Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/May 5

This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/May 5.

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 5 article, see Talk:May 5 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 5, 2025

Yoko Shimomura

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories is a 2004 action role-playing game that was developed by Square Enix and Jupiter, and published by Square Enix in collaboration with Disney Interactive for the Game Boy Advance. Yoko Shimomura (pictured) composed the game's music. A direct sequel to Kingdom Hearts, it uses a new card-based battle system rather than its predecessor's real-time combat. The story follows Sora and his friends as they explore the Castle Oblivion while battling Organization XIII. It received positive reviews for its story, graphics and full-motion videos, but its battle system was criticized. It was remade for the PlayStation 2 as Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories and packaged with Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix. It was then remastered in high definition and included in the Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix collection, which was released in 2013 for the PlayStation 3, and later for the PlayStation 4, the Xbox One, and personal computers. (Full article...)

Recently featured:

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Picture of the day for May 5, 2025

Silver certificates are a type of representative money issued between 1878 and 1964 in the United States as part of its circulation of paper currency. They were produced in response to silver agitation by citizens who were angered by the Fourth Coinage Act, which had effectively placed the United States on a gold standard. The certificates were initially redeemable for their face value of silver dollar coins and later in raw silver bullion. Since 1968 they have been redeemable only in Federal Reserve Notes and are thus obsolete, but still valid legal tender at their face value and thus are still an accepted form of currency.

Banknote design credit: Bureau of Engraving and Printing; photographed by Andrew Shiva

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← Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/May 4 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/May 6 →

Although it may be 'best practice' or somesuch that Ghandi shouldn't be listed on two selected anniversaries articles, this date is a bit America-heavy... What about the rest of the world? -- Graham :) | Talk 02:24, 5 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

Find some qualifying entries at May 5 that are not already used on other selected anniversaries and are about as major of events as the ones listed on this page. Better yet, do some research and update some articles to make them qualify. --mav 06:33, 5 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

I find it sad to note that every single event in the selected anniversiaries today is related to USA. I'll see if I can't find something else to put in there. ✏ Sverdrup 09:23, 5 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

What about tthe death of Napoleon on 5 May 1821?

Only events go here. --mav 21:25, 5 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

Alan Sheppard's Spaceflight

THIS SHOULD BE INCLUDED AS A HIGHLIGHT

1961 - Mercury program: Mercury-Redstone 3 – Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into space, making a sub-orbital flight of 15 minutes. Abebenjoe 17:01, 5 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

2012 notes

Omitted: Kublai Khan (ineligible—maintenance); Battle of Hegra Fortress; Mercury-Redstone 3 (ineligible—maintenance); Bobby Sands
Included: Carnegie Hall (3rd appearance, last in 2010); March of the Iron Will (first appearance); 1991 Washington, D.C. riot (first appearance); Kenya Airways Flight 507 (first appearance)
Repeats: Expedition of the Thousand (2nd consecutive appearance, 5 total)

—howcheng {chat} 06:10, 4 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]

5^th May 1821

I red the FAQ (Q4) but still... IMHO it still seems to me that this date should be here. It is a date of a death of Napoleon Bonaparte. That is an important anniversary at this date. He was a person, who conquered almost the entire Europe... he was in fact tha arch-enemy of Britain... Grand homme, qui est mort sur petite île...
I red the FAQ but I still don't know why he is not there.
Thanks for answer
Niusereset (talk) 14:19, 5 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Articles about Napoleon are featured throughout the year, although it does appear the main article about that man himself is not currently assigned to any date. The anniversary of his death will be eligible to be listed in 2021 on the 200th anniversary. —howcheng {chat} 11:07, 6 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2013 notes

New articles (Ineligible): History of Crimea
Omitted: Carnegie Hall; March of the Iron Will; Bobby Sands; 1991 Washington
Included: Cy Young (4th appearance, last in 2007); Battle of Hegra Fortress (2nd appearance, last in 2011); Alan Shepard (2nd appearance, last in 2004; blurb previously featured Mercury-Redstone 3, which is now ineligible); Iranian Embassy siege (2nd appearance, last in 2011; moved from April 30)
Repeats: Expedition of the Thousand (3rd consecutive appearance, 6 total); Kenya Airways Flight 507 (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 12:00, 4 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2014 notes

Omitted: Expedition of the Thousand; Cy Young; Battle of Hegra Fortress; Alan Shepard; Iranian Embassy siege
Included: Battle of the Wilderness (first appearance; 150th anniversary); March of the Iron Will (2nd appearance, last in 2012); Bobby Sands (3rd appearance, last in 2012); Michael P. Fay (first appearance; rescued from Ineligible; 20th anniversary); 2010–12 Greek protests (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 08:13, 4 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2015 notes

Omitted: Cinco de Mayo (ineligible—maintenance); Battle of the Wilderness; March of the Iron Will; Bobby Sands; Michael P. Fay; Anti-austerity movement in Greece
Included: Second Council of Constantinople (3rd appearance, last in 2010; rescued from Ineligible); Expedition of the Thousand (7th appearance, last in 2013); Carnegie Hall (4th appearance, last in 2012); Battle of Hegra Fortress (3rd appearance, last in 2013); 1991 Washington, D.C. riot (2nd appearance, last in 2012)

—howcheng {chat} 08:16, 3 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

2016 notes

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Council of Europe
Moved to Ineligible: Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution (maintenance); Kenya Airways Flight 507 (maintenance)
Omitted: Expedition of the Thousand; Carnegie Hall; Battle of Hegra Fortress
Included: Mary Dixon Kies (first appearance); Pravda (5th appearance, last in 2008; moved from April 22); Iranian Embassy siege (3rd appearance, last in 2013)
Repeats: Second Council of Constantinople (2nd consecutive appearance, 4 total); 1991 Washington, D.C. riot (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total; 25th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 16:43, 3 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

