Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/January 31

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This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/January 31.

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 January 31 article, see Talk:January 31 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 January 31, 2026
Wikipedia:Today's featured article/January 31, 2026 create – talk – watch
Picture of the day for January 31, 2026
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/January 30 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/February 1 →

Please change the link [[hominid|higher primate]] to [[Hominidae|higher primate]] to help with disambiguation of the "Hominid" page. Thanks. Iggle 09:38, 7 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Done. Thanks for pointing this out. -- PFHLai 15:23, 7 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

2012 notes

Deleted: Guy Fawkes (appears on Guy Fawkes Day, of course)
Moved to Ineligible: Tet Offensive (maintenance)
New articles (unused): Abdelbaset al-Megrahi
Omitted: Sirius, U-boat Campaign (World War I) (ineligible—maintenance), Battle of Wau, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (ineligible—maintenance), Winter Soldier Investigation (ineligible—maintenance)
Included: London Lock Hospital (5th appearance, last in 2010), Battle of George Square (first appearance), Malayan Campaign (first appearance), Ham the Chimp (3rd appearance, last in 2010), Comet Hyakutake (2nd appearance, last in 2009; moved from January 30)

—howcheng {chat} 20:32, 30 January 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2013 notes

New articles (unused): Pope Sylvester I (Pope Sergius III just appeared on January 29); Milwaukee; Eddie Slovik; Avatar (2009 film); January 31 – February 2, 2011 North American blizzard
Omitted: London Lock Hospital; Battle of George Square (ineligible—maintenance); Malayan Campaign; Ham the Chimp; Comet Hyakutake; Abdelbaset al-Megrahi
Included: John Marshall (first appearance); Mat Salleh Rebellion (first appearance; rescued from Ineligible); Battle of Wau (2nd appearance, last in 2011; 70th anniversary); Explorer 1 (first appearance); 2007 plot to behead a British Muslim soldier (3rd appearance, last in 2010)

—howcheng {chat} 18:21, 30 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2014 notes

Deleted: Tet Offensive (moved to January 30)
Omitted: John Marshall; Mat Salleh Rebellion; Battle of Wau; Explorer 1; 2007 plot to behead a British Muslim soldier
Included: Pope Sylvester I (first appearance; 1700th anniversary); London Lock Hospital (6th appearance, last in 2012); Milwaukee (first appearance); Winter Soldier Investigation (3rd appearance, last in 2011; rescued from Ineligible); Avatar (2009 film) (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 06:35, 30 January 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2015 notes

New articles (unused): Torre Ejecutiva Pemex explosion
Omitted: London Lock Hospital; Milwaukee (ineligible—maintenance); Winter Soldier Investigation; Avatar (2009 film)
Included: Sirius (4th appearance, last in 2011); Mat Salleh Rebellion (2nd appearance, last in 2013); Battle of Hill 170 (first appearance; 70th anniversary); Abdelbaset al-Megrahi (2nd appearance, last in 2012)
Repeats: Pope Sylvester I (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 11:01, 29 January 2015 (UTC)[reply]

2016 notes

Omitted: Pope Sylvester I; Sirius; Battle of Hill 170; Abdelbaset al-Megrahi
Included: Battle of Gembloux (1578) (first appearance); John Marshall (2nd appearance, last in 2013); Malayan Campaign (2nd appearance, last in 2012); Comet Hyakutake (3rd appearance, last in 2012; 20th anniversary)
Repeats: Mat Salleh Rebellion (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:44, 29 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

2017 notes

Moved to Ineligible: London Lock Hospital; January 31 – February 2, 2011 North American blizzard
Omitted: Battle of Gembloux (1578); John Marshall; Malayan Campaign; Comet Hyakutake
Included: Sirius (5th appearance, last in 2015); Battle of Hill 170 (2nd appearance, last in 2015); Alaska Airlines Flight 261 (first appearance)
Repeats: Mat Salleh Rebellion (3rd consecutive appearance, 4 total)

—howcheng {chat} 04:23, 31 January 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2018 notes

