Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/March 31

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This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/March 31.

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 March 31 article, see Talk:March 31 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 March 31, 2025

Unauthorized postal cover carried on Apollo 15

The Apollo 15 postal covers incident involved the crew of NASA's Apollo 15, who in 1971 carried about 400 unauthorized postal covers (example pictured) to the Moon's surface. American astronauts David Scott, Alfred Worden and James Irwin agreed to receive about $7,000 each for transporting the covers, which were inside the Lunar Module Falcon as Scott and Irwin walked on the Moon. The covers were postmarked both prior to liftoff from Kennedy Space Center and after splashdown. Though the astronauts returned the money, they were reprimanded by NASA for poor judgment and were called before a closed session of a Senate committee. They were removed as the backup crew for Apollo 17 and never flew in space again; by 1977, all had left NASA. In 1983, Worden sued for the return of covers that had been impounded by NASA in 1972, and the three men received them in an out-of-court settlement. One of the covers provided in 1971 to West German stamp dealer Hermann Sieger sold for over $50,000 in 2014. (Full article...)

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Picture of the day for March 31, 2025

The ArtScience Museum is a building within the integrated resort of Marina Bay Sands in the Downtown Core of Singapore. Opened in 2011, it features exhibitions in art, science, culture and technology. The museum was designed by Moshe Safdie and features an exterior made of fibre-reinforced plastic supported internally by a steel lattice. It is anchored by a round base in the middle, with ten extensions referred to as "fingers" in the shape of a flower. This photograph shows the ArtScience Museum with other buildings of Singapore's Central Business District in the background.

Photograph credit: Basile Morin

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← Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/March 30 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/April 1 →

2012 notes

Omitted: Bernard of Clairvaux; Convention of Kanagawa; Federation of Stoke-on-Trent; Murder of Selena (blurb previously featured Selena)
Included: Eiffel Tower (7th appearance, last in 2010); Motion Picture Production Code (6th appearance, last in 2010; rescued from Ineligible); 1964 Brazilian coup d'état (first appearance); USS Missouri (BB-63) (6th appearance, last in 2010)
Repeats: Chios Massacre (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 06:12, 30 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2013 notes

New articles (unused): Capture of Malolos
Omitted: Chios Massacre; Motion Picture Production Code; 1964 Brazilian coup d'état; USS Missouri (BB-63)
Included: Bernard of Clairvaux (2nd appearance, last in 2011); Alhambra Decree (first appearance); Battle of Christmas Island (first appearance); Murder of Selena (first appearance)
Repeats: Eiffel Tower (2nd consecutive appearance, 8 total)

—howcheng {chat} 04:32, 31 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2014 notes

New articles (unused): Japan Airlines Flight 351
Omitted: Bernard of Clairvaux; Alhambra Decree; Eiffel Tower; Battle of Christmas Island; Murder of Selena
Included: Battle of the Trench (first appearance); Convention of Kanagawa (3rd appearance, last in 2011); Federation of Stoke-on-Trent (2nd appearance, last in 2011); TWA Flight 599 (first appearance); 1964 Brazilian coup d'état (2nd appearance, last in 2012; 50th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 10:20, 30 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2015 notes

Omitted: Battle of the Trench; Convention of Kanagawa; Federation of Stoke-on-Trent; TWA Flight 599; 1964 Brazilian coup d'état
Included: Alhambra Decree (2nd appearance, last in 2013); Chios massacre (3rd appearance, last in 2012); Eiffel Tower (9th appearance, last in 2013); 1901 Black Sea earthquake (first appearance); Murder of Selena (2nd appearance, last in 2013; 20th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 07:52, 29 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Addendum: Murder of Selena replaced with USS Missouri (BB-63) (2nd appearance, last in 2012) despite the anniversary because Missing My Baby is TFA. —howcheng {chat} 18:06, 31 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

2016 notes

Moved to Ineligible: TWA Flight 599 (maintenance)
Omitted: Alhambra Decree; Eiffel Tower; 1901 Black Sea earthquake; USS Missouri (BB-63)
Included: Battle of the Trench (2nd appearance, last in 2014); Bernard of Clairvaux (3rd appearance, last in 2013); Battle of Christmas Island (2nd appearance, last in 2013); 1964 Brazilian coup d'état (3rd appearance, last in 2014)
Repeats: Chios massacre (2nd consecutive appearance, 4 total)

—howcheng {chat} 15:40, 29 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

2017 notes

Omitted: Battle of the Trench; Chios massacre; 1964 Brazilian coup d'état
Included: Alhambra Decree (3rd appearance, last in 2015); Eiffel Tower (10th appearance, last in 2015); Japan Airlines Flight 351 (first appearance); USS Missouri (BB-63) (3rd appearance, last in 2015; 25th anniversary); Al Gore (first appearance); Ewan McGregor (first appearance); Frank Perdue (first appearance)
Repeats: Bernard of Clairvaux (2nd consecutive appearance, 4 total); Battle of Christmas Island (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total; 75th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 21:07, 29 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2018 notes

