Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests

Here the community can nominate articles to be selected as "Today's featured article" (TFA) on the main page. The TFA section aims to highlight the range of articles that have "featured article" status, from Art and architecture through to Warfare, and wherever possible it tries to avoid similar topics appearing too close together without good reason. Requests are not the only factor in scheduling the TFA (see Choosing Today's Featured Article); the final decision rests with the TFA coordinators: Wehwalt, Dank and Gog the Mild, who also select TFAs for dates where no suggestions are put forward. Please confine requests to this page, and remember that community endorsement on this page does not necessarily mean the article will appear on the requested date. The article must be a featured article. Editors who are not significant contributors to the article should consult regular editors of the article before nominating it for TFAR. The article must not have appeared as TFA before (see the list of possibilities here), except that: The TFA coordinators may choose to fill up to two slots each week with FAs that have previously been on the main page, so long as the prior appearance was at least five years ago. The coordinators will invite discussion on general selection criteria for re-runnable TFAs, and aim to make individual selections within those criteria. The request must be either for a specific date within the next 30 days that has not yet been scheduled, or a non-specific date. The template {{@TFA}} can be used in a message to "ping" the coordinators through the notification system. If you have an exceptional request that deviates from these instructions (for example, an article making a second appearance as TFA, or a "double-header"), please discuss the matter with the TFA coordinators beforehand. It can be helpful to add the article to the pending requests template, if the desired date for the article is beyond the 30-day period. This does not guarantee selection, but does help others see what nominations may be forthcoming. Requesters should still nominate the article here during the 30-day time-frame.

Featured content: Featured articles ← Featured lists Featured pictures Featured topics Featured article candidates (FAC) Featured article criteria Featured article log Featured article statistics Featured article review (FAR) Former featured articles Unreviewed featured articles/2020 Today's featured article (TFA): This month's queue About Today's featured article Recent TFAs and statistics Current TFA requests Potential TFA requests TFA oddities Most viewed TFAs Featured articles yet to appear as TFA Script to track TFA recent changes Featured article tools: Mentoring for FAC Nominators of featured articles promoted Recent changes to featured articles Random featured article

How to post a new nomination: I. Create the nomination subpage. In the box below, enter the full name of the article you are nominating (without using any brackets around the article's name) and click the button to create your nomination page. II. Write the nomination. On that nomination page, fill out as many of the relevant parts of the pre-loaded {{TFAR nom}} template as you can, then save the page. Your nomination should mention: when the last similar article was, since this helps towards diversity on the main page (browsing Wikipedia:Today's featured article/recent TFAs will help you find out); when the article was promoted to FA status (since older articles may need extra checks); and (for date-specific nominations) the article's relevance for the requested date. III. Write the blurb. Some Featured Articles promoted between 2016 and 2020 have pre-prepared blurbs, found on the talk page of the FAC nomination (that's the page linked from "it has been identified" at the top of the article's talk page). If there is one, copy and paste that to the nomination, save it, and then edit as needed. For other FAs, you're welcome to create your own TFA text as a summary of the lead section, or you can ask for assistance at WT:TFAR. We use one paragraph only, with no reference tags or alternative names; the only thing bolded is the first link to the article title. The length when previewed is between 925 and 1025 characters including spaces, " (Full article...)" and the featured topic link if applicable. More characters may be used when no free-use image can be found. Fair use images are not allowed. IV. Post at TFAR. After you have created the nomination page, add it here under a level-3 heading for the preferred date (or under a free non-specific date header). To do this, add (replacing "ARTICLE TITLE" with the name of your nominated article): ===February 29=== {{Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/ARTICLE TITLE}} Nominations are ordered by requested date below the summary chart. More than one article can be nominated for the same date. It would also then be helpful to add the nomination to the summary chart, following the examples there. Please include the name of the article that you are nominating in your edit summary. If you are not one of the article's primary editors, please then notify the primary editors of the TFA nomination; if primary editors are no longer active, please add a message to the article talk page. Scheduling: In the absence of exceptional circumstances, TFAs are scheduled in date order, not according to how long nominations have been open or how many supportive comments they have. So, for example, January 31 will not be scheduled until January 30 has been scheduled (by TFAR nomination or otherwise).

Summary chart

Currently accepting requests from November 2 to December 2.

