Wikipedia:Days of the year

This page documents an English Wikipedia content guideline.

Editors should generally follow it, though exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on this guideline's talk page.

Shortcuts

Include items which would have belonged in any theoretical almanac written in the prevailing years after the event, or in a nutshell:

Accomplishments in the arts and sciences as well as social milestones are particularly important.
The rise and fall of societies, and events relevant to that, matter.
Notable social movements, holidays, major disasters, and the births and deaths of persons who mattered to society are also listed.

The English Wikipedia is read in locations around the world, so the days of the year articles should include a diverse range of nationalities, races and genders. People and events listed should be independently notable and should therefore each have an article. Do not add entries for people or events that do not have an article on Wikipedia. When adding current events to days of the year articles, they should meet notability standards for the foreseeable future. Something that is newsworthy is not necessarily noteworthy, so make sure the article is sourced well enough that it won't be deleted.

Inline citations

Shortcut

WP:DOYCITE

Any material appearing in a days of the year list must be verifiable by referring to a reliable source which directly supports^[a] the entry. The editor adding entries to a list is responsible for demonstrating verifiability: a link to a Wikipedia article is not sufficient, but may reveal a source that supports the information added which can be used in the list. Editors are required to add an inline citation with any of the four types of information required to be cited inline, and any entry that is removed must not be restored without providing an inline citation.

Births and deaths

Shortcuts

Only the births and deaths of non-fictional people who are themselves subjects of Wikipedia articles should be listed. To have an article, a person must meet the criteria outlined in WP:BIO. Being part of a group with an article or having the page that bears one's name redirected to a different article does not qualify as having one's own article. Having a Wikipedia user page does not qualify as having an article.

Being the subject of a Wikipedia article is only a minimum requirement for inclusion in a days of the year article. Not all people meet the more stringent notability requirements for Wiki-calendar articles. For example, sports figures should only be included if they are noteworthy by having accomplished something exceptional in their sport such as breaking a world record, winning multiple Olympic gold medals or taking part in multiple international events; media/drama figures should have won major awards or have achieved demonstrably prominent status within the industry.

Animals with their own articles can be listed as well if sufficiently notable.

Events, holidays and observances

Shortcut

WP:EVENTDOY

Events, holidays and observances, if notable enough for inclusion, should be the subject of a Wikipedia article (or in the case of religious feasts, mentioned in a linked article). Holidays and observances should also be limited to those that occur on the same date annually, and observances to those that are currently celebrated (not the date it was once celebrated or will be celebrated).

What to do about excess items

Items that do not follow these criteria but are still factual and relevant can be moved to other timelines or portals, such as:

This offers an opportunity for the expansion of these sections as well.

Notes

^ A source "directly supports" a given piece of material if the information is present explicitly in the source so that using this source to support the material is not a violation of Wikipedia:No original research. The location of any citation—including whether one is present in the article at all—is unrelated to whether a source directly supports the material. For questions about where and how to place citations, see Wikipedia:Citing sources, Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section § Citations, etc.

[1] A source "directly supports" a given piece of material if the information is present explicitly in the source so that using this source to support the material is not a violation of Wikipedia:No original research. The location of any citation—including whether one is present in the article at all—is unrelated to whether a source directly supports the material. For questions about where and how to place citations, see Wikipedia:Citing sources, Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Lead section § Citations, etc.

[a]