A day on the globeROENES中文
The Earth on 25 October, with the rays of the day’s events
  1. A birthday on the globe

    25 October on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born

    For 25 October, the English Wikipedia lists 47 events and 445 births. 24 of the events stand at their places as rays of light; one more is a dashed circle, where the sentence links only to a country or a sea. The taller the ray, the longer ago it happened. The people born that day come further down, as blue points.

    A birthday, yours or someone else’s:

  2. The Earth on 25 October

    The picture on the globe was assembled by NASA from satellite photographs taken in October 2004: the snow, the ice and the green are those of the month.

    On 25 October the Sun passes straight overhead at noon along the parallel of 12.1° south. In London, the day lasts about 10 hours 5 minutes.

    Beyond 78° south the Sun no longer sets; beyond 78° north it no longer rises.

    The line between day and night is tilted on the globe exactly as on this day of the year. On the dark side you can see the lights of towns.

  3. 25 October

    Europe#

    Eight events from the day’s list are placed here, between 1147 and 1989.

    The globe stops at three of them; the whole list is further down. All eight

  4. Europe · Uspenski Cathedral

    1868

    The Uspenski Cathedral, designed by Aleksey Gornostayev, is inaugurated in Helsinki, Finland.

    On the map: Uspenski Cathedral.

    Wikipedia: Uspenski Cathedral

  5. Europe · Saint Petersburg

    1917

    Old Style date of the October Revolution in Russia.

    On the map: Saint Petersburg.

    Wikipedia: October Revolution

  6. Europe · Lisbon

    1989

    The first leg of the 1989 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira is held at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal.

    On the map: Lisbon.

    Wikipedia: 1989 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira

  7. 25 October

    Asia#

    Nine events from the day’s list are placed here, between 1147 and 2010.

    The globe stops at one of them; the whole list is further down. All nine

  8. Asia · Geography of Taiwan

    1945

    Fifty years of Japanese administration of Taiwan formally ends when the Republic of China assumes control.

    On the map: Geography of Taiwan.

    Wikipedia: Geography of Taiwan

  9. 25 October

    North America#

    Five events from the day’s list are placed here, between 1864 and 2023.

    The globe stops at one of them; the whole list is further down. All five

  10. North America · Boston

    1875

    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B♭ minor, Op. 23 premieres in Boston, Massachusetts, with Benjamin Johnson Lang as conductor and Hans von Bülow as soloist.

    On the map: Boston.

    Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Chinese.

    Wikipedia: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

  11. 25 October

    What the other Wikipedias remember#

    For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Spanish and Chinese and were translated for this page.

  12. From Wikipedia in Spanish · place de la Concorde

    1836

    In the Place de la Concorde in Paris (France), the Luxor Obelisk, from the temple of Karnak, is installed; it was a gift from the viceroy of Egypt, Muhammad Ali, in exchange for a clock for the alabaster mosque.

    On the map: place de la Concorde.

    Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Spanish.

    The article on Wikipedia in Spanish: Plaza de la Concordia

  13. From Wikipedia in Chinese · Singapore Changi Airport

    2007

    The Airbus A380 makes its first commercial flight, operated by Singapore Airlines from Singapore Changi Airport to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport in Australia.

    On the map: Singapore Changi Airport.

    Translated from the list on Wikipedia in Chinese.

    The article on Wikipedia in Chinese: 悉尼机场

  14. 25 October

    Born on 25 October#

    The English Wikipedia lists 445 births for this day. The blue points are the birthplaces of 60 of these people: those written about in the most Wikipedia editions, where Wikidata gives a place of birth.

  15. Born on 25 October

    1881

    Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter and sculptor (died 1973)

    Place of birth: Málaga.

    Wikipedia: Pablo Picasso

  16. Born on 25 October

    1984

    Katy Perry, American singer-songwriter and actress

    Place of birth: Santa Barbara.

    Wikipedia: Katy Perry

  17. Born on 25 October

    1838

    Georges Bizet, French pianist and composer (died 1875)

    Place of birth: Rue Louise-Émilie-de-La-Tour-d'Auvergne.

    Wikipedia: Georges Bizet

  18. Born on 25 October

    1811

    Évariste Galois, French mathematician and theorist (died 1832)

    Place of birth: Bourg-la-Reine.