Date	Article	Points	Notes
July 17	Port Chicago disaster	2	65th anniversary of explosion.
July 20	Sirius	0 (2 or 3 if run on August 1).	8/1 "Dog days of summer" start. Next to be replaced.
August 5	Premiere (The O.C.)	2	anniversary of first airdate
August 13	Hurricane Dean	1	2 year anniversary of storm
August 14	Magic Johnson	4	his 50th birthday.

Requests

July 17

Iridium foil

The Port Chicago disaster was a deadly explosion that took place on July 17, 1944 at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine in Port Chicago, California. Munitions being loaded aboard a cargo vessel bound for the Pacific Theater of Operations detonated, killing 320 sailors and civilians and injuring 390 others. Most of the dead and injured were enlisted African American sailors.

A month later, continuing unsafe conditions inspired hundreds of servicemen to refuse to load munitions, an act known as the Port Chicago Mutiny. Fifty men, called the Port Chicago 50, were convicted of mutiny and sentenced to long prison terms. Forty-seven of the 50 were released in January 1946; the remaining three served additional months in prison.

During and after the trial, questions were raised about the fairness and legality of the court-martial proceedings. Due to public pressure, the United States Navy reconvened the courts-martial board in 1945; the court affirmed the guilt of the convicted men. Widespread publicity surrounding the case turned it into a cause celebre among African Americans and liberal white Americans making it, along with other race-related Navy protests of 1944–1945, a significant motivator for the Navy to change its practices and begin in February 1946 to desegregate its forces.

2 points; 3 if you're a teenager from Northern California; another point if you see this primarily as an article about race relations, an underrepresented topic, rather than one of many military events. 1 for relevant date connection (65th anniversary of explosion), 1 point because I have not brought an article here before, 1 point for basic topic for schoolchildren in Northern California, especially the San Francisco Bay Area: they use this event as a study subject, per this link from a local school system. Binksternet (talk) 14:32, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

• Support, but at 2 points. I think the "basic topic" point should only be given if it's basic in a pretty large area (such as nationwide), and it seems to me to be more of a milhist article than a race relations article. rʨanaɢ ^talk/_contribs 14:40, 17 June 2009 (UTC)
• Support, 3 points is ok with me:1 date, 1 nominator, 1 underrepresented topic (race relations). Smallbones (talk) 15:06, 17 June 2009 (UTC)
• Support –Juliancolton | ^Talk 16:31, 17 June 2009 (UTC)
• Support, but at 2 points per Rjanag (talk · contribs). Dabomb87 (talk) 23:09, 17 June 2009 (UTC)
• Comment two points. Many schools have local history. And I note you mention "teenager from northern California"; unless they've changed the qualifications to become a teenager, twelve year olds do not qualify. And as for underrepresented, we go strictly by the categories for FA, and this article doesn't get a point that way.--Wehwalt (talk) 03:44, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

I accept the two points level. Just for clarity, it was my own application of the word 'teenager' to the local school link, but the k-thru-12 link does not specify age of student. It leaves that decision to the teacher. Cheers - Binksternet (talk) 20:49, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

• Support, high-quality article on noteworthy topic, high encyclopedia and educational value. Cirt (talk) 15:36, 18 June 2009 (UTC)
• Support This is an excellent article that covers an important and controversial event well. As for the points, the subject of this article was most definately an important event in the history of race relations in the United States much more so than a significant event in military history (except as regards race relations in the US military). I believe a case could be made for basic subject matter as well, and as for the 12 year old vs. teenager comment, I think that shows a fundamental problem with the basic subject matter rule, which I intend to take up on the talk page for this project presently. Rusty Cashman (talk) 05:12, 28 June 2009 (UTC)
• support Nice read. Matthewedwards :  Chat  04:22, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

