Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/August 7

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This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/August 7.

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 7 article, see Talk:August 7 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 7, 2024
Wikipedia:Today's featured article/August 7, 2024 create – talk – watch
Picture of the day for August 7, 2024
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 6 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/August 8 →

Mardyrs day[edit]

Was wondering if we could add Assyrian mardyrs day to the list. Chaldean 16:30, 6 February 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Heyerdahl: time traveler?[edit]

He apparently crossed the Pacific in 101 days, all on August 7. Hmm.

Actually, he arrived on August 7; can we correct the item about it? — crism (talk) 03:04, 7 August 2008 (UTC)[reply]

2012 notes[edit]

New articles (unused): Harvard Mark I
Omitted: Le Griffon; Militia Acts of 1792; Peace Bridge; Simele massacre
Included: Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp (6th appearance, last in 2008); Love Canal (first appearance); Invasion of Dagestan (1999) (first appearance)
Repeats: Rebellion of Cao Qin (4th consecutive appearance, 4 total)

—howcheng {chat} 06:28, 6 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2013 notes[edit]

Omitted: Rebellion of Cao Qin; Harvard Mark I; Love Canal; Invasion of Dagestan (1999) (ineligible—maintenance)
Included: Bronze Horseman (first appearance); Alice Huyler Ramsey (first appearance); 1998 United States embassy bombings (7th appearance, last in 2010; 15th anniversary)
Repeats: Simele massacre (3rd consecutive appearance as blurb, 3 total; 80th anniversary); Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp (2nd consecutive appearance, 7 total; 75th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 07:09, 6 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nos. 1 & 5[edit]

No. 1: the word "of" is missing: one of the symbols Saint Petersburg --> one of the symbols of Saint Petersburg No. 5: "simultaneously exploded" should be reversed to "exploded simultaneously" since adverbs normally follow the verb (whereas in the article, "simultaneous explosions" is correct, since adjectives normally precede the noun). Awien (talk) 23:03, 6 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2014 notes[edit]

New articles (unused): Turkish Straits crisis; White House Farm murders
Omitted: Alice Huyler Ramsey; Simele massacre; Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp; 1998 United States embassy bombings
Included: Rebellion of Cao Qin (5th appearance, last in 2012); Harvard Mark I (first appearance; 70th anniversary); Marin County courthouse incident (first appearance); Russo-Georgian War (first appearance; rescued from Ineligible)
Repeats: Bronze Horseman (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 05:52, 6 August 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2015 notes[edit]

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp
Omitted: Bronze Horseman; Harvard Mark I; Marin County courthouse incident; Russo-Georgian War
Included: Le Griffon (3rd appearance, last in 2011); Simele massacre (4th appearance as blurb, last in 2013); White House Farm murders (first appearance; 30th anniverary); War of Dagestan (first appearance; rescued from Ineligible)
Repeats: Rebellion of Cao Qin (2nd consecutive appearance, 6 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:13, 5 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

2016 notes[edit]

Moved to Ineligible: Peace Bridge (maintenance)
Omitted: Le Griffon; Simele massacre (still included as observance); White House Farm murders; War of Dagestan
Included: Militia Acts of 1792 (3rd appearance, last in 2011); Turkish Straits crisis (first appearance; 70th anniversary); Love Canal (2nd appearance, last in 2012); Russo-Georgian War (2nd appearance, last in 2014)
Repeats: Rebellion of Cao Qin (3rd consecutive appearance, 7 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:14, 6 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Russo-Georgia war[edit]

The entry's current wording, suggesting that "Georgia launched a large-scale military offensive against the separatist region of South Ossetia, opening the six-day Russo-Georgian War" is not NPOV. By endorsing one of the competing versions, we are definitely taking sides as circumstances of the August 7 2008 escalation are highly disputed. It is not that difficult to describe the event in a more neutral vein. Any thoughts? --Kober^Talk 16:39, 8 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

@Kober: If you'd like to suggest alternative wording, I'm all for it. Thanks. —howcheng {chat} 15:43, 10 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I would suggest: "Fighting between the Georgian and South Ossetian separatist forces escalates to the six-day Russo-Georgian War". This is both neutral and factually accurate.--Kober^Talk 16:26, 30 August 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The current entry indeed regurgitates Putin's propaganda claiming that Georgia initiated armed conflict. This claim has long been debunked as war propaganda. In reality, South Ossetian separatists, encouraged by Russia, were attacking Georgian villages in the disputed area until Georgian military responded. Putin and Medvedev painted Georgia's reaction as a wanton assault on peaceful Russian citizens compelling Russia to defend herself from Georgian attack.

The following entries would be factual and neutral:

South Ossetian separatists initiated armed hostilities by launching artillery attacks against Georgian villages on August 1, which would lead to a war between Georgia and Russia.