    Wikipedia: Évariste Galois

  19. Born on 25 October

    1806

    Max Stirner, German philosopher and author (died 1856)

    Place of birth: Bayreuth.

    Wikipedia: Max Stirner

  20. Born in Britain and Ireland

    1975

    Zadie Smith, English author and academic

    Place of birth: London.

    Wikipedia: Zadie Smith

  21. Born in Britain and Ireland

    1981

    Shaun Wright-Phillips, English footballer

    Place of birth: Greenwich.

    Wikipedia: Shaun Wright-Phillips

  22. Born in Britain and Ireland

    1987

    Darron Gibson, Irish footballer

    Place of birth: Derry.

    Wikipedia: Darron Gibson

  23. The whole globe of the day

    Drag the globe to turn it. Touch a ray or a point to read what happened there.

Everything Wikipedia lists for 25 October

The list is the English Wikipedia’s, in its own wording, as it stood in October 2026. 22 events have no place on the map: the sentence links to no place with coordinates, only to places too wide to mark, or to several countries.

  1. 473

    Emperor Leo I acclaims his grandson Leo II as Caesar of the East Roman Empire.

    no place on the mapWikipedia: Leo I
  2. 1147

    Reconquista: After a siege of four months, crusader knights conquer Lisbon.

    Europe · Siege of LisbonWikipedia: Siege of Lisbon
  3. 1147

    Seljuk Turks defeat German crusaders under Conrad III at the Battle of Dorylaeum.

    Asia · Battle of DorylaeumWikipedia: Battle of Dorylaeum
  4. 1415

    Hundred Years' War: Henry V of England, with his lightly armoured infantry and archers, defeats the heavily armoured French cavalry in the Battle of Agincourt.

    Europe · Battle of AgincourtWikipedia: Battle of Agincourt
  5. 1616

    Dutch sea-captain Dirk Hartog makes the second recorded landfall by a European on Australian soil, at the later-named Dirk Hartog Island off the West Australian coast.

    no place on the mapWikipedia: Dirk Hartog
  6. 1747

    War of the Austrian Succession: A British fleet under Admiral Edward Hawke defeats the French at the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre.

    Europe · Second Battle of Cape FinisterreWikipedia: Second Battle of Cape Finisterre
  7. 1760

    King George III succeeds to the British throne on the death of his grandfather George II.

    no place on the mapWikipedia: George III
  8. 1809

    Golden Jubilee of George III is celebrated in Britain as he begins the fiftieth year of his reign.

  9. 1812

    War of 1812: The American frigate, USS United States, commanded by Stephen Decatur, captures the British frigate HMS Macedonian.

    Oceans · Atlantic OceanWikipedia: USS United States vs HMS Macedonian
  10. 1822

    Greek War of Independence: The First Siege of Missolonghi begins.

    Europe · First siege of MissolonghiWikipedia: First siege of Missolonghi
  11. 1854

    The Battle of Balaclava takes place during the Crimean War. It is soon memorialized in verse as The Charge of the Light Brigade.

    Europe · Battle of BalaclavaWikipedia: Battle of Balaclava
  12. 1861

    The Toronto Stock Exchange is created.

  13. 1864

    American Civil War: During Price's Missouri Expedition, Union troops defeated Sterling Price's Confederate army in three successive battles: Marais des Cygnes, Mine Creek, and Marmiton River.

    North America · Indian TerritoryWikipedia: American Civil War
  14. 1868

    The Uspenski Cathedral, designed by Aleksey Gornostayev, is inaugurated in Helsinki, Finland.

    Europe · Uspenski CathedralWikipedia: Uspenski Cathedral
  15. 1875

    Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B♭ minor, Op. 23 premieres in Boston, Massachusetts, with Benjamin Johnson Lang as conductor and Hans von Bülow as soloist.

    North America · BostonWikipedia: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
  16. 1911

    The Xinhai Revolution spreads to Guangzhou, where the Qing general Fengshan is assassinated by the Chinese Assassination Corps.

    Asia · GuangzhouWikipedia: 1911 Revolution
  17. 1917

    Old Style date of the October Revolution in Russia.

