Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/August 11

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This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/August 11.

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 August 11 article, see Talk:August 11 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 August 11, 2025
Wikipedia:Today's featured article/August 11, 2025 create – talk – watch
Picture of the day for August 11, 2025
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/August 10 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/August 12 →

Spork?

Moved from Talk:Main Page. 20:38, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

Why is the anniversay of the filing of the patent for a "spork" mentioned? Come on, this is an encyclopedia, I'm sure there are a ton of far more important anniversaries. Harley peters 17:43, 11 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I guess it's been sporked. Cat-five 18:05, 11 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

This sort of blatant pro-spork bias has been a part of Wikipedia for years, and I, for one, am tired of it. You never see us commemorate the anniversary of the knife, or chopsticks, or even salad tongs - always the spork. Is is any wonder that 100% of the people from non-spork-using countries despise us? We need an immediate ban on spork creation anniversaries for at least the next few months, even as long as a year if that's what it takes to counter Wikipedia's pervasive spork bias. --Gavia immer 18:59, 11 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Back to being semi-serious I do not see how the spork patent filing is really a big enough deal to deserve a front page mention unless we're really that devoid of content that there's nothing else to fill that space. Cat-five 19:12, 11 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I dont see how the spork is important enough to even have it mentioned in August 11's article. :/ Rafy 22:19, 11 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I agree, this is fairly ridiculous. Front page of Wikipedia is not the place for whimsy based around inherently amusing hybrid cutlery. 89.100.128.72 22:48, 11 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I personally believe the spork is one of the greatest inventions of mankind. (actually being semi-semi-serious here) ..... EWS23 (Leave me a message!) 07:06, 12 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I removed spork. Grouf^{(talk • contribs)} 16:29, 7 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Thermopylae

I'm removing the Battle of Thermopylae as the article doesn't give any sources indicating why we should believe the battle happened on this day. —Angr 12:34, 11 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

1973

It may be a little early for mentioning this, but I think next year we should acknowledge the 40th anniversary of the birth of hip hop music with the performance by DJ Kool Herc at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue. Relatively obscure but it gave birth to a massive movement in music and culture--T1980 (talk) 17:26, 21 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2012 notes

New articles (unused): DJ Kool Herc (as suggested above, saving this for 2013)
Omitted: Hayk; Penang; Red Barn Murder; Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic; Hedy Lamarr/George Antheil
Included: Mesoamerican Long Count calendar (4th appearance, last in 2010); Roman Dacia (first appearance); Papal conclave, 1492 (4th appearance, last in 2010); Hussein of Jordan (5th appearance, last in 2009; rescued from Ineligible); Watts Riots (5th appearance, last in 2010; rescued from Ineligible)

—howcheng {chat} 05:12, 10 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2013 notes

New articles (unused): 2012 East Azerbaijan earthquakes
Omitted: Mesoamerican Long Count calendar; Roman Dacia; Penang; Hussein of Jordan (ineligible—maintenance); Watts Riots (ineligible—maintenance)
Included: Red Barn Murder (6th appearance, last in 2011); Kraków pogrom (first appearance); Vostok 3 (first appearance)
Repeats: Papal conclave, 1492 (2nd consecutive appearance, 5 total); DJ Kool Herc (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total; 40th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 07:08, 10 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2014 notes

Omitted: Red Barn Murder; Kraków pogrom; Vostok 3 (ineligible—maintenance); DJ Kool Herc
Included: Hayk (2nd appearance, last in 2011); Penang (4th appearance, last in 2012); Hedy Lamarr/George Antheil (both: 3rd appearance, last in 2011); 2012 East Azerbaijan earthquakes (first appearance)
Repeats: Papal conclave, 1492 (3rd consecutive appearance, 6 total)

—howcheng {chat} 06:03, 10 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2015 notes

Omitted: Hayk; Papal conclave, 1492; Hedy Lamarr/George Antheil (ineligible—maintenance); 2012 East Azerbaijan earthquakes
Included: Mesoamerican Long Count calendar (5th appearance, last in 2012); Roman Dacia (2nd appearance, last in 2012); Red Barn Murder (7th appearance, last in 2013); Kraków pogrom (2nd appearance, last in 2013; 70th anniversary)
Repeats: Penang (2nd consecutive appearance, 5 total)

—howcheng {chat} 16:17, 9 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

2016 notes

Omitted: Mesoamerican Long Count calendar; Roman Dacia; Penang; Kraków pogrom
Included: Papal conclave, 1492 (7th appearance, last in 2014); Hedy Lamarr/George Antheil (both: 4th appearance, last in 2014; rescued from Ineligible); Watts riots (6th appearance, last in 2012; rescued from Ineligible); 2012 East Azerbaijan earthquakes (2nd appearance, last in 2014)
Repeats: Red Barn Murder (2nd consecutive appearance, 8 total)