2017 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Carnegie Hall (maintenance); Council of Europe (maintenance)
New articles (ineligible): United Kingdom general election, 2005 (maintenance)
Omitted: Pravda; Iranian Embassy siege; 1991 Washington, D.C. riot
Included: March of the Iron Will (3rd appearance, last in 2014); Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution (2nd appearance, last in 2004; rescued from Ineligible; 25th anniversary); Kenya Airways Flight 507 (2nd appearance, last in 2012; rescued from Ineligible; 10th anniversary); Søren Kierkegaard (first appearance); Dorothy Garrod (first appearance); Adele (first appearance)
Repeats: Second Council of Constantinople (3rd consecutive appearance, 5 total); Mary Dixon Kies (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 06:43, 5 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2018 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Battle of the Wilderness (maintenance); Pravda (maintenance)
Omitted: Mary Dixon Kies; March of the Iron Will; Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution; Kenya Airways Flight 507; Søren Kierkegaard; Dorothy Garrod
Included: Cromwell's Act of Grace (first appearance); Battle of Hegra Fortress (4th appearance, last in 2015); Alan Shepard (3rd appearance, last in 2013); Anti-austerity movement in Greece (2nd appearance, last in 2014); Guru Amar Das (first appearance); August Wilhelm von Hofmann (first appearance)
Repeats: Second Council of Constantinople (4th consecutive appearance, 6 total); Adele (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 30th birthday)

—howcheng {chat} 03:50, 6 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2019 notes

Omitted: Second Council of Constantinople; Battle of Hegra Fortress; Alan Shepard; Anti-austerity movement in Greece; Guru Amar Das; August Wilhelm von Hofmann; Adele
Included: Mary Dixon Kies (3rd appearance, last in 2017); March of the Iron Will (4th appearance, last in 2017); Bobby Sands (4th appearance, last in 2014); Michael P. Fay (2nd appearance, last in 2014); Samuel Cooper (first appearance); Hubert Howe Bancroft (first appearance); Irene Gut Opdyke (first appearance)
Repeats: Cromwell's Act of Grace (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 17:34, 6 May 2019 (UTC)[reply]

2020 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Second Council of Constantinople (maintenance); Anti-austerity movement in Greece (maintenance); Søren Kierkegaard (maintenance)
New articles (unused): Battle for Castle Itter
Omitted: Mary Dixon Kies; March of the Iron Will; Bobby Sands; Michael P. Fay; Samuel Cooper; Hubert Howe Bancroft; Irene Gut Opdyke
Included: Cy Young/Cy Young's perfect game (Young: 5th appearance, last in 2013; Game: first appearance); Prague uprising (first appearance; 75th anniversary); Iranian Embassy siege (4th appearance, last in 2016; 40th anniversary); Pierre Jean Georges Cabanis (first appearance); Henryk Sienkiewicz (first appearance); Pritilata Waddedar (first appearance)
Repeats: Cromwell's Act of Grace (3rd consecutive appearance, 3 total)

—howcheng {chat} 17:39, 6 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2021 req

2021 is the 200th anniversary of the death of Napoleon. I've already added it the the page as a hidden entry, just needs unhiding at the time. Mjroots (talk) 05:32, 24 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@Mjroots: Argh, Napoleon already made an appearance this year, but it is a major anniversary and he's a major historical figure so I guess we can bend the rules. —howcheng {chat} 21:19, 1 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

2021 notes

New articles (ineligible): Mauthausen concentration camp/Gusen concentration camp (Mauthausen: maintenance)
Omitted: Cy Young/Cy Young's perfect game; Prague uprising; Iranian Embassy siege; Pierre Jean Georges Cabanis; Henryk Sienkiewicz; Pritilata Waddedar
Included: March of the Iron Will (5th appearance, last in 2019); Alan Shepard/Mercury-Redstone 3 (Shepard: 4th appearance, last in 2018; MR3: 3rd, last in 2011; 60th anniversary); Bobby Sands (5th appearance, last in 2019; 40th anniversary); 1991 Washington, D.C. riot (4th appearance, last in 2016; 30th anniversary); Napoleon (19th appearance, last in 2021; normally appears on February 26; 200th anniversary); Anna Johnson Pell Wheeler (first appearance); Mavis Batey (first appearance; 100th birthday)
Repeats: Cromwell's Act of Grace (4th consecutive appearance, 4 total)

—howcheng {chat} 06:58, 7 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

2022 req

Any chance of getting Lusophone Culture Day onto the holidays list? The Community of Portuguese Language Countries article that is linked is reasonably well sourced and the day itself is referenced in the "History" section. — AjaxSmack 13:09, 28 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

@AjaxSmack: Done, but ideally Lusophone Culture Day should be its own article focused solely on the observance itself. Might that be possible for next year? —howcheng {chat} 07:27, 3 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks. — AjaxSmack 15:16, 3 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

2022 notes

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Battle of the Wilderness
New articles (unused): Netherlands Carillon
Omitted: Cromwell's Act of Grace; March of the Iron Will; Alan Shepard/Mercury-Redstone 3; Bobby Sands; 1991 Washington, D.C. riot; Napoleon (deleted—moved back to original date); Anna Johnson Pell Wheeler; Mavis Batey
Included: Carnegie Hall (5th appearance, last in 2015; rescued from Ineligible); Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution (3rd appearance, last in 2017); Aeroflot Flight 1492 (first appearance); Samuel Cooper (2nd appearance, last in 2019; 350th anniversary); William George Beers (first appearance); Irene Gut Opdyke (2nd appearance, last in 2019; 100th birthday)

—howcheng {chat} 06:40, 6 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]