 2005 Apr 13 (UTC)

Jackie Robinson

"1947 - African American Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers broke the color line in professional baseball"

This was not the first time he played professional baseball (surely the Negro League was professional, not to mention the minor league). It was his debut in Major League Baseball. So I think that the quoted item should say Major League Baseball in place of professional baseball. DHR 18:44, 15 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I've edited the line for next year. Is it better now ? --PFHLai 05:20, 16 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

"1947 - African American Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers played his first game in Major League Baseball, breaking the color line in professional baseball"

Thanks! Unfortunately, this still isn't right. Surely the colour line in professional baseball was broken by or before Jackie Robinson played for the Montreal Royals 1946. The Royals were a professional team and they were mostly white (unlike the Negro Leagues). Again, replacing the remaining "professional baseball" with "Major League Baseball" would make this correct. When claiming a first, it is important to make the claim accurate. DHR 06:31, 17 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hmmm.... "the color line in professional baseball" seems ill-defined. Let's avoid the debate on which color line being 'the' color line. I'm looking for a way to keep the link to Professional baseball, as that page actually has a paragraph about Robinson. How about "a key step towards racial desegregation in professional baseball" ? --PFHLai 07:26, 17 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Found a better page: Baseball color line. I've completely rewritten the line. How is it now ? -- PFHLai 07:39, 17 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

"1947 - Jackie Robinson, the first African American to break the baseball color line, played his first game in Major League Baseball as a first baseman with the Brooklyn Dodgers"

Thanks again. Much better. I think that it is correct but a bit misleading. It might be improved as "1947 - Jackie Robinson, the first African American to break the baseball color line, became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball on this date." This is still awkward. The problem is that the second portion justifies the anniversary (first in MLB) but the first part has the link to the relevant article (baseball color line). Another thought: "1947 - Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (see the baseball color line)". Details can be added to taste (I'm trying to be concise). DHR 02:03, 18 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Can we avoid the brackets ? Let me think .... -- PFHLai 05:07, 18 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Hillsborough Disaster

All the guidelines and the FAQ above are noted ... nevertheless the omission from the OTD list of the Hillsborough Disaster, on the 20th anniversary thereof and when it is featured in retrospective news and opinion articles worldwide, is hard to understand. Darcyj (talk) 08:47, 15 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I second that. Madcynic (talk) 11:21, 15 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry, forgot that Hillsborough Stadium could have been bolded as the alternative selected article. Cheers. Zzyzx11 (talk) 20:21, 15 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thirded. A story about McDonald's opening a ninth store? Really? I know that the OTD decisions aren't based on importance/signifance but it seems slightly wrong... It's Malpass ⁹₃! (_drop me a ^___) 15:47, 15 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Walter O'Malley vs. Jackie Robinson

With the addition of this edit and the accompanying hidden comment, I'm kinda of concerned if we did have to choose between one or the other. If both articles are equal in terms of the "well-written article" criterion, it seems to me there might be more complaints from baseball fans if O'Malley was chosen ahead of Robinson. Yes, I know that Robinson has been posted here for 5+ years, but from what I have read about baseball, there was an extremely notable reason why, among others, Robinson's jersey number, 42, was retired by every Major League Baseball team in 1997 – and that breaking the color barrier seemed to have much more impact to the sport than expanding to the West Coast. Cheers. Zzyzx11 (talk) 02:47, 30 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

No Lincoln?

No Lincoln assassination in "on this day"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kenn5 (talk • contribs) 09:06, 15 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, its true that Lincoln died on April 15. But the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln itself, when John Wilkes Booth's gun actually went off, happened on April 14. Zzyzx11 (talk) 10:50, 15 April 2010 (UTC)[reply]

2012 notes

Moved to Ineligible: 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine (maintenance); Walter O'Malley (date not found in article)
Omitted: Serse (ineligible—maintenance); A Dictionary of the English Language; Sinking of the RMS Titanic (TFA for 2012); Jackie Robinson; McDonald's; World Trade Organization
Included: Shimabara Rebellion (first appearance); I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud (first appearance); Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 (first appearance); Boeing B-52 Stratofortress (2nd appearance, last in 2010); Hu Yaobang (2nd appearance, last in 2008; rescued from Ineligible)

—howcheng {chat} 11:22, 15 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2013 notes