After months of staging provocations against Georgia, Russia began a full-scale invasion of Georgia with the pretext of self-defense from Georgian "aggression" on August 8. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.237.22.86 (talk) 12:31, 26 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2017 notes[edit]

Moved to Ineligible: War of Dagestan (maintenance); Barry Bonds (maintenance)
Omitted: Ivory Coast (ineligible—maintenance); Militia Acts of 1792; Turkish Straits crisis; Love Canal; Russo-Georgian War
Included: Badge of Military Merit (3rd appearance, last in 2009); Simele massacre (5th appearance as blurb, last in 2015); Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo (2nd appearance, last in 2009; 75th anniversary); Lynne Cox (first appearance); Joseph Marie Jacquard (first appearance); Richard Sykes (biochemist) (first appearance); Frances Oldham Kelsey (first appearance)
Repeats: Rebellion of Cao Qin (4th consecutive appearance, 8 total)

—howcheng {chat} 16:41, 7 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2018 notes[edit]

Moved to Ineligible: Love Canal (maintenance)
New articles (unused): Hugh Foliot
Omitted: Rebellion of Cao Qin; Badge of Military Merit; Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo; Lynne Cox; Joseph Marie Jacquard; Richard Sykes (biochemist); Frances Oldham Kelsey
Included: Pope Stephen III (first appearance; 1250th anniversary); Le Griffon (4th appearance, last in 2015); 1998 United States embassy bombings (8th appearance, last in 2013; 20th anniversary); Russo-Georgian War (3rd appearance, last in 2016; 10th anniversary); Jin Shengtan (first appearance); Huntley Wright (first appearance); Rebecca Kleefisch (first appearance)
Repeats: Simele massacre (2nd consecutive appearance, 6 total)

—howcheng {chat} 15:28, 7 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2019 notes[edit]

Moved to Ineligible: Richard Sykes (biochemist) (maintenance)
Omitted: Le Griffon; Simele massacre (ineligible—maintenance); 1998 United States embassy bombings; Russo-Georgian War; Jin Shengtan; Huntley Wright; Rebecca Kleefisch
Included: Rebellion of Cao Qin (9th appearance, last in 2017); Alice Huyler Ramsey (2nd appearance, last in 2013); Battle of Mulhouse (3rd appearance, last in 2017); Harvard Mark I (3rd appearance, last in 2014); Hugh Foliot (first appearance); Art Houtteman (first appearance); Peter Jennings (first appearance)
Repeats: Pope Stephen III (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 15:47, 8 August 2019 (UTC)[reply]

2020 notes[edit]

Due to a lack of time, I only checked the articles that were included for this year. —howcheng {chat} 08:34, 5 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2020 notes[edit]

New articles (unused): Charlize Theron
Omitted: Pope Stephen III; Alice Huyler Ramsey; Battle of Mulhouse; Harvard Mark I; Hugh Foliot; Art Houtteman; Peter Jennings
Included: Simele massacre (rescued from Ineligible); Badge of Military Merit (4th appearance, last in 2017); Turkish Straits crisis (2nd appearance, last in 2016); Marin County Civic Center attacks (2nd appearance, last in 2014; 50th anniversary); White House Farm murders (2nd appearance, last in 2015); Jin Shengtan (2nd appearance, last in 2018); Jöns Jacob Berzelius (first appearance); Brigid Brophy (first appearance; 25th anniversary)
Repeats: Rebellion of Cao Qin (2nd consecutive appearance, 10 total)

—howcheng {chat} 20:04, 8 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2021 notes[edit]

Deleted: Russo-Georgian War (moved to August 12)
Omitted: Rebellion of Cao Qin; Badge of Military Merit; Marin County Civic Center attacks; Jin Shengtan; Brigid Brophy
Included: Le Griffon (5th appearance, last in 2018); Militia Acts of 1792 (4th appearance, last in 2016); Joseph Marie Jacquard (2nd appearance, last in 2017); Billy T. James (first appearance; 30th anniversary)
Repeats: White House Farm murders (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total); Turkish Straits crisis (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total; 75th anniversary); Jöns Jacob Berzelius (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 17:23, 8 August 2021 (UTC)[reply]

2022 notes[edit]

Omitted: Le Griffon; Militia Acts of 1792; Turkish Straits crisis; Joseph Marie Jacquard; Jöns Jacob Berzelius; Billy T. James
Included: Pope Stephen III (3rd appearance, last in 2019); Rebellion of Cao Qin (11th appearance, last in 2020); Battle of Mulhouse (4th appearance, last in 2019); Battle of Tulagi and Gavutu–Tanambogo (3rd appearance, last in 2017; 80th anniversary); Jin Shengtan (3rd appearance, last in 2020); Art Houtteman (2nd appearance, last in 2019); Frances Oldham Kelsey (2nd appearance, last in 2017)
Repeats: White House Farm murders (3rd consecutive appearance, 4 total)

—howcheng {chat} 20:10, 8 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]