Moved to Ineligible: John Marshall (maintenance); Malayan Campaign (maintenance); Eddie Slovik (maintenance); Explorer 1 (maintenance); Winter Soldier Investigation (maintenance); Abdelbaset al-Megrahi (maintenance)
Omitted: Sirius; Mat Salleh Rebellion; Alaska Airlines Flight 261
Included: Pope Sylvester I (3rd appearance, last in 2015); Battle of Gembloux (1578) (2nd appearance, last in 2016); 1957 Pacoima mid-air collision (first appearance); Torre Ejecutiva Pemex explosion (first appearance); Jost Bürgi (first appearance); Manuel Alberti (first appearance); Justin Timberlake (first appearance)
Repeats: Battle of Hill 170 (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total)

—howcheng {chat} 03:30, 1 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2019 notes

Deleted: John Marshall (moved to February 4)
Moved to Ineligible: Comet Hyakutake (maintenance)
Omitted: Pope Sylvester I; Battle of Hill 170; 1957 Pacoima mid-air collision; Torre Ejecutiva Pemex explosion; Jost Bürgi; Manuel Alberti; Justin Timberlake
Included: London Lock Hospital (7th appearance, last in 2014; rescued from Ineligible); Sirius (6th appearance, last in 2017); Ham (chimpanzee) (4th appearance, last in 2012); 2007 plot to behead a British Muslim soldier (4th appearance, last in 2013); Franz Schubert (first appearance); Cilibi Moise (first appearance); Adelaide Tambo (first appearance)
Repeats: Battle of Gembloux (1578) (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total)

—howcheng {chat} 17:17, 31 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

2020 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Battle of Hill 170 (maintenance)
Omitted: Battle of Gembloux (1578); London Lock Hospital; Ham (chimpanzee); 2007 plot to behead a British Muslim soldier; Franz Schubert; Cilibi Moise; Adelaide Tambo
Included: Battle of Lena (first appearance); Alaska Airlines Flight 261 (2nd appearance, last in 2017; 20th anniversary); Avatar (2009 film) (2nd appearance, last in 2014; 10th anniversary); John Francis Regis (first appearance); Manuel Alberti (first appearance); Preity Zinta (first appearance)
Repeats: Sirius (2nd consecutive appearance, 7 total)

—howcheng {chat} 17:27, 3 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2021 notes

Deleted: Milwaukee Bridge War (moved to May 3)
Omitted: Battle of Lena; Sirius; Alaska Airlines Flight 261; Avatar (2009 film); Manuel Alberti; Preity Zinta (ineligible—date not certain)
Included: Pope Sylvester I (4th appearance, last in 2018); London Lock Hospital (8th appearance, last in 2019); Mat Salleh Rebellion (5th appearance, last in 2017); Ham (chimpanzee) (5th appearance, last in 2019; 60th anniversary); Torre Ejecutiva Pemex explosion (2nd appearance, last in 2018); Zina D. H. Young (first appearance); Adelaide Tambo (2nd appearance, last in 2019)
Repeats: John Francis Regis (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 04:03, 2 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]

2022 notes

Moved to Ineligible: 2007 plot to behead a British Muslim soldier (maintenance)
Omitted: Pope Sylvester I; London Lock Hospital; Mat Salleh Rebellion; Ham (chimpanzee); Torre Ejecutiva Pemex explosion; John Francis Regis; Zina D. H. Young; Adelaide Tambo
Included: Battle of Lena (2nd appearance, last in 2020); Battle of Gembloux (1578) (4th appearance, last in 2019); 1957 Pacoima mid-air collision (2nd appearance, last in 2018); Doug Williams (quarterback) (first appearance); Avatar (2009 film) (3rd appearance, last in 2020); James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby (first appearance); Manuel Alberti (3rd appearance, last in 2020); Eleanor Holm (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 07:42, 1 February 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Avatar 2 billion entry

2010 – James Cameron's Avatar became the first film to earn over US$2 billion worldwide.

IMO, this should be removed - not just not highlighted in 2026, but not highlighted ever. OTD should be closely linked to the day somehow. If there's a desire to highlight Avatar as the highest-grossing film, pick December 10 (release date) or December 18 (wide release date). 2 billion is a completely arbitrary amount (why not 1 billion? why not 2.5 billion? why not its first week's gross?), and it's not something that is realistically trackable to-the-day anyway. Film grosses are estimates and come from a zillion sources over wide date ranges. It's not like a sports player where counting their 100th goal in Premier League games is something more countable in a specific order. SnowFire (talk) 16:12, 5 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]