—howcheng {chat} 15:42, 10 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

2017 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Mesoamerican Long Count calendar; Penang
New articles (unused): 1979 Dniprodzerzhynsk mid-air collision
Omitted: Papal conclave, 1492; Hedy Lamarr/George Antheil (both: ineligible—maintenance); Watts riots; 2012 East Azerbaijan earthquakes
Included: Hayk (3rd appearance, last in 2014); Roman Dacia (3rd appearance, last in 2015); Kraków pogrom (3rd appearance, last in 2015); Ford Pinto (first appearance; 40th anniversary); Guttorm of Norway (first appearance); Enid Blyton (first appearance); Nicola Zagame (first appearance)
Repeats: Red Barn Murder (3rd consecutive appearance, 9 total)

—howcheng {chat} 12:02, 11 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2018 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Watts riots (maintenance)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): George Town, Penang/Penang
New articles (ineligible): James B. Longacre (TFA for 2018)
Omitted: Hayk; Red Barn Murder; Kraków pogrom; Ford Pinto; Guttorm of Norway; Enid Blyton; Nicola Zagame
Included: Papal conclave, 1492 (8th appearance, last in 2016); Hussein of Jordan (first appearance; rescued from Ineligible); DJ Kool Herc (3rd appearance, last in 2013); 2012 East Azerbaijan earthquakes (3rd appearance, last in 2016); Hamnet Shakespeare (first appearance); William W. Chapman (first appearance); Jacqueline Fernandez (first appearance)
Repeats: Roman Dacia (2nd consecutive appearance, 4 total)

—howcheng {chat} 05:45, 11 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2019 notes

New articles (unused): Reid Blackburn
Omitted: Roman Dacia; Papal conclave, 1492; Hussein of Jordan; DJ Kool Herc; 2012 East Azerbaijan earthquakes; Hamnet Shakespeare; William W. Chapman; Jacqueline Fernandez
Included: George Town, Penang (first appearance; blurb previously also featured Penang, which is currently ineligible, and is making its 6th appearance, last in 2015); Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic (2nd appearance, last in 2011; 90th anniversary); 1979 Dniprodzerzhynsk mid-air collision (first appearance; 40th anniversary); System Shock 2 (first appearance; 20th anniversary); Guttorm of Norway (2nd appearance, last in 2017); James B. Longacre (first appearance; 225th birthday; rescued from Ineligible); Pablo Sandoval (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 22:35, 20 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Chris Hemsworth

His name should be added to the birthday section.--103.104.30.174 (talk) 04:00, 11 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2020 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Hayk (date uncertain); Hussein of Jordan (maintenance)
New articles (unused): Aaron Klug
Omitted: George Town, Penang; Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic; 1979 Dniprodzerzhynsk mid-air collision; System Shock 2; Guttorm of Norway; James B. Longacre; Pablo Sandoval
Included: Siege of Almería (1309) (first appearance); Kraków pogrom (4th appearance, last in 2017; 75th anniversary); Ford Pinto (2nd appearance, last in 2017); 2012 East Azerbaijan earthquakes (4th appearance, last in 2018); John Hunyadi (first appearance); Steve Wozniak (first appearance; 70th birthday); Nicola Zagame (first appearance; 30th birthday)

—howcheng {chat} 03:48, 13 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2021 notes

Omitted: Siege of Almería (1309); Kraków pogrom; Ford Pinto; 2012 East Azerbaijan earthquakes; John Hunyadi; Steve Wozniak; Nicola Zagame
Included: Roman Dacia (5th appearance, last in 2018); 1492 papal conclave (9th appearance, last in 2018); George Town, Penang (2nd appearance, last in 2019); Hussein of Jordan (2nd appearance, last in 2018; rescued from Ineligible); DJ Kool Herc (4th appearance, last in 2018); Hamnet Shakespeare (2nd appearance, last in 2018); James B. Longacre (2nd appearance, last in 2019); Aaron Klug (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 07:31, 12 August 2021 (UTC)[reply]

2022 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Nicola Zagame (maintenance)
Omitted: 1492 papal conclave; DJ Kool Herc; Hamnet Shakespeare; James B. Longacre; Aaron Klug
Included: Siege of Almería (1309) (2nd appearance, last in 2020); 2012 East Azerbaijan earthquakes (5th appearance, last in 2020; 10th anniversary); John Hunyadi (2nd appearance, last in 2020); Enid Blyton (2nd appearance, last in 2017; 125th birthday); Jacqueline Fernandez (2nd appearance, last in 2018)
Repeats: Roman Dacia (2nd consecutive appearance, 6 total); George Town, Penang (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total); Hussein of Jordan (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total; 70th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 17:42, 16 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]

2023 rationale

Not many were eligible from the early years, so to compensate for that I made births/deaths heavy on earlier years.
I kept Enid Blyton as she was literally the only female thing I could find that was eligible.
Need more people that died on this day, literally only two.
Pictured DJ Kool Herc to celebrate the 50th anniversary.

Heart ^(talk) 13:09, 1 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]