Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/March 3

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This is the talk page for making suggestions or discussing improvements to Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/March 3.

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 3 article, see Talk:March 3 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 3, 2025

Wikipedia:Today's featured article/March 3, 2025

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Picture of the day for March 3, 2025

Apollo 9 (March 3–13, 1969) was the third crewed mission in the United States Apollo program. Launched by a Saturn V rocket and flown in Low Earth Orbit, the mission flight-qualified the Lunar Module (LM), showing that its crew could fly it independently, then rendezvous and dock, as would be required for Apollo 11, the first crewed lunar landing. Commander James McDivitt, Command Module Pilot David Scott, and Lunar Module Pilot Rusty Schweickart tested systems and procedures critical to landing on the Moon. A spacewalk tested the extravehicular life support backpack. McDivitt and Schweickart, entering the lunar module through the docking tunnel, became the first humans to pass between spacecraft without going outside them, two months after Soviet cosmonauts spacewalked to transfer between Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5. Apollo 9, a complete success, was followed by Apollo 10, the dress rehearsal for Apollo 11. This photograph, taken by Schweickart, shows Scott performing a stand-up extravehicular activity from the Command Module Gumdrop, seen from docked LM Spider.

Photograph credit: Rusty Schweickart / NASA

Recently featured:

← Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/March 2 * Wikipedia talk:Selected anniversaries/March 4 →

Removed:

1910 - Rockefeller Foundation: J.D. Rockefeller Jr. announces his retirement to philanthropy.

Rockefeller Foundation is a stub and it has not been updated to reflect the historical event. If and when those two things change, this entry can go back in. --mav 00:37, 29 Feb 2004 (UTC)

1969 - Sirhan Sirhan admits he killed presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy.

Sirhan Sirhan is a stub. Robert F. Kennedy is not, so I'm going to create a Robert F. Kennedy entry on the day of his death. --mav 00:37, 29 Feb 2004 (UTC)

1905 - Tsar Nicholas II of Russia agrees to create an elected assembly (the Duma).

Same as RFK. Please read the guidelines. --mav

Liberation of Bulgaria

Please fix year to 1878 (currently shown: 1978). Thanks. --Cryout 00:24, 3 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Steve Irwin - did not die on March 3. this is not the date on his Bio page and as March 3 is my Birthdqay I would have remembered if the ensuing drama after his death occurred on my birthday.

"Rocket 88"

March 3, 2011, marks the 60th anniversary of the (probable) recording date of "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston with Ike Turner, widely cited as "the first rock and roll record".[1][2] This should be marked in some way. I'm aware of some differences between sources as to whether it was recorded on 3 March or 5 March 1951 - there appears to be no consensus, but this should not stand in the way of commemorating the event. Ghmyrtle (talk) 15:20, 28 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

2012 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Carmen (undergoing major revision)
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): The Star-Spangled Banner
Omitted: First indoor hockey game, Free State of Fiume, Bethnal Green tube station, Rocket 88
Included: Battle of Nassau (first appearance), Pawłokoma massacre (first appearance), Rodney King (3rd appearance, last in 2010), Sky Tower (4th appearance, last in 2010)
Repeats: Statute of Rhuddlan (3rd consecutive appearance, 3 total)

—howcheng {chat} 03:10, 3 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

2013

2013 marks the centennial of the Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913, an important event for women's suffrage in the US. Gobōnobō ⁺ ^c 17:31, 17 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Alas, the article is in dire need of more references. Luckily, you have a couple of weeks to improve it. —howcheng {chat} 18:55, 17 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I'll see what I can do. Gobōnobō ⁺ ^c 07:02, 18 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I've provided more sources for the article. While it still could use some expansion, the article has most of the salient details. Gobōnobō ⁺ ^c 16:23, 1 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Looks good to go. Nice work! —howcheng {chat} 16:35, 1 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2013 notes

Moved to Ineligible: The Star-Spangled Banner
Rescued from Ineligible (unused): American Telephone & Telegraph
Omitted: Statute of Rhuddlan; Battle of Nassau; Pawłokoma massacre; Rodney King (ineligible—maintenance)
Included: Missouri Compromise (2nd appearance, last in 2004; rescued from Ineligible); Carmen (2nd appearance, last in 2009; rescued from Ineligible); Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913 (first appearance; 100th anniversary); Bethnal Green tube station (2nd appearance, last in 2011)
Repeats: Sky Tower (Auckland) (2nd consecutive appearance, 5 total)

—howcheng {chat} 06:00, 2 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

2014 notes

Omitted: Missouri Compromise; Carmen; Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913; Bethnal Green tube station; Sky Tower (Auckland)
Included: Emancipation reform of 1861 (first appearance; rescued from Ineligible); AT&T Corporation (first appearance); Free State of Fiume (2nd appearance, last in 2011; 90th anniversary); Bombing of the Bezuidenhout (first appearance); Historical Archive of the City of Cologne (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 10:10, 2 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

2015 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913 (POTD for 2015)
Omitted: AT&T Corporation; Free State of Fiume; Bombing of the Bezuidenhout; Historical Archive of the City of Cologne
Included: Statute of Rhuddlan (4th appearance, last in 2012); National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (first appearance; 100th anniversary); Pawłokoma massacre (2nd appearance, last in 2012; 70th anniversary); Szczekociny rail crash (first appearance)
Repeats: Emancipation reform of 1861 (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

