Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/May 20

This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/May 20.

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 May 20 article, see Talk:May 20 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 May 20, 2025

Cher in 2019

Cher (born 1946) is an American singer and actress. Dubbed the "Goddess of Pop", she gained fame in 1965 as part of the folk duo Sonny & Cher, early exponents of 1960s counterculture. She became a TV star in the 1970s, with The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour and her solo show Cher drawing over 30 million viewers weekly, and topped the Billboard Hot 100 with narrative pop songs including "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" and "Half-Breed". Transitioning to film, she earned two Academy Awards nominations—for Silkwood (1983) and Moonstruck (1987), winning Best Actress for the latter—and received the Cannes Film Festival's Best Actress Award for Mask (1985). Her dance-pop comeback album Believe (1998) introduced the "Cher effect", a stylized use of Auto-Tune to distort vocals. Her 2002–2005 Farewell Tour grossed $250 million, the highest ever by a female artist at the time. A Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Cher is the only solo artist with Billboard number-one singles in seven decades. (Full article...)

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Picture of the day for May 20, 2025

Rhina Aguirre Amézaga (20 May 1939 – 30 October 2021) was a Bolivian disability activist, politician, and sociologist who served as senator for Tarija from 2010 to 2015. An opponent of the military dictatorships of the 1970s and '80s, Aguirre was an early activist in the country's human rights movement. Exiled to Ecuador by the García Meza regime, she collaborated with Leonidas Proaño's Indigenous Ministry and worked closely with the country's peasant and social organizations. Blinded in both eyes by toxoplasmosis, Aguirre took up the cause of disability rights, joining the Departmental Council for Disabled Persons upon her return to Bolivia. In 2009, she joined the Movement for Socialism and was elected to represent Tarija in the Senate, becoming the first blind person in Bolivian history to assume a parliamentary seat. This photograph shows Aguirre in 2014.

Photograph credit: Chamber of Senators

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← Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/May 19 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/May 21 →

Everybody Draw Mohammed Day

Latest comment: 14 years ago19 comments7 people in discussion

2010 – Everybody Draw Mohammed Day started as a poster published on the Internet on April 20, 2010 protesting the censoring of an episode of South Park depicting the prophet Mohammed. Encouraging people everywhere to make their own drawing of Muhammad on May 20 the grassroots movement has gained widespread support as well as criticism even before the set date.

I have never proposed a change to this section before, and I assume this nomination is unusual in several respects. I still think this would be an interesting marker to present if the regulars can accept it. There is, I realize, also an issue with length, but I have suggested what I see is necessary and am open to deliberations. __meco (talk) 14:46, 18 May 2010 (UTC)Reply

Comment: a bit early to describe it as an "anniversary", surely? ;-) I'd be happier seeing it in WP:ITN, to be honest. TFOWR^propaganda 14:59, 18 May 2010 (UTC)Reply

Admittedly, but it's a designated "day" as good as any, and say, if the UN instituted an annual "LGBT Families Day" or whatever, I don't think the issue would be that it hadn't yet had time to become an anniversary.. __meco (talk) 16:23, 18 May 2010 (UTC)Reply

Right, but if the UN were to institute such a day, it would recur. So, partly my issue is that this isn't an anniversary yet, and partly because we don't yet know whether the event will recur - this may be a one-off. What were your thoughts on WP:ITN, by the way? Given the controversy, I'd be fairly convinced that this will make ITN ;-) TFOWR^propaganda 16:28, 18 May 2010 (UTC)Reply

Oppose - This is not an anniversary yet, and it is likely that this event will only be of passing historical importance. In other words, OTD is not for current events that could not make the cut on ITN. かんぱい！ Scapler (talk) 17:09, 18 May 2010 (UTC)Reply
Oppose this year - OTD isn't really the place for (so-far) one-time events. Those are more suited to ITN. If there's significant coverage of the event when May 20 rolls around next year then sure, I'd be up for supporting inclusion, despite the likelyhood of irritating Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells. And, I forget, did Boobquake make it onto ITN? GeeJo ^(t)⁄_(c) • 17:43, 18 May 2010 (UTC)Reply
I think it was DYK. f o x 09:07, 19 May 2010 (UTC)Reply
Oppose OTD events from the current year (i.e. happening now). Take it to WP:ITN/C instead. Modest Genius ^talk 22:49, 18 May 2010 (UTC)Reply
Obviously, no Not an anniversary. A similar type of query came up on the UK election day. Why some regular editors still don't realize that OTD only features events in the past -- i.e. anniversaries -- is beyond me. And calling this an "observance" or "holiday" (to say nothing of a "holy day") would be a stretch, so it's probably not going in the first line next to the date either. -- tariqabjotu 23:08, 18 May 2010 (UTC)Reply
Nah. Per above, really, but this does look like a bit of an attempt to see how far WP:CENSOR will stretch... f o x 09:07, 19 May 2010 (UTC)Reply
What do you mean? How does this stretch Wikipedia's existing practices? __meco (talk) 15:52, 19 May 2010 (UTC)Reply
(edit conflict) Well, from my perspective, it looks like you're trying to make a point. -- tariqabjotu 15:54, 19 May 2010 (UTC)Reply
I have no clue what you mean, and you don't do much to make is apparent either. __meco (talk) 16:20, 19 May 2010 (UTC)Reply
You have no clue what I mean? Oh really? You essentially stated the point last month, when you nominated the South Park debacle for ITN...

