Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/December 20

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This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/December 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 December 20 article, see Talk:December 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 December 20, 2024

Carthaginian war elephants, depicted by Bussière

The Battle of the Bagradas River was fought in 240 BC, in present-day north-east Tunisia, between a Carthaginian army led by Hamilcar Barca and a rebel force led by Spendius. Carthage was fighting a coalition of mutinous soldiers and rebellious African cities in the Mercenary War, which had started late the previous year in the wake of the First Punic War. Hamilcar left Carthage and evaded a rebel blockade by crossing the Bagradas River (the modern Medjerda River) at its mouth. Two rebel armies marched towards the Carthaginians. When they came into sight Hamilcar ordered a feigned retreat. The rebels broke ranks to chase the Carthaginians and this impetuous pursuit caused them to fall into disorder. Once the rebels had closed, the Carthaginians turned and charged them. The rebels broke and were routed. The Carthaginians pursued, killing or capturing many of the rebels and taking a bridge over the Bagradas. This victory gave Hamilcar freedom to manoeuvre and the operational initiative. (This article is part of a featured topic: Mercenary War.)

Recently featured:

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Picture of the day for December 20, 2024

Marie Antoinette and Her Children is an oil-on-canvas painting by the French artist Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, painted in 1787. It shows Marie Antoinette, the consort of King Louis XVI of France, wearing a red velvet gown with a sable lining. Her younger son, the future Louis XVII, sits on her lap, while her daughter Marie-Thérèse leans on her arm. Marie Antoinette's elder son, Louis Joseph, at that time Dauphin of France, is near an empty cradle intended for her younger daughter Sophie, who died before the painting's completion. The work was commissioned by Louis XVI in an effort to improve the public perception of Marie Antoinette, after her reputation was tarnished by the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, by focusing on her role as a queen and a mother; she is depicted with little jewellery. The painting was first shown at the Salon in Paris, to mixed reactions, and is now displayed at the Palace of Versailles.

Painting credit: Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun

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

1946 Nankaidō earthquake

Pls consider including 1946 Nankaidō earthquake. --74.13.130.52 (talk) 05:33, 20 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

2011 notes

New articles (unused): It's a Wonderful Life, American Airlines Flight 965
Swapped out: Confederate States of America, Cheka (moved to Ineligible), Cardiff, MV Doña Paz
Swapped in: Flying Tigers (first appearance), United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (first appearance; was previously Ineligible), Macau (7th appearance, last in 2009; was previously Ineligible), Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (first appearance)
Left in: Luis Carrero Blanco (4th consecutive appearance, 4 total)

--howcheng {chat} 19:57, 19 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

2012 notes

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): United States invasion of Panama
Omitted: Flying Tigers (ineligible—maintenance); Luis Carrero Blanco (ineligible—maintenance); United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances; Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District
Included: Confederate States of America (3rd appearance, last in 2010); It's a Wonderful Life (first appearance); Cardiff (2nd appearance, last in 2010); Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (first appearance)
Repeats: Macau (2nd consecutive appearance, 8 total)

—howcheng {chat} 06:45, 19 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2013 notes

Omitted: It's a Wonderful Life; Macau; Portrait of Suzanne Bloch
Included: Zodiac Killer (first appearance); United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (2nd appearance, last in 2011; 25th anniversary); Implementation Force (4th appearance, last in 2007; rescued from Ineligible)
Repeats: Confederate States of America (2nd consecutive appearance, 4 total); Cardiff (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:21, 19 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Confederate States of America

Please excuse me if I am posting this on the wrong talk page.

On the Main Page today, the blurb for this anniversary is

1860 – South Carolina became the first of eleven slave states to secede from the United States, leading to the eventual creation of the Confederate States of America and later the American Civil War.

Doesn't this imply, misleadingly, that the Confederate states seceded chiefly because they wanted to continue to allow slavery? I recall a scene in the episode of The Simpsons in which Apu becomes a U.S. citizen. In this scene, he is taking the citizenship test and he is asked what the Civil War was fought over, or something like this, and he replied that it was fought over something else (I'm not sure, but I think he said something about those states' economies) but the popular belief is that it was fought over the fate of the slaves, so that was what he was giving as his answer. --anon. 71.183.139.60 (talk) 23:16, 20 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I disagree. The states that seceded were all known as slave states and the primary cause of secession was indeed slavery, so the blurb as written is accurate. —howcheng {chat} 04:15, 21 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2014 notes

Moved to Ineligible: It's a Wonderful Life (maintenance); Macau (maintenance)
Omitted: Zodiac Killer; United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances; Implementation Force
Included: MV Doña Paz (2nd appearance, last in 2010); United States invasion of Panama (4th appearance, last in 2009; 25th anniversary); Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (2nd appearance, last in 2012)
Repeats: Confederate States of America (3rd consecutive appearance, 5 total); Cardiff (3rd consecutive appearance, 4 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:46, 18 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2015 notes