New articles (unused): Teapot Dome scandal
Omitted: William Wordsworth/I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud; Great Mississippi Flood of 1927; Boeing B-52 Stratofortress; Hu Yaobang
Included: Kim Il-sung (rescued from Ineligible); Lateran Council (769) (first appearance); Siege of Bari (first appearance); A Dictionary of the English Language (8th appearance, last in 2011); Jackie Robinson (8th appearance, last in 2011); Hillsborough disaster (5th appearance, last in 2007)
Repeats: Shimabara Rebellion (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 375th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 05:16, 14 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Addendum: Shimabara Rebellion later removed for balance. —howcheng {chat} 22:59, 15 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2014 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Boeing B-52 Stratofortress (maintenance); McDonald's (maintenance)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): 1986 United States bombing of Libya
New articles (unused): Boston Marathon bombings
Omitted: Lateran Council (769); Siege of Bari; A Dictionary of the English Language (ineligible—maintenance); Jackie Robinson
Included: Tax Day (rescued from Ineligible); Shimabara Rebellion (2nd appearance, last in 2012); William Wordsworth/I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud (both: 2nd appearance, last in 2012); Walter O'Malley (first appearance; rescued from Ineligible); World Trade Organization (7th appearance, last in 2011)
Repeats: Hillsborough disaster (2nd consecutive appearance, 6 total; 25th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 03:44, 14 April 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2015 notes

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Serse; A Dictionary of the English Language
Omitted: William Wordsworth/Dorothy Wordsworth/I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud; Walter O'Malley; Hillsborough disaster
Included: Siege of Bari (2nd appearance, last in 2013); RMS Titanic/Sinking of the RMS Titanic (Titanic: 10th appearance, last in 2012; Sinking: first appearance); 1986 United States bombing of Libya (4th appearance, last in 2008)
Repeats: Shimabara Rebellion (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total); World Trade Organization (2nd consecutive appearance, 8 total; 20th anniversary)
Note: Boston Marathon bombings remained unused as it is currently in ITN due to the trial.

—howcheng {chat} 11:22, 13 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Checking the list

Boeing B-52 Stratofortress was listed in ineligible list because of needing expansion which is I think resolved by now. It has appeared two times on the main page in the On this day box. --Mhhossein (talk) 13:57, 12 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I found no problem with articles in eligible list. Mhhossein (talk) 14:30, 12 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]
1986 United States bombing of Libya, which appeared on the main page last year, has reference issues and was crossed out of eligible list. I suggest to include Teapot Dome scandal which has apparently never been on the main page. Mhhossein (talk) 05:56, 13 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Titanic - 2

1912 – The passenger liner 'RMS Titanic sank (pictured) about two hours and forty minutes after colliding with an iceberg, killing more than 1,500 people.

– Quibble with sentence structure: The above can be understood as saying that 1,500 died in the collision with the iceberg. Suggested rewording:

"The ocean liner RMS Titanic sank (pictured) about two hours and forty minutes after colliding with an iceberg, and more than 1,500 people died from drowning or exposure." Sca (talk) 14:51, 12 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

How about it: "The ocean liner RMS Titanic .... , the event left more than 1,500 people dead."? Mhhossein (talk) 05:31, 13 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Or "...iceberg, as a result of which..." – or "...iceberg, resulting in the deaths of ...." Sca (talk) 14:48, 14 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

2016 notes

Omitted: Siege of Bari; RMS Titanic/Sinking of the RMS Titanic; 1986 United States bombing of Libya (ineligible—maintenance); World Trade Organization
Included: Lateran Council (769) (2nd appearance, last in 2013); Serse (5th appearance, last in 2011); Teapot Dome scandal (first appearance); Boston Marathon bombing (first appearance)
Repeats: Shimabara Rebellion (3rd consecutive appearance, 4 total)

—howcheng {chat} 06:30, 13 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Howcheng: Jackie Robinson blurb will have its 70th anniversary next year. Does it matter? Mhhossein (talk) 07:03, 13 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, he'll go in for sure next year, unless he's TFA or POTD. Round-number anniversaries usually get priority. —howcheng {chat} 15:47, 13 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

