Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/May 2

This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/May 2.

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 2 article, see Talk:May 2 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 2, 2025

Wikipedia:Today's featured article/May 2, 2025

create – talk – watch

Picture of the day for May 2, 2025

Raising a Flag over the Reichstag (Russian: Знамя Победы над Рейхстагом, romanized: Znamya Pobedy nad Reykhstagom, lit. 'Victory Banner over the Reichstag') is an iconic World War II photograph, taken during the Battle of Berlin on 2 May 1945 by Yevgeny Khaldei. The photograph was reprinted in thousands of publications and came to be regarded around the world as one of the most significant and recognizable images of World War II, but, owing to the secrecy of Soviet media, both the identity of photographer and the identities of the men in the picture were often disputed.

The Reichstag was seen as symbolic of, and at the heart of, Nazi Germany. It was arguably the most symbolic target in Berlin. After its capture on 2 May 1945, Khaldei scaled the now pacified Reichstag to take a picture. He was carrying with him a large flag, sewn from three tablecloths for this very purpose, by his uncle. The official story would later be that two hand-picked soldiers, Meliton Kantaria (Georgian) and Mikhail Yegorov (Russian), raised the Soviet flag over the Reichstag, However, according to Khaldei himself, when he arrived at the Reichstag, he simply asked the soldiers who happened to be passing by to help with the staging of the photoshoot; the one who was attaching the flag was 18-year-old Private Kovalev from Burlin, Kazakhstan, the two others were Abdulkhakim Ismailov from Dagestan and Leonid Gorychev (also mentioned as Aleksei Goryachev) from Minsk.

Photograph credit: Yevgeny Khaldei for TASS; restored by Adam Cuerden

Recently featured:

← Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/May 1 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/May 3 →

I am about to remove Yom HaShoah (2008). I am mentioning it here however because the Israeli government has moved it to the previous day so that the observance does not lead directly into Shabbat. Israel is doing all observances Wednesday Night through Thursday Afternoon. [1]. So I remove this in expectation that an admin will put it on May 1 (the Selected Anniversaries is locked because it is tomorrow's date. Thanks! Valley2city 16:35, 30 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

The image had been nominated for deletion at Commons since January. The nomination was valid and I've had to delete it. Durova^Charge! 05:54, 5 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

2012 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Battle of Alcatraz (maintenance)
Omitted: Authorized King James Version; Battle of Callao; de Havilland Comet; Zagreb rocket attacks; Marad massacre
Included: Portsmouth (first appearance); John Knox (first appearance); ARA General Belgrano (8th appearance, last in 2010); Death of Osama bin Laden (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 05:38, 1 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Addendum: Henri Toivonen (5th appearance, last in 2010) added later for balance. —howcheng {chat} 16:03, 2 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2013 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Battle of Callao (maintenance)
New articles (unused): Canadian federal election, 2011
Omitted: Portsmouth (ineligible—maintenance); John Knox; Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War (ineligible—maintenance); ARA General Belgrano (ineligible—maintenance); Henri Toivonen; Death of Osama bin Laden
Included: Authorized King James Version; (2nd appearance, last in 2011) Stonewall Jackson/Battle of Chancellorsville (Jackson: first appearance; Battle: 8th appearance, last in 2011; moved from May 6); Queen Elizabeth 2 (first appearance); Mireya Moscoso (3rd appearance, last in 2006; rescued from Ineligible); Marad massacre (2nd appearance, last in 2011; 10th anniversary); Chaitén (volcano) (first appearance; 5th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 20:04, 1 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2014 notes

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): ARA General Belgrano
Omitted: King James Version; Battle of Chancellorsville; Queen Elizabeth 2; Mireya Moscoso; Marad massacre; Chaitén (volcano)
Included: Portsmouth (2nd appearance, last in 2012; rescued from Ineligible); Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War (3rd appearance, last in 2012; rescued from Ineligible); Battle of Cut Knife (first appearance); Zagreb rocket attacks (2nd appearance, last in 2011); Canadian federal election, 2011 (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 07:10, 1 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2015 notes

Omitted: Portsmouth; Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War; Battle of Cut Knife; Canadian federal election, 2011
Included: John Knox (2nd appearance, last in 2012); Stonewall Jackson/Battle of Chancellorsville (Jackson: 2nd appearance; Battle: 9th appearance; both last in 2013); Battle of Berlin (7th appearance, last in 2010; 70th anniversary); ARA General Belgrano (9th appearance, last in 2012)
Repeats: Zagreb rocket attacks (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total; 20th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 11:00, 30 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Comment-2016

Hudson's Bay Company is eligible now while King James Version and Portsmouth need to undergo maintenance edits. Mhhossein (talk) 05:50, 27 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

2016 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Portsmouth (maintenance); King James Version (maintenance)
Omitted: John Knox; Stonewall Jackson/Battle of Chancellorsville; ARA General Belgrano; Zagreb rocket attacks
Included: Hudson's Bay Company (6th appearance, last in 2008; rescued from Ineligible); Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War (4th appearance, last in 2014); Henri Toivonen (6th appearance, last in 2012); Death of Osama bin Laden (2nd appearance, last in 2012)

—howcheng {chat} 06:33, 30 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

2017 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Battle of Cut Knife (maintenance); Queen Elizabeth 2 (maintenance)
Omitted: Hudson's Bay Company (ineligible—maintenance); Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War (ineligible—maintenance); Henri Toivonen; Death of Osama bin Laden
Included: John Knox (3rd appearance, last in 2015); Battle of Chancellorsville (10th appearance, last in 2015); Mireya Moscoso (4th appearance, last in 2013); 2014 Odessa clashes (first appearance); Blanche of Artois (first appearance); Catherine Labouré (first appearance); Engelbert Humperdinck (singer) (first appearance)
Repeats: Battle of Berlin (3rd consecutive appearance, 9 total)