Omitted: MV Doña Paz; United States invasion of Panama; Portrait of Suzanne Bloch
Included: Boeing 707 (first appearance); Implementation Force (5th appearance, last in 2013; 20th anniversary); Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (2nd appearance, last in 2011; 10th anniversary)
Repeats: Confederate States of America (4th consecutive appearance, 6 total); Cardiff (4th consecutive appearance, 5 total; 60th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 11:39, 18 December 2015 (UTC)[reply]

2016 notes

New articles (unused): Announcerless Game (not entirely sure this one is notable enough)
Omitted: Cardiff; Boeing 707 (ineligible—maintenance); Implementation Force; Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District; Portrait of Suzanne Bloch
Included: Experimental Breeder Reactor I (3rd appearance, last in 2008); Médecins Sans Frontières (first appearance); United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (3rd appearance, last in 2013); Macau (9th appearance, last in 2012; rescued from Ineligible)
Repeats: Confederate States of America (5th consecutive appearance, 7 total)

—howcheng {chat} 06:14, 20 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

2017 notes

Omitted: Médecins Sans Frontières; United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances; Macau (ineligible—maintenance)
Included: MV Doña Paz (3rd appearance, last in 2014; 30th anniversary); Implementation Force (6th appearance, last in 2015); Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (4th appearance, last in 2015; 10th anniversary); Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon (first appearance); Elizabeth Kekaaniau (first appearance); Beatrice Beeby (first appearance)
Repeats: Confederate States of America (6th consecutive appearance, 8 total); Experimental Breeder Reactor I (2nd consecutive appearance, 4 total)

—howcheng {chat} 17:16, 20 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2018 notes

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): It's a Wonderful Life
Omitted: Experimental Breeder Reactor I MV Doña Paz; Implementation Force; Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon; Elizabeth Kekaʻaniau; Beatrice Beeby
Included: Cardiff (6th appearance, last in 2015); Zodiac Killer (2nd appearance, last in 2013; 50th anniversary); United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (4th appearance, last in 2016; 30th anniversary); Ambroise Paré (first appearance); Bill O'Reilly (cricketer) (first appearance); Beth Doe (first appearance)
Repeats: Confederate States of America (7th consecutive appearance, 9 total); Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (2nd consecutive appearance, 5 total)

—howcheng {chat} 17:01, 20 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2019 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Experimental Breeder Reactor I (maintenance); Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District (maintenance)
Omitted: Cardiff; Zodiac Killer; United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances; Portrait of Suzanne Bloch; Ambroise Paré; Bill O'Reilly (cricketer); Beth Doe
Included: Operation Kraai; Médecins Sans Frontières (2nd appearance, last in 2016); MV Doña Paz (4th appearance, last in 2017); Macau (10th appearance, last in 2016; rescued from Ineligible; 20th anniversary); Jean Jannon (first appearance); Kan'ichi Asakawa (first appearance); Dawn Steel (first appearance)
Repeats: Confederate States of America (8th consecutive appearance, 10 total)

—howcheng {chat} 21:51, 23 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]

2020 notes

Moved to Ineligible: It's a Wonderful Life (maintenance)
Omitted: Operation Kraai; Médecins Sans Frontières; MV Doña Paz; Macau; Jean Jannon; Kan'ichi Asakawa; Dawn Steel
Included: Announcerless game (first appearance); Implementation Force (7th appearance, last in 2017; 25th anniversary); Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (6th appearance, last in 2018); Pope Zephyrinus (2nd appearance, last in 2017; 40th anniversary); Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon (2nd appearance, last in 2017); Beth Doe (2nd appearance, last in 2018)
Repeats: Confederate States of America (9th consecutive appearance, 11 total)

—howcheng {chat} 04:31, 22 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2021 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Operation Kraai (maintenance)
Omitted: Confederate States of America (ineligible—maintenance); Announcerless game; Implementation Force; Pope Zephyrinus; Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon; Murder of Evelyn Colon (formerly titled "Beth Doe")
Included: Cardiff (7th appearance, last in 2018); Zodiac Killer (3rd appearance, last in 2018); United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (5th appearance, last in 2018); American Airlines Flight 965 (first appearance); John Bell (farmer) (first appearance); Kan'ichi Asakawa (2nd appearance, last in 2019); Beatrice Beeby (2nd appearance, last in 2017; 30th anniversary)
Repeats: Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (2nd consecutive appearance, 7 total)

—howcheng {chat} 04:37, 21 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]