2017 notes

Moved to Ineligible: A Dictionary of the English Language (maintenance); Hu Yaobang (maintenance)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
Omitted: Father Damien (ineligible—maintenance); Lateran Council (769); Shimabara Rebellion; Serse; Teapot Dome scandal (ineligible—maintenance); Boston Marathon bombing
Included: I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud (3rd appearance, last in 2014; blurb also previously featured William Wordsworth, which is now ineligible); Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 (2nd appearance, last in 2012; 90th anniversary); Jackie Robinson (9th appearance, last in 2012; 70th anniversary); Hillsborough disaster (7th appearance, last in 2014); Leonardo da Vinci (first appearance); Leonhard Euler (first appearance); Greta Garbo (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 17:38, 15 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2018 notes

New articles (unused): 2001 Bangladesh–India border clashes (moved from April 16)
Omitted: I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud; Great Mississippi Flood of 1927; Jackie Robinson; Hillsborough disaster; Leonardo da Vinci; Leonhard Euler; Greta Garbo
Included: Shimabara Rebellion (5th appearance, last in 2016); Serse (6th appearance, last in 2016); 1936 Tulkarm shooting (first appearance); Walter O'Malley (2nd appearance, last in 2014; 60th anniversary); World Trade Organization (9th appearance, last in 2015); Guru Arjan (first appearance); Mikhail Lomonosov (first appearance); Emma Watson (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 03:40, 15 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2019 notes

Omitted: Shimabara Rebellion; Serse; 1936 Tulkarm shooting; Walter O'Malley; World Trade Organization; Guru Arjan; Mikhail Lomonosov; Emma Watson
Included: Lateran Council (769) (3rd appearance, last in 2016; 1250th anniversary); Sinking of the RMS Titanic (2nd appearance, last in 2015); Boeing B-52 Stratofortress (3rd appearance, last in 2012); Hillsborough disaster (8th appearance, last in 2017; 30th anniversary); Richard Poore (first appearance); Wilhelm Busch (first appearance); Arsenio Lacson (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 16:58, 15 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

2020 notes

New articles (unused): George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore; Richard von Weizsäcker; Claudia Cardinale; Hugh Thompson Jr.; Dara Torres; Milton Bradley (baseball); Seth Rogen
Omitted: Lateran Council (769); Sinking of the RMS Titanic; Boeing B-52 Stratofortress; Hillsborough disaster; Richard Poore; Wilhelm Busch; Arsenio Lacson
Included: Siege of Bari (3rd appearance, last in 2015); I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud (4th appearance, last in 2017); World Trade Organization (10th appearance, last in 2018); Notre-Dame de Paris fire (first appearance); Robert Persons (first appearance); Stanley Bruce (first appearance); Greta Garbo (2nd appearance, last in 2017; 30th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 20:44, 16 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2021 notes

Deleted: 2001 Bangladesh–India border clashes (moved back to April 16)
Moved to Ineligible: Sinking of the RMS Titanic (Frederick Fleet is POTD for 2021-04-14)
New articles (ineligible): Carol W. Greider (POTD for 2021)
New articles (unused): Robert W. Gore
Omitted: Siege of Bari; I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud; World Trade Organization; Notre-Dame de Paris fire; Robert Persons;Stanley Bruce; Greta Garbo
Included: Shimabara Rebellion (6th appearance, last in 2018); Serse (7th appearance, last in 2018); 1936 Tulkarm shooting (2nd appearance, last in 2018); Walter O'Malley (3rd appearance, last in 2018); George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore (first appearance); Richard von Weizsäcker (first appearance); Dara Torres (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 07:20, 17 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

2022 notes

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Carol W. Greider
Omitted: Shimabara Rebellion; Serse; 1936 Tulkarm shooting; Walter O'Malley; George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore; Richard von Weizsäcker; Dara Torres
Included: Lateran Council (769) (4th appearance, last in 2019); Battle of Rain (first appearance); Sinking of the RMS Titanic (3rd appearance, last in 2019; rescued from Ineligible); Teapot Dome scandal (2nd appearance, last in 2016; 100th anniversary; rescued from Ineligible); Boeing B-52 Stratofortress (4th appearance, last in 2019; 70th anniversary); Leonhard Euler (3rd appearance, last in 2017); Arsenio Lacson (2nd appearance, last in 2019; 60th anniversary); Seth Rogen (first appearance; 40th birthday)

—howcheng {chat} 03:17, 16 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]