Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/May 13

This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/May 13.

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 13 article, see Talk:May 13 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 13, 2025
Wikipedia:Today's featured article/May 13, 2025 create – talk – watch
Picture of the day for May 13, 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/May 12 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/May 14 →

1497 - Pope Alexander VI excommunicates Girolamo Savonarola.
1568 - Battle of Langside: the forces of Mary Queen of Scots are defeated by a confederacy of Scottish Protestants under James Stewart, Earl of Moray, her half-brother.

1779 - War of Bavarian Succession: Russian and French mediators at the Congress of Teschen negotiate an end to the war. In the agreement Austria receives the a part of its territory that was taken from them (the Innviertel).
1787 - Captain Arthur Phillip leaves Portsmouth, England with eleven ships full of convicts to establish a penal colony in Australia.
1830 - Ecuador gains its independence.

1846 - Mexican-American War: The United States declares war on Mexico.
1848 - first performance of Finland's national anthem.

1865 - American Civil War: Battle of Palmito Ranch - In far south Texas, more than a month after Confederate General Lee's surrender, the last land battle of the civil war ends with a Union victory.

1888 - Brazil abolishes slavery.

1912 - In the United Kingdom, the Royal Flying Corps (now the Royal Air Force) in established.
1913 - Igor Sikorsky becomes the first person to pilot a four engine aircraft.
1917 - Three peasant children claim to see the Blessed Virgin Mary above a holmoak tree in Cova da Irianear near Fatima, Portugal.
1940 - World War II: Nazi Germany's conquest of France begins as the German army crosses the Meuse River. Churchill makes his "blood, tears, toil and sweat" speech to the British House of Commons.
1943 - World War II: German Afrika Korps and Italian troops in North Africa surrender to Allied forces.

1960 - First ascent of Dhaulagiri, 7th highest mountain
1969 - Race riots in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, later known as the May 13 Incident
1981 - Mehmet Ali Ağca attempts to assassinate Pope John Paul II at St. Peter's Square in Rome.

1998 - Following India's second round of nuclear tests the United States and Japan impose economic sanctions on the nation.

National Famine Commemoration Day

National Famine Commemoration Day (Ireland or Republic of Ireland) is on May 13 in 2012 (and also in Boston this year). jnestorius^(talk) 19:59, 3 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2012 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Rajya Sabha (maintenance); May 1958 crisis (maintenance); MOVE (maintenance)
Omitted: Julian of Norwich; War of the Bavarian Succession; Slavery in Brazil; Li Hongzhi (ineligible—maintenance); Jaipur bombings
Included: Mexican–American War (6th appearance, last in 2010); Igor Sikorsky (first appearance); Zakir Hussain (politician) (first appearance); Pope John Paul II assassination attempt (first appearance); Enschede fireworks disaster (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 20:00, 12 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Mother's Day (US)

I was curious if there was a particular reason why Mother's Day (US) wasn't listed today? I don't have as much wiki experience as others but it seemed as though single country holidays like this are still considered "fair game" to post. --SM1991 (talk) 04:10, 13 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, my ignorance of the world at large may be showing; looking over the articles, Mother's Day is celebrated in a fair number of countries today. --SM1991 (talk) 04:19, 13 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I had it listed on May 14 instead of May 13, which is now fixed. —howcheng {chat} 17:36, 13 May 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2013 notes

Omitted: Mexican–American War; Igor Sikorsky; Zakir Hussain (politician); Battle at Springmartin; Pope John Paul II assassination attempt; Enschede fireworks disaster
Included: Slavery in Brazil (2nd appearance, last in 2011); Giro d'Italia (first appearance; rescued from Ineligible); Our Lady of Fátima (6th appearance, last in 2010); Ben Carlin (first appearance); Li Hongzhi (2nd appearance, last in 2011; rescued from Ineligible); Andijan massacre (2nd appearance, last in 2010)

—howcheng {chat} 05:53, 12 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Edit request on 13 May 2013: 1985 Philadelphia aerial bombardment

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

Please consider adding the 1985 aerial bombing by the Philadelphia police of a besieged row house. Personally, I cannot remember any other such bombardments by local law enforcement officials. It’s rarity might make it interesting to other Wikipedians as well. See MOVE#1985 bombing. Thanks!

— Spike Toronto 14:37, 13 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Not done. The article has two major maintenance tags on it, which makes it ineligible (see the rules). —howcheng {chat} 15:34, 13 May 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2014 notes

Omitted: Slavery in Brazil; Giro d'Italia; Our Lady of Fátima; Ben Carlin; Li Hongzhi; Andijan massacre
Included: Red Fort (first appearance); War of the Bavarian Succession (2nd appearance, last in 2011); Igor Sikorsky (2nd appearance, last in 2012); Kfar Etzion massacre (first appearance); MOVE (2nd appearance, last in 2004; rescued from Ineligible)

—howcheng {chat} 06:46, 12 May 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2015 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Mexican–American War (maintenance)
Omitted: War of the Bavarian Succession; Igor Sikorsky; Kfar Etzion massacre
Included: Slavery in Brazil (3rd appearance, last in 2013); Our Lady of Fátima (7th appearance, last in 2013); Andijan massacre (3rd appearance, last in 2013; 10th anniversary)
Repeats: Red Fort (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total); MOVE (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total; 30th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 07:43, 11 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