July 20 or August 1

Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky with a visual apparent magnitude of −1.46, almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star. The name Sirius is derived from the Ancient Greek Σείριος. The star has the Bayer designation α Canis Majoris (α CMa, or Alpha Canis Majoris). What the naked eye perceives as a single star is actually a binary star system, consisting of a white main sequence star of spectral type A1V, termed Sirius A, and a faint white dwarf companion of spectral type DA2, termed Sirius B. Sirius appears bright due to both its intrinsic luminosity and its closeness to the Earth. At a distance of 2.6 parsecs (8.6 light years), the Sirius system is one of our near neighbors. Sirius A is about twice as massive as the Sun and has an absolute visual magnitude of 1.42. It is 25 times more luminous than the Sun but has a significantly lower luminosity than other bright stars such as Canopus or Rigel. The system is between 200 and 300 million years old. It was originally composed of two bright bluish stars. The more massive of these, Sirius B, consumed its resources and became a red giant before shedding its outer layers and collapsing into its current state as a white dwarf around 120 million years ago. Sirius is also known colloquially as the "Dog Star", reflecting its prominence in its constellation, Canis Major (English: Big Dog). The heliacal rising of Sirius marked the flooding of the Nile in Ancient Egypt and the 'Dog Days' of summer for the Ancient Greeks, while to the Polynesians it marked winter and was an important star for navigation around the Pacific Ocean. (more….)

Following discussion on this page ended June 27. 0 (July 20) or 1 point (August 1). We need something to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1st manned Moon landing. Although Sirius is not very close to that topic, at least it is astronomical in nature, and the best alternative seems to be International Space Station, which is still a featured article candidate. I'd replace this with ISS if ISS becomes an FA. Otherwise, August 1 (or other early August date) for Dog days of summer. Smallbones (talk) 15:03, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

• Comment I think this would be considered similar to White Dwarf which was featured on the main page on June 25, and would thus get -2 points for July 20th. The White Dwarf article used a picture of Sirius A and B as its picture on the main page. Calathan (talk) 18:14, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

Comment Calathan's right. Minus 2 if on July 20, 1 if on August 1. The dog days is a bit dodgy, but what the heck?--Wehwalt (talk) 19:09, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

Comment sorry I left out the point calculation - 0 or 1 point for July 20 - dog days are named after this star - the dog star, +1 basic material (yes 12 year olds write papers on this star), +1 promoted over a year ago, -2 white dwarf on mainpage, August 1st removes the -2. I don't consider dog days dodgy at all, it's an ancient (Egyptian, Roman, Church of England) month, that is as relevant to this day as Janus would be for January, or Julius Caesar would be for July. I do hope that there is something more appropriate for July 20, but surely something astronomical must be TFAR on that date. Smallbones (talk) 21:05, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

I guess I meant there is nothing that ties Aug 1 in particular to Sirius, we tend to go by days of significance, not being part of a long hot summer.--Wehwalt (talk) 21:22, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

• support and cross fingers...what a miserable score... :) Casliber (talk · contribs) 20:52, 10 July 2009 (UTC)
• Support for August 1. There's got to be a more apt article for the 40-year moon landing anniversary of July 20. How about the other moons within the solar system, the ones that haven't yet been featured on the main page: Callisto (moon), Triton (moon), Titan (moon), Oberon (moon), Ganymede (moon)? How about Houston? How about Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve (LOL!)? Binksternet (talk) 21:27, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

Houston has already been on the main page, but Craters is a good punch line to a tragic (as far as TFAR can be tragic) situation. I'll encourage you to check out all possible candidates for July 20 or July 21 (maybe another MJ article for the first moonwalk?), and come up with THE best suggestion. Smallbones (talk) 21:53, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

August 5

Series creator Josh Schwartz

"Premiere" (also known as "Pilot") is the series premiere of the television series The O.C., which first aired on the Fox network on August 5, 2003. Written by series creator Josh Schwartz and directed by executive producer Doug Liman, the episode depicts the introduction of troubled teenager Ryan Atwood (Benjamin McKenzie) into the wealthy lifestyle of the Cohen family in Newport Beach, Orange County, California.

The casting directors, Patrick J. Rush and Alyson Silverberg, began selecting the principal cast eight to ten weeks before filming started. The role of Ryan was particularly hard to cast. Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) was based on Schwartz's experiences at the University of Southern California as a "neurotic Jewish kid from the East Coast in a land of water polo players". Other central characters in the episode are Seth's parents—Sandy (Peter Gallagher) and Kirsten (Kelly Rowan)—and teenage next-door neighbor Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton).

The series premiere led the first half-hour of its time slot in viewership. It was generally well received by critics, and earned Schwartz a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Best Screenplay in an Episodic Drama. Rush and Silverberg received an Artios Award nomination for excellence of casting in the Dramatic Pilot category. Originally broadcast and released in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, it was remastered in a widescreen ratio for the series DVD, released in November 2007. The episode was released on MiniDVD on April 26, 2005, and is available to purchase from video on demand services.