    Europe · Saint PetersburgWikipedia: October Revolution
  18. 1920

    After 74 days on hunger strike in Brixton Prison, England, the Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney dies.

    no place on the mapWikipedia: Terence MacSwiney
  19. 1924

    The Zinoviev letter, which Zinoviev himself denied writing, is published in the Daily Mail; the Labour party would later blame this letter for the Conservatives' landslide election win four days later.

    no place on the mapWikipedia: Zinoviev letter
  20. 1927

    The Italian luxury liner SS Principessa Mafalda sinks off the coast of Brazil, killing 314.

  21. 1929

    Following a series of similar actions against other sculptures, hundreds of students at Armstrong College in Newcastle tarred and feathered Statue of Industry, created by the college's master of sculpture Herbert Maryon.

  22. 1932

    George Lansbury became the leader of the opposition British Labour Party.

    no place on the mapWikipedia: George Lansbury
  23. 1940

    Benjamin O. Davis Sr. is named the first African American general in the United States Army.

  24. 1944

    World War II: Heinrich Himmler orders a crackdown on the Edelweiss Pirates, a loosely organized youth culture in Nazi Germany that had assisted army deserters and others to hide from the Third Reich.

    no place on the mapWikipedia: World War II
  25. 1944

    World War II: The USS Tang under Richard O'Kane (the top American submarine ace of the war) is sunk by the ship's own malfunctioning torpedo.

    no place on the mapWikipedia: USS Tang
  26. 1944

    World War II: The final attempt of the Imperial Japanese Navy to win the war climaxes at the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

    Asia · Battle of Leyte GulfWikipedia: Battle of Leyte Gulf
  27. 1945

    Fifty years of Japanese administration of Taiwan formally ends when the Republic of China assumes control.

    Asia · Geography of TaiwanWikipedia: Geography of Taiwan
  28. 1949

    The Battle of Guningtou in the Taiwan Strait begins.

    Asia · Battle of GuningtouWikipedia: Battle of Guningtou
  29. 1950

    The People's Volunteer Army ambushed the South Korean II Corps at the Battle of Onjong, and elsewhere engaged the 1st Infantry Division at the Battle of Unsan, marking China's entry into the Korean War.

    Asia · Battle of OnjongWikipedia: II Corps
  30. 1962

    Cuban Missile Crisis: Adlai Stevenson shows the United Nations Security Council reconnaissance photographs of Soviet ballistic missiles in Cuba.

    Latin America · Cuban Missile CrisisWikipedia: Cuban Missile Crisis
  31. 1968

    A Fairchild F-27 crashes into Moose Mountain while on approach to Lebanon Municipal Airport in Lebanon, New Hampshire, killing 32 people.

    North America · Northeast Airlines Flight 946Wikipedia: Northeast Airlines Flight 946
  32. 1968

    Soyuz 2 is launched.

    no place on the mapWikipedia: Soyuz 2
  33. 1971

    The People's Republic of China replaces the Republic of China at the United Nations.

    no place on the mapWikipedia: China
  34. 1973

    Egypt and Israel accept United Nations Security Council Resolution 339.

  35. 1980

    Proceedings on the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction conclude.

  36. 1983

    The United States and its Caribbean allies invade Grenada, six days after Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and several of his supporters are executed in a coup d'état.

    Latin America · United States invasion of GrenadaWikipedia: United States invasion of Grenada
  37. 1989

    The first leg of the 1989 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira is held at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal.

    Europe · LisbonWikipedia: 1989 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
  38. 1990

    The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic declares its sovereignty from the Soviet Union.

  39. 1995

    A commuter train slams into a school bus in Fox River Grove, Illinois, killing seven students.

  40. 1997

    After a civil war, Denis Sassou Nguesso proclaims himself President of the Republic of the Congo.

  41. 1999

    A Learjet 35 crashes in Mina near Aberdeen, South Dakota, killing all six people on board, including PGA golfer Payne Stewart and golf course designer Bruce Borland.

    North America · 1999 South Dakota Learjet 35 crashWikipedia: 1999 South Dakota Learjet 35 crash
  42. 2001

    Microsoft releases Windows XP, which becomes one of Microsoft's most successful operating systems.

    no place on the mapWikipedia: Microsoft
  43. 2009

    The October 2009 Baghdad bombings kill 155 and wound at least 721.

    Asia · October 2009 Baghdad bombingsWikipedia: October 2009 Baghdad bombings
  44. 2010

    A magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes off Indonesia's Mentawai Islands, triggering a tsunami that kills at least 400 people.

