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 July 12 article, see Talk:July 12 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 articleorfeatured picture.
Q2: There are way too many 20th-century events listed. Why aren't there more events from the 19th century and before?
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 July 12, 2024
Hypericum sechmenii flowers
Hypericum sechmenii (Seçmen's St John's wort) is a rare species of flowering plant in the St John's wort family that is found in Eskişehir Province in central Turkey. It was first described and assigned to the genus Hypericum in 2009, and was later placed into the section Adenosepalum. H. sechmenii is a perennial herb that grows 3 to 6 centimeters (1 to 2 inches) tall and blooms in June and July. The stems of the plant are smooth and hairless, while the leaves are leathery and lack leafstalks. Its flowers are arranged in corymbs, and each has five bright yellow petals. Similar species are H. huber-morathii, H. minutum, and H. thymopsis. Found among limestone rocks, H. sechmenii has an estimated distribution of less than 10 square kilometers (4 square miles), with fewer than 250 surviving plants. Despite containing druse crystals and toxic chemicals that may deter herbivory, the species is threatened by overgrazing, as well as climate change and habitat loss. (Full article...)
The village weaver (Ploceus cucullatus) is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae, found in much of sub-Saharan Africa. It has also been introduced to some islands in the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean. Village weavers forage and roost in large groups, often with other weaver species. In some areas, they move periodically along fixed routes. The birds look for food on the ground, but also look up to search vegetation and trees. Village weavers nest in colonies and are very active during the breeding season. Birds fly in and leave again constantly, making significant noise. Colonies can contain as many as 150 nests, but eight to a hundred nests in a single tree are usual. This male village weaver was photographed in Kakum National Park, Ghana.
I think The Twelfth should be included as one of the holidays. It was put down as "ineligible" because it was lacking references. However, over the past few days I've done a lot of work on it and added a lot of references. I think you'll agree it's in a much better state that it was before.
~Asarlaí00:40, 12 July 2012 (UTC)[reply]
Hi,
I believe that presenting the fleeing of palestinian soldier from Ramle and Lod as an israeli expel order is incorrect and harmful.
Even it was true, I haven't seen any mention on this table about the malicious acts of the Jordanian army against the jewish population in Jerusalem and Kfar Etzion.
I demand in the name of justice and fairness remove this link, it is harmful for the Israeli visitor...
by the way, hizballah on this day began the 2006 Lebanon War, please replace it for more relevant news...Exx8 (talk) 12:47, 12 July 2012 (UTC)[reply]
The current image caption is wrong. That was not Prokhorovka, but Pokrovka, which is is 40 kilometres (25 mi) southwest of Prokhorovka. EyeTruth (talk) 08:29, 21 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]
Done. Nice work! —howcheng {chat} 02:23, 12 July 2012 (UTC)[reply]