Premiere (The O.C.), two points. It is six years since it first aired (1pt), and my first TFA nomination (1pt). In case it makes a difference to the nomination I won't actually be around on this date to monitor things if this goes onto the main page on the suggested date. I just went ahead and pasted the lead into a box like the other nominations and removed the references. I hope that is right, also I'm aware the last sentence might need scrapping to avoid looking like an advertisement on the main page. Other than that if I've done anything wrong please let me know. Thanks, Rambo's Revenge (talk) 00:22, 7 July 2009 (UTC)

• Comments Points look good. Don't be too concerned if you're not around on the day, it isn't a requirement and there are always plenty of eyes on the TFA.--Wehwalt (talk) 00:47, 7 July 2009 (UTC)
• Support, two points. Dabomb87 (talk) 01:05, 7 July 2009 (UTC)
• Support even though it scuppers my chances of getting something on there! One other thing: I'm not comfortable with the image. It doesn't help anybody reading the blurb on the main page in identifying the subject of the article, which is the episode, not the writer/creator. There doesn't have to be an image, and I'd prefer it if there wasn't, in all honesty. Matthewedwards :  Chat  04:32, 10 July 2009 (UTC)
• Support, and I echo Matthewedwards' thoughts. –Juliancolton | ^Talk 16:37, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

August 13

Hurricane Dean was the strongest tropical cyclone of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the most intense Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Wilma of 2005, tying for seventh overall. Additionally, it made the third most intense Atlantic hurricane landfall. A Cape Verde-type hurricane that formed on August 13, 2007, Dean took a west-northwest path from the eastern Atlantic Ocean through the Saint Lucia Channel and into the Caribbean Sea. It strengthened into a major hurricane, reaching Category 5 status on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale before passing just south of Jamaica on August 20. The storm made landfall on the Yucatán Peninsula on August 21 as a powerful Category 5 storm. It crossed the peninsula and emerged into the Bay of Campeche weakened, but still a hurricane. It strengthened briefly before making a second landfall in Veracruz near Tecolutla, Mexico, on August 22. Dean drifted to the northwest, weakening into a remnant low which dissipated uneventfully over the southwestern United States. The hurricane's intense winds, waves, rains and storm surge were responsible for at least 45 deaths across ten countries and caused estimated damages of US$1.5 billion. First impacting the islands of the Lesser Antilles, Dean's path through the Caribbean devastated agricultural crops, particularly those of Martinique and Jamaica. Upon reaching Mexico, Hurricane Dean was a Category 5 storm, but it missed major population centers and its exceptional Category 5 strength landfall caused no deaths and less damage than in the Caribbean islands it passed as a Category 2 storm.(more….)

Hurricane Dean formed on August 13, 2007 and for it's anniversary (since it was retired) I'm submitting the article for TFA. It has two points; one for basic subject matter; and one for anniversary. Cyclonebiskit (talk) 17:24, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

Comment I don't see how it is basic subject matter. We gave Tropical cyclone the point, that does not mean that individual hurricanes get a basic subject matter point. One point. Also, you need to say somewhere in the article that it formed on August 13. As it stands, the date August 13 is not mentioned outside the infobox. It shouldn't be difficult, judging by the Meterological History article, which I looked at and which says it was designated a Tropical Depression that date. Is that how "formed" is defined?--Wehwalt (talk) 17:43, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

I'm inclined to agree with Wehwalt; I don't think the average middle-schooler will be doing a report on this specific hurricane. Parsecboy (talk) 17:44, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

Definitely not "basic subject matter". Also, does this lose a point or two for other recent hurricane articles? (I haven't checked, but I feel like we had one not too long ago.) rʨanaɢ ^talk/_contribs 17:59, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

The last hurricane article was June 1, so by August 13 it'll have been over two months. Cyclonebiskit (talk) 18:00, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

Note that it is my view that the tornado article we are running on July 12 should count, but it doesn't affect the points.--Wehwalt (talk) 18:02, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

Fixed the thing with the date. –Juliancolton | ^Talk 18:19, 8 July 2009 (UTC)

• Support at 1 point - since Tornados are not Hurricanes it does not a loose any points Jason Rees (talk) 18:25, 8 July 2009 (UTC)
• Support –Juliancolton | ^Talk 03:37, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