    Asia · 2010 Mentawai earthquake and tsunamiWikipedia: 2010 Mentawai earthquake and tsunami
  45. 2010

    Mount Merapi in Central Java, Indonesia, began an increasingly violent series of eruptions that lasted over a month.

    Asia · Mount MerapiWikipedia: Mount Merapi
  46. 2022

    At 49 days, Liz Truss concluded the shortest tenure as prime minister of the United Kingdom.

    no place on the mapWikipedia: Liz Truss
  47. 2023

    A mass shooting occurs in two locations in Lewiston, Maine. 18 people are killed and 13 more injured.

    North America · 2023 Lewiston shootingsWikipedia: 2023 Lewiston shootings

What the other Wikipedias remember

For these years the English list has nothing on this day. The events below come from the same day’s lists on Wikipedia in Spanish and Chinese and were translated for this page.

  1. 1836

    In the Place de la Concorde in Paris (France), the Luxor Obelisk, from the temple of Karnak, is installed; it was a gift from the viceroy of Egypt, Muhammad Ali, in exchange for a clock for the alabaster mosque.

    Europe · place de la ConcordeTranslated from the list on Wikipedia in SpanishWikipedia: Plaza de la Concordia
  2. 2007

    The Airbus A380 makes its first commercial flight, operated by Singapore Airlines from Singapore Changi Airport to Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport in Australia.

    Asia · Singapore Changi AirportTranslated from the list on Wikipedia in ChineseWikipedia: 悉尼机场

Who was born on 25 October

In order of how many Wikipedia editions have an article about each. The first 60 of 445 are shown.

  1. 1881

    Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter and sculptor (died 1973)

    MálagaWikipedia: Pablo Picasso
  2. 1984

    Katy Perry, American singer-songwriter and actress

    Santa BarbaraWikipedia: Katy Perry
  3. 1838

    Georges Bizet, French pianist and composer (died 1875)

    Rue Louise-Émilie-de-La-Tour-d'AuvergneWikipedia: Georges Bizet
  4. 1811

    Évariste Galois, French mathematician and theorist (died 1832)

    Bourg-la-ReineWikipedia: Évariste Galois
  5. 1806

    Max Stirner, German philosopher and author (died 1856)

    BayreuthWikipedia: Max Stirner
  6. 1825

    Johann Strauss II, Austrian composer and educator (died 1899)

    Sankt UlrichWikipedia: Johann Strauss II
  7. 1971

    Elif Şafak, French-Turkish journalist, author, and academic

    StrasbourgWikipedia: Elif Shafak
  8. 1800

    Thomas Babington Macaulay, English poet, historian, and politician, Secretary at War (died 1859)

    Rothley CourtWikipedia: Thomas Babington Macaulay
  9. 1767

    Benjamin Constant, Swiss-French philosopher and politician (died 1830)

    LausanneWikipedia: Benjamin Constant
  10. 1921

    Michael I of Romania (died 2017)

    Foișor CastleWikipedia: Michael I of Romania
  11. 1895

    Levi Eshkol, Ukrainian-Israeli soldier and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Israel (died 1969)

    KyivWikipedia: Levi Eshkol
  12. 1975

    Zadie Smith, English author and academic

    LondonWikipedia: Zadie Smith
  13. 1997

    Federico Chiesa, Italian footballer

    GenoaWikipedia: Federico Chiesa
  14. 1931

    Annie Girardot, French actress and singer (died 2011)

    10ᵗʰ arrondissement of ParisWikipedia: Annie Girardot
  15. 1989

    Mia Wasikowska, Australian actress

    CanberraWikipedia: Mia Wasikowska
  16. 1888

    Richard E. Byrd, American admiral and pilot (died 1957)

    WinchesterWikipedia: Richard E. Byrd
  17. 1827

    Marcellin Berthelot, French chemist and politician (died 1907)

    former 7th arrondissement of ParisWikipedia: Marcellin Berthelot
  18. 1964

    Kevin Michael Richardson, American voice actor and singer

    The BronxWikipedia: Kevin Michael Richardson
  19. 2000

    Dominik Szoboszlai, Hungarian footballer

    SzékesfehérvárWikipedia: Dominik Szoboszlai
  20. 1913

    Klaus Barbie, German SS captain (died 1991)