Deleted: Battle of the Trench (no definitive date)
Omitted: Bernard of Clairvaux; Alhambra Decree; Eiffel Tower; Battle of Christmas Island; Japan Airlines Flight 351; USS Missouri (BB-63); Al Gore; Ewan McGregor; Frank Perdue
Included: Chios massacre (4th appearance, last in 2016); Capture of Malolos (first appearance); Federation of Stoke-on-Trent (3rd appearance, last in 2014); 1964 Brazilian coup d'état (4th appearance, last in 2016); Murder of Selena (2nd appearance, last in 2013); Guru Angad (first appearance); Franz Abt (first appearance); J. P. Morgan (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 02:24, 31 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2019 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Alhambra Decree (maintenance)
Omitted: Chios massacre; Capture of Malolos; Federation of Stoke-on-Trent; Murder of Selena; Guru Angad; Franz Abt; J. P. Morgan
Included: Convention of Kanagawa (4th appearance, last in 2014); Eiffel Tower (11th appearance, last in 2017); 1901 Black Sea earthquake (2nd appearance, last in 2015); Battle of Christmas Island (4th appearance, last in 2017); Anne Hyde (first appearance); Pieter Burman the Elder (first appearance); Liz Claiborne (first appearance)
Repeats: 1964 Brazilian coup d'état (2nd consecutive appearance, 5 total)

—howcheng {chat} 17:09, 1 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Error in Chios entry

See entry on WP:ERRORS regarding the date for the Chios massacre entry. The 31 March date is (a) unsourced, (b) probably a Julian/Old-Style date rather than a Gregorian one, so it shouldn't really appear on this day. Fut.Perf. ☼ 08:17, 30 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2020 notes

Deleted: Chios massacre (moved to April 12)
Omitted: Convention of Kanagawa; Eiffel Tower; 1901 Black Sea earthquake; Battle of Christmas Island; 1964 Brazilian coup d'état
Included: Bernard of Clairvaux/Council of Vézelay (Bernard: 5th appearance, last in 2017; Council: first); Skandalkonzert (first appearance); Motion Picture Production Code (7th appearance, last in 2012; 90th anniversary); Japan Airlines Flight 351 (2nd appearance, last in 2017; 50th anniversary)
Repeats: Anne Hyde (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total); Pieter Burman the Elder (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total); Liz Claiborne (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

Looks like I forgot to change the births/deaths again. —howcheng {chat} 20:33, 1 April 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2021 request

Hi Howcheng, could you please consider Royal Australian Air Force for listing on 31 March 2021, the 100th anniversary of its formation? JennyOz (talk) 04:50, 28 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@JennyOz: Unfortunately, I can't verify the date in the source that's in the article. It might be in that site somewhere, but I wasn't about to really dig for it. —howcheng {chat} 08:58, 28 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks Howcheng - the date was confirmed in existing archived ref at section Inter-war period. I have copied it up to the specific sentence. I have also added a new citation to the Founded date in the infobox. JennyOz (talk) 10:08, 28 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@JennyOz:

Done. —howcheng {chat} 21:39, 28 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you Howcheng, very much appreciated. JennyOz (talk) 06:54, 29 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

2021 notes

Moved to Ineligible: 1964 Brazilian coup d'état (maintenance)
Omitted: Bernard of Clairvaux; Skandalkonzert; Motion Picture Production Code; Japan Airlines Flight 351; Pieter Burman the Elder; Liz Claiborne
Included: First Mass in the Philippines (first appearance; 500th anniversary); 1761 Lisbon earthquake (first appearance); Eiffel Tower (12th appearance, last in 2019); Royal Australian Air Force (first appearance; 100th anniversary); Murder of Selena (3rd appearance, last in 2018); Panoutsos Notaras (first appearance); Mary Greyeyes (first appearance; 10th anniversary)
Repeats: Anne Hyde (3rd consecutive appearance, 3 total; 350th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 07:18, 2 April 2021 (UTC)[reply]

2022 notes

New articles (unused): Ahmad Sayyed Javadi
Omitted: First Mass in the Philippines; Eiffel Tower; Royal Australian Air Force; Murder of Selena; Anne Hyde; Panoutsos Notaras; Mary Greyeyes
Included: Capture of Malolos (2nd appearance, last in 2018); Battle of Christmas Island (5th appearance, last in 2019; 80th anniversary); USS Missouri (BB-63) (4th appearance, last in 2017; 30th anniversary); 2018 Armenian revolution (first appearance); Pope Benedict XIV (first appearance); Edward FitzGerald (poet) (first appearance); Choor Singh (2nd appearance, last in 2018; also appears on January 19, his birthday)
Repeats: 1761 Lisbon earthquake (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 17:16, 2 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

2023 request for 2024+

Hi, @Howcheng: I'd like to request the addition of International Transgender Day of Visibility to the list of observances. Whoop whoop pull up ^{Bitching Betty ⚧️ Averted crashes} 14:41, 31 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Seconded. I even brought this up directly in Talk:Main Page [1];
instead of making a through check for the proper place... — Mignof (talk | contribs) 15:58, 31 March 2023 (UTC)[reply]