August 14

Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is a retired American professional basketball player who was a point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After winning championships in high school and college, Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Lakers. He won a championship and an NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in his rookie season, and won four more championships with the Lakers during the 1980s. Johnson retired abruptly in 1991 after announcing that he had HIV, but returned to play in the 1992 All-Star Game, winning the All-Star MVP Award. After protests from his fellow players, he retired again for four years, but returned in 1996 to play 32 games for the Lakers before retiring for the third and final time. Johnson's career achievements include three NBA MVP Awards, nine NBA Finals appearances, twelve All-Star games, and ten All-NBA First and Second Team nominations. He led the league in regular-season assists four times, and is the NBA's all-time leader in assists per game with an average of 11.2. Johnson was also a member of the "Dream Team", the U.S. basketball team that won the Olympic gold medal in 1992. Johnson was honored as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, and enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. He was rated the greatest NBA point guard of all time by ESPN in 2007. His friendship and rivalry with Boston Celtics star Larry Bird, whom he faced in the 1979 NCAA finals and three NBA championship series, were well documented. Since his retirement, Johnson has been an advocate for HIV/AIDS prevention and safe sex, as well as a philanthropist and motivational speaker.(more….)

Magic Johnson, his 50th birthday. I also think this works well with the Los Angeles Lakers, the team he played for for tweelve year, won the NBA championship last mounth. 4 pts BUC (talk) 17:48, 6 July 2009 (UTC)

• Comment don't like to edit other people's comments, so I'll say it is his 50th birthday. That's why the 4 points. Subject to no other athletes appearing in the interim, points are correct.--Wehwalt (talk) 11:35, 6 July 2009 (UTC)
• Comment: August 14 is over 30 days from now. Suggest taking this down until we're 2-3 weeks out. Parsecboy (talk) 00:35, 7 July 2009 (UTC)
  • It says at the top of the page "Currently accepting requests from July 16 to August 15". BUC (talk) 06:54, 7 July 2009 (UTC)
    • Oops, my bad. Guess I can't read, can I? :) Parsecboy (talk) 12:21, 7 July 2009 (UTC)
• Support - Sure. We haven't had a sports player in a while as far as I can remember. –Juliancolton | ^Talk 13:11, 7 July 2009 (UTC)
  • Comment We have that cricketer tomorrow, assuming that qualifies as a sports player.--Wehwalt (talk) 16:09, 7 July 2009 (UTC)
    • I hope you donned your fire suit before saying that. Let the flamming begin :) Raul654 (talk) 16:13, 7 July 2009 (UTC)
      • If I get flamed, we'll be left with ... Ashes!--Wehwalt (talk) 16:20, 7 July 2009 (UTC)
• Support NBA icon who deserves to be on the main page. Dabomb87 (talk) 15:49, 7 July 2009 (UTC)
  • Two points, I suppose, since the cricketer is on the main page tomorrow. Dabomb87 (talk) 16:38, 7 July 2009 (UTC)
    • Wasn't the cricketer article (July 8th) more than a month before the requested date (August 14th), so shouldn't this not lose points? Calathan (talk) 18:20, 10 July 2009 (UTC)
      • Oops, sorry, I missed that. Four points. Dabomb87 (talk) 18:25, 11 July 2009 (UTC)
• Support at any points. Popular subject, well-written article. Binksternet (talk) 21:29, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

Four points Ashy cricketer to Magic is more than 30 days, no points lost, total is four points.--Wehwalt (talk) 21:36, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

• Support - this is a slam dunk. Though I don't want to push "basic subject matter" this is an obvious candidate for that point. In the US, 12 year-olds certainly would like to write papers on Magic and their teachers would usually accept them for many reasons: the HIV/AIDS connection, race relations and the Magic/Bird rivalry/friendship, or just because they are Dream Team day-dreamers. But that's not my call. Smallbones (talk) 22:07, 10 July 2009 (UTC)
  • Comment Well, it's a consensus thing. And we've traditionally excluded athletes and other non academic areas from eligibility for basic subject matter, because then, the sky's the limit. While Magic certainly has notability outside the sports world (HIV, movie theatres), he's principally known as an athlete.--Wehwalt (talk) 22:40, 10 July 2009 (UTC)