    Bad GodesbergWikipedia: Klaus Barbie
  21. 1985

    Ciara, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress

    Fort HoodWikipedia: Ciara
  22. 1877

    Henry Norris Russell, American astronomer (died 1957)

    Oyster BayWikipedia: Henry Norris Russell
  23. 1969

    Oleg Salenko, Russian footballer

    Saint PetersburgWikipedia: Oleg Salenko
  24. 1981

    Shaun Wright-Phillips, English footballer

    GreenwichWikipedia: Shaun Wright-Phillips
  25. 1889

    Abel Gance, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1981)

    rue de la CharbonnièreWikipedia: Abel Gance
  26. 1926

    Galina Vishnevskaya, Russian-American soprano and actress (died 2012)

    Saint PetersburgWikipedia: Galina Vishnevskaya
  27. 1957

    Nancy Cartwright, American voice actress

    DaytonWikipedia: Nancy Cartwright
  28. 1964

    Nicole, German singer

    SaarbrückenWikipedia: Nicole Seibert
  29. 1987

    Darron Gibson, Irish footballer

    DerryWikipedia: Darron Gibson
  30. 1941

    Anne Tyler, American author and critic

    MinneapolisWikipedia: Anne Tyler
  31. 2001

    Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant

    Erasmus HospitalWikipedia: Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant
  32. 1886

    Karl Polanyi, Austro-Hungarian economist and historian (died 1964)

    ViennaWikipedia: Karl Polanyi
  33. 1759

    William Grenville, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1834)

  34. 1928

    Peter Naur, Danish computer scientist, astronomer, and academic (died 2016)

    FrederiksbergWikipedia: Peter Naur
  35. 1927

    Lawrence Kohlberg, American psychologist and author (died 1987)

    BronxvilleWikipedia: Lawrence Kohlberg
  36. 1928

    Anthony Franciosa, American actor (died 2006)

    New York CityWikipedia: Anthony Franciosa
  37. 1453

    Giuliano de' Medici (died 1478)

    FlorenceWikipedia: Giuliano de' Medici
  38. 1692

    Elisabeth Farnese, Queen of Spain (died 1766)

    Palazzo della PilottaWikipedia: Elisabeth Farnese
  39. 1965

    Valdir Benedito, Brazilian footballer

    AraraquaraWikipedia: Valdir Benedito
  40. 1977

    Birgit Prinz, German footballer and psychologist

    FrankfurtWikipedia: Birgit Prinz
  41. 1759

    Maria Feodorovna, Russian wife of Paul I of Russia (died 1828)

    SzczecinWikipedia: Maria Feodorovna
  42. 1927

    Jorge Batlle Ibáñez, Uruguayan lawyer and politician, 32nd President of Uruguay (died 2016)

    MontevideoWikipedia: Jorge Batlle
  43. 1900

    Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Nigerian educator and activist (died 1978)

    AbeokutaWikipedia: Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti
  44. 1941

    Helen Reddy, Australian-American singer-songwriter and actress (died 2020)

    MelbourneWikipedia: Helen Reddy
  45. 1928

    Paulo Mendes da Rocha, Brazilian architect (died 2021)

    VitóriaWikipedia: Paulo Mendes da Rocha
  46. 1946

    Elías Figueroa, Chilean footballer

    ValparaísoWikipedia: Elías Figueroa
  47. 1961

    Chad Smith, American drummer

    Saint PaulWikipedia: Chad Smith
  48. 1965

    Mathieu Amalric, French actor and director

    Neuilly-sur-SeineWikipedia: Mathieu Amalric
  49. 1800

    Jacques Paul Migne, French priest (died 1875)

    Saint-FlourWikipedia: Jacques Paul Migne
  50. 1968

    Christopher McQuarrie, American filmmaker

    Princeton JunctionWikipedia: Christopher McQuarrie
  51. 1992

    Clarisse Agbegnenou, French judoka

    RennesWikipedia: Clarisse Agbegnenou
  52. 1994

    Jefferson Lerma, Colombian footballer

    El CerritoWikipedia: Jefferson Lerma
  53. 1789

    Heinrich Schwabe, German astronomer (died 1875)

    DessauWikipedia: Heinrich Schwabe
  54. 1944

    Ren Zhengfei, Chinese businessman

    Zhenning Buyei and Miao Autonomous CountyWikipedia: Ren Zhengfei
  55. 1978

    An Yong-hak, North Korean