2016 notes

Rescued from Ineligible (unused): Woman Suffrage Parade of 1913
Omitted: Statute of Rhuddlan; Emancipation reform of 1861; First indoor hockey game; National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics; Pawłokoma massacre; Szczekociny rail crash
Included: Battle of Nassau (2nd appearance, last in 2012); Carmen (3rd appearance, last in 2013); Free State of Fiume (3rd appearance, last in 2014); Rocket 88 (2nd appearance, last in 2011); Historical Archive of the City of Cologne (2nd appearance, last in 2014)

—howcheng {chat} 10:46, 1 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Ruins of the municipal archive of Cologne

So what is the point of featuring the "Ruins of the municipal archive of Cologne" - feature something more positive and educational. - Owain Knight (talk) 20:58, 2 March 2016 (UTC)[reply]

2017 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Sky Tower (Auckland) (maintenance)
Omitted: Hinamatsuri (ineligible—maintenance); Battle of Nassau; Carmen; Free State of Fiume; Rocket 88; Historical Archive of the City of Cologne
Included: Emancipation reform of 1861 (3rd appearance, last in 2015); First indoor hockey game (3rd appearance, last in 2015); Woman suffrage parade of 1913 (2nd appearance, last in 2013); Bethnal Green tube station (3rd appearance, last in 2013); Thick as a Brick (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 08:37, 3 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

2018 notes

Moved to Ineligible: AT&T Corporation (maintenance); National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (maintenance); National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (maintenance)
Omitted: Bulgaria (ineligible—maintenance); Emancipation reform of 1861; First indoor hockey game; Woman suffrage parade of 1913; Thick as a Brick; Robert Hooke; Hergé
Included: Hinamatsuri (rescued from Ineligible); Statute of Rhuddlan (5th appearance, last in 2015); Carmen (4th appearance, last in 2016); Free State of Fiume (4th appearance, last in 2016); Rodney King (4th appearance, last in 2012; rescued from Ineligible); Antony Bek (bishop of Durham) (first appearance); Maurice Garin (3rd appearance, last in 2016; normally appears on July 19); Johanna Wokalek (first appearance)
Repeats: Bethnal Green tube station (2nd consecutive appearance, 4 total; 75th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 21:55, 3 March 2018 (UTC)[reply]

2019 notes

Deleted: Sky Tower (Auckland) (moved to August 3)
Moved to Ineligible: Emancipation reform of 1861 (maintenance)
New articles (unused): Shoshone National Forest
Omitted: Statute of Rhuddlan; Carmen; Free State of Fiume (ineligible—maintenance); Bethnal Green tube station (ineligible—maintenance); Rodney King; Antony Bek (bishop of Durham); Maurice Garin; Johanna Wokalek
Included: Bulgaria (rescued from Ineligible); Raid of Nassau (3rd appearance, last in 2016); First indoor ice hockey game (4th appearance, last in 2017); Bombing of the Bezuidenhout (2nd appearance, last in 2014); Thick as a Brick (2nd appearance, last in 2017); Szczekociny rail crash (2nd appearance, last in 2015); Michael Kantakouzenos Şeytanoğlu (first appearance); Georg Cantor (first appearance); Rebecca Lancefield (first appearance)

—howcheng {chat} 17:18, 4 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

2020 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Rocket 88 (maintenance)
Omitted: Raid of Nassau; First indoor ice hockey game; Bombing of the Bezuidenhout; Szczekociny rail crash; Michael Kantakouzenos Şeytanoğlu; Georg Cantor; Rebecca Lancefield
Included: Statute of Rhuddlan (6th appearance, last in 2018); Missouri Compromise (3rd appearance, last in 2013; 200th anniversary); Shoshone National Forest (first appearance); Pawłokoma massacre (3rd appearance, last in 2015; 75th anniversary); Matthias de l'Obel (first appearance); Thomas Otway (first appearance); May Cutler (first appearance)
Repeats: Thick as a Brick (2nd consecutive appearance, 3 total)

—howcheng {chat} 17:52, 4 March 2020 (UTC)[reply]

2021 notes

Moved to Ineligible: Carmen (TFA for 2021)
New articles (ineligible): Raid of Nassau (maintenance); Ascanio Sforza (maintenance)
Omitted: Statute of Rhuddlan; Missouri Compromise; Pawłokoma massacre; Thick as a Brick; Matthias de l'Obel; Thomas Otway; May Cutler
Included: First indoor ice hockey game (5th appearance, last in 2019); Abolition of the Caliphate (first appearance; blurb previously featured Abdulmejid II, which is currently ineligible); Rodney King (5th appearance, last in 2018; 30th anniversary); Szczekociny rail crash (3rd appearance, last in 2019); Thomas Field Gibson (first appearance); Maurice Garin (4th appearance, last in 2018); Xavier Bettel (first appearance)
Repeats: Shoshone National Forest (2nd consecutive appearance, 2 total)

—howcheng {chat} 07:36, 5 March 2021 (UTC)[reply]

2022 notes

Omitted: First indoor ice hockey game; Shoshone National Forest; Abolition of the Caliphate; Rodney King; Szczekociny rail crash; Thomas Field Gibson; Maurice Garin; Xavier Bettel
Included: Raid of Nassau (4th appearance, last in 2019; rescued from Ineligible); Carmen (5th appearance, last in 2018; rescued from Ineligible); Bombing of the Bezuidenhout (3rd appearance, last in 2019); Thick as a Brick (4th appearance, last in 2020; 50th anniversary); Michael Kantakouzenos Şeytanoğlu (2nd appearance, last in 2019); Ghulam Kadir (first appearance); Tolu Ogunlesi (first appearance; 40th birthday)
Repeats: Szczekociny rail crash (2nd consecutive appearance, 4 total; 10th anniversary)

—howcheng {chat} 08:26, 4 March 2022 (UTC)[reply]