—howcheng {chat} 15:45, 30 April 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2018 notes

New articles (unused): 2014 Badakhshan mudslides
Omitted: Battle of Chancellorsville; Battle of Berlin; Mireya Moscoso; 2014 Odessa clashes; Blanche of Artois; Catherine Labouré; Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)
Included: Portsmouth (3rd appearance, last in 2014; rescued from Ineligible); Attack on USNS Card (first appearance); Zagreb rocket attacks (4th appearance, last in 2015); Chaitén (volcano) (2nd appearance, last in 2013; 10th anniversary); Liu Zong (first appearance); Giacomo Meyerbeer (first appearance); B. B. Lal (first appearance)
Repeats: John Knox (2nd consecutive appearance, 4 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:05, 2 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

"National Day of Prayer"

I dispute that the "National Day of Prayer" in the United States should be called out as an On This Day. This is not a national holiday. I don't believe it is something "celebrated" (as its article claims) or even noticed by the majority of Americans. I believe it's religious agenda-pushing. I acknowledge my social circle doesn't represent all Americans, but in my social circle, this would only be known if someone were to see it mentioned on "On This Day" or in a 10 second news blurb.

(Sorry if this is the wrong place for this comment, and I didn't want to be bold and remove it) - On Sober Reflection (talk) 09:08, 1 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

@On Sober Reflection: We include lots of observances that aren't national holidays, major (Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day), minor (International Surfing Day), and jokey (Star Wars Day, International Talk Like a Pirate Day). As for your claim of "agenda-pushing", I believe that's the same objection that conservatives would make to our inclusion of Transgender Day of Remembrance, so if we are adhering to NPOV, it seems to me that we should include it if possible. —howcheng {chat} 16:10, 2 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

2019 notes

Omitted: John Knox; Attack on USNS Card; Zagreb rocket attacks; Chaitén (volcano); Liu Zong; Giacomo Meyerbeer; B. B. Lal
Included: Battle of Chancellorsville (11th appearance, last in 2017); Battle of Berlin (10th appearance, last in 2017); Mireya Moscoso (5th appearance, last in 2017; 20th anniversary); 2014 Badakhshan mudslides (first appearance); Leonardo da Vinci (2nd appearance, last in 2017; 500th anniversary; normally appears on April 15 (birthday)); Mary Moser (first appearance); Dwayne Johnson (first appearance)
Repeats: Portsmouth (2nd consecutive appearance, 4 total)

—howcheng {chat} 16:02, 2 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

2020 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Henri Toivonen (maintenance)
Omitted: Portsmouth; Battle of Chancellorsville; Mireya Moscoso; 2014 Badakhshan mudslides; Leonardo da Vinci (deleted as per above); Mary Moser; Dwayne Johnson
Included: John Knox (2nd appearance, last in 2018); Treaty of Wuchale/Italo-Ethiopian War of 1887–1889 (both: first appearance); Zagreb rocket attacks (5th appearance, last in 2018; 25th anniversary); 2011 Canadian federal election (2nd appearance, last in 2014); Marutha of Tikrit (first appearance); Isabel González (first appearance); Dorothea Binz (first appearance; 75th anniversary)
Repeats: Battle of Berlin (2nd consecutive appearance, 11 total; 75th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 17:55, 4 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2021 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Marad massacre (maintenance); Liu Zong (source is dead)
New articles (unused): Ichiyō Higuchi
Omitted: Treaty of Wuchale/Italo-Ethiopian War of 1887–1889; Battle of Berlin; Zagreb rocket attacks; 2011 Canadian federal election; Marutha of Tikrit; Isabel González; Dorothea Binz
Included: Battle of Chancellorsville (12th appearance, last in 2019); Attack on USNS Card (2nd appearance, last in 2018); Mireya Moscoso (6th appearance, last in 2019); Killing of Osama bin Laden (3rd appearance, last in 2016; 10th anniversary); Stjepan Gradić (first appearance); Theodor Herzl (first appearance); B. B. Lal (2nd appearance, last in 2018; 100th birthday)
Repeats: John Knox (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:19, 4 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

2022 notes

New articles (unused): Ernest Joyce
Omitted: John Knox; Battle of Chancellorsville; Attack on USNS Card; Mireya Moscoso; Killing of Osama bin Laden; Stjepan Gradić; Theodor Herzl; B. B. Lal
Included: Hudson's Bay Company (7th appearance, last in 2016; rescued from Ineligible); Great Mill Disaster (first appearance); Battle of Berlin (12th appearance, last in 2020); ARA General Belgrano (10th appearance, last in 2015; 40th anniversary); 2014 Odessa clashes (2nd appearance, last in 2017); Blanche of Artois (2nd appearance, last in 2017); Ichiyō Higuchi (first appearance; 150th birthday); Dwayne Johnson (2nd appearance, last in 2019; 50th birthday)

—howcheng {chat} 06:53, 3 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

It should be "royal charter", not "Royal Charter"

King Richard I of England gave the city of Portsmouth (Old Portsmouth pictured) its first royal charter.

In fact, all that should be done is to remove the pipe [[royal charter|Royal Charter]] :) Surtsicna (talk) 16:06, 2 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Done. Thanks, Prolog (talk) 12:19, 3 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]