The Islamist onslaught on the core Western value of freedom of expression now has taken its latest toll as perhaps the least authority-conforming bastion also cowers to their terror strategy. I think South Park constitutes a milestone in this respect, and a very sad one indeed, one that warrants general attention.

Replace South Park with "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" and switch a few words around and that's the point I'm talking about. -- tariqabjotu 16:37, 19 May 2010 (UTC)Reply
If the matter isn't notable is will not get posted. I see no reason to recuse myself from nominating a story on a cause which I happen to support. Don't you also occupy yourself to a large degree with issues that interest you? What your comments indicate is that my suggestions are frivolous. I don't think that's called for. And your initial reference to WP:CENSOR still confounds me. __meco (talk) 16:44, 19 May 2010 (UTC)Reply
I never expected you to agree with opposition; if you did, surely you wouldn't have proposed this in the first place. I can imagine why Fox mentioned WP:CENSOR, but I never used it myself. -- tariqabjotu 16:49, 19 May 2010 (UTC)Reply
I'm sorry, I have been attributing the above post by User:Fox to you. I've been expecting you to clarify what that user meant which is obviously the wrong address. __meco (talk) 19:14, 19 May 2010 (UTC)Reply

With Pakistan now blocking Facebook over this thing, I have found the time right for nominating the issue at ITN. __meco (talk) 15:53, 19 May 2010 (UTC)Reply

A much more appropriate venue for this. It will be an uphill battle, I imagine, so good luck. かんぱい！ Scapler (talk) 16:16, 19 May 2010 (UTC)Reply

2012 notes

Latest comment: 12 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Moved to Ineligible: Complutense University of Madrid (maintenance)
Omitted: First Council of Nicaea (ineligible—maintenance); Battle of Dun Nechtain; Homestead Act; Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia (ineligible—maintenance)
Included: Battle of Lincoln (1217) (first appearance); Shakespeare's sonnets (first appearance); Levi Strauss (first appearance; blurb previously featured Levi Strauss & Co. (ineligible), last appeared in 2009); Luc Montagnier (first appearance)
Repeats: East Timor (3rd consecutive appearance, 15 total (over multiple days))

—howcheng {chat} 07:13, 19 May 2012 (UTC)Reply

2013 notes

Latest comment: 11 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

NOTE: WP:Today's article for improvement removed from Main Page as of today.

Omitted: Battle of Lincoln (1217); Shakespeare's sonnets; Homestead Acts; Levi Strauss; East Timor
Included: First Council of Nicaea (9th appearance, last in 2011; rescued from Ineligible); Battle of Dun Nechtain (3rd appearance, last in 2011); Metre Convention (first appearance); Ibn Saud (8th appearance, last in 2011; rescued from Ineligible)
Repeats: Luc Montagnier (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 06:03, 19 May 2013 (UTC)Reply

2014 notes

Latest comment: 10 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Romer v. Evans
Omitted: First Council of Nicaea; Battle of Dun Nechtain; Metre Convention; Luc Montagnier
Included: Battle of Lincoln (1217) (2nd appearance, last in 2012); Shakespeare's sonnets (2nd appearance, last in 2012); Triple Alliance (1882) (2nd appearance, last in 2004; rescued from Ineligible); One for the Road (Cheers) (first appearance)
Repeats: Ibn Saud (2nd consecutive appearance, 9 total)

—howcheng {chat} 06:43, 19 May 2014 (UTC)Reply

2015 notes

Latest comment: 9 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Omitted: Battle of Lincoln (1217); Triple Alliance (1882); Ibn Saud; One for the Road (Cheers)
Included: Æthelberht II of East Anglia (first appearance); Metre Convention (2nd appearance, last in 2013); Romer v. Evans (first appearance); 2012 Northern Italy earthquakes (first appearance)
Repeats: Shakespeare's sonnets (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total)

—howcheng {chat} 11:33, 18 May 2015 (UTC)Reply

2016 notes

Latest comment: 8 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Moved to Ineligible: Levi Strauss (maintenance)
Omitted: Æthelberht II of East Anglia; Metre Convention; 2012 Northern Italy earthquakes
Included: First Council of Nicaea (10th appearance, last in 2013); Triple Alliance (1882) (3rd appearance, last in 2014); Ibn Saud (10th appearance, last in 2014)
Repeats: Shakespeare's sonnets (3rd consecutive appearance, 4 total); Romer v. Evans (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 20th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 07:54, 18 May 2016 (UTC)Reply

2017 notes

Latest comment: 7 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

Rescued from Ineligible: Levi Strauss/Jacob W. Davis (Strauss just appeared on February 26)
Omitted: Cameroon (date not in article); East Timor (ineligible—maintenance); Budi Utomo (date not in article); First Council of Nicaea; Shakespeare's sonnets (ineligible—maintenance); Triple Alliance (1882); Ibn Saud (ineligible—maintenance); Romer v. Evans
Included: Battle of Dun Nechtain (4th appearance, last in 2013); Battle of Lincoln (1217) (3rd appearance, last in 2014; 900th anniversary); Metre Convention (3rd appearance, last in 2015); Luc Montagnier (3rd appearance, last in 2013); 2012 Northern Italy earthquakes (2nd appearance, last in 2015); Gertrude Guillaume-Schack (first appearance); Astrid Kirchherr (first appearance); Cher (first appearance)