2016 notes

Omitted: Red Fort; Slavery in Brazil; Our Lady of Fátima; MOVE; Andijan massacre
Included: Julian of Norwich (2nd appearance, last in 2011; rescued from Ineligible); Maamme (5th appearance, last in 2008; rescued from Ineligible); Giro d'Italia (2nd appearance, last in 2013); Zakir Husain (politician) (2nd appearance, last in 2012); Li Hongzhi (3rd appearance, last in 2013)

—howcheng {chat} 17:15, 12 May 2016 (UTC)[reply]

2017 notes

Omitted: Julian of Norwich; Maamme; Giro d'Italia; Zakir Husain (politician) (ineligible—maintenance)
Included: Red Fort (3rd appearance, last in 2015); War of the Bavarian Succession (3rd appearance, last in 2014); Our Lady of Fátima (8th appearance, last in 2015; 100th anniversary); Pope John Paul II assassination attempt (2nd appearance, last in 2012); John Nash (architect) (first appearance); Arthur Sullivan (first appearance); Lorna Hodgkinson (first appearance)
Repeats: Li Hongzhi (2nd consecutive appearance, 4 total(

—howcheng {chat} 08:14, 12 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2018 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Maamme (maintenance); Kfar Etzion massacre (maintenance)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): MOVE
New articles (unused): C/1861 J1; Blood, toil, tears and sweat; Alison Hargreaves; Soma mine disaster
Omitted: Red Fort (ineligible–maintenance); War of the Bavarian Succession; Our Lady of Fátima (ineligible–maintenance); Pope John Paul II assassination attempt; Li Hongzhi; John Nash (architect); Arthur Sullivan; Arthur Sullivan
Included: Robert Smalls (first appearance); Slavery in Brazil (4th appearance, last in 2015); Igor Sikorsky (3rd appearance, last in 2014); Ben Carlin (2nd appearance, last in 2013; 60th anniversary); Jaipur bombings (2nd appearance, last in 2011; 10th anniversary); Cornelis Schut (first appearance); Antonia Ferrín Moreiras (first appearance); H. Trendley Dean (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 15:58, 14 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2019 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Pope John Paul II assassination attempt (maintenance)
Omitted: Robert Smalls; Slavery in Brazil; Igor Sikorsky; Ben Carlin; Jaipur bombings; Cornelis Schut; Antonia Ferrín Moreiras; H. Trendley Dean
Included: War of the Bavarian Succession (4th appearance, last in 2017); C/1861 J1 (first appearance); Blood, toil, tears and sweat (first appearance); Alison Hargreaves (first appearance); Soma mine disaster (first appearance); Kate Marsden (first appearance); Inge Lehmann (first appearance); Jagdish Mali (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 03:21, 10 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2020 notes

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): May 1958 crisis in France
New articles (unused): Ralph Milne
Omitted: War of the Bavarian Succession; C/1861 J1; Blood, toil, tears and sweat; Alison Hargreaves; Soma mine disaster (ineligible—maintenance); Kate Marsden; Inge Lehmann; Jagdish Mali
Included: Julian of Norwich (3rd appearance, last in 2016); Red Fort (4th appearance, last in 2017; rescued from Ineligible); 13 May incident (first appearance; rescued from Ineligible); Enschede fireworks disaster (2nd appearance, last in 2012; 20th anniversary); Muhammad VII of Granada (first appearance); Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (first appearance); David Malet Armstrong (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 16:25, 14 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2021 notes

Omitted: Julian of Norwich; Red Fort; 13 May incident; Enschede fireworks disaster; Muhammad VII of Granada; Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed; David Malet Armstrong
Included: War of the Bavarian Succession (5th appearance, last in 2019); Robert Smalls (2nd appearance, last in 2018); 1909 Giro d'Italia/Giro d'Italia (1909: first appearance; race: 3rd appearance, last in 2016); May 1958 crisis in France (3rd appearance, last in 2010); Andijan massacre (4th appearance, last in 2015); Ole Worm (first appearance); Kate Marsden (2nd appearance, last in 2019); Ralph Milne (first appearance; 60th birthday)

—howcheng {chat} 07:32, 15 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

2022 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Slavery in Brazil (maintenance)
Omitted: War of the Bavarian Succession; Robert Smalls; 1909 Giro d'Italia/Giro d'Italia; May 1958 crisis in France; Andijan massacre; Ole Worm; Kate Marsden; Ralph Milne
Included: Julian of Norwich (4th appearance, last in 2020); C/1861 J1 (2nd appearance, last in 2019); Igor Sikorsky (4th appearance, last in 2018); Battle at Springmartin (2nd appearance, last in 2012 (!); 50th anniversary); Li Hongzhi (5th appearance, last in 2017; 30th anniversary); Cornelis Schut (2nd appearance, last in 2018; 425th birthday); Lorna Hodgkinson (3rd appearance, last in 2019); H. Trendley Dean (2nd appearance, last in 2018; 60th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 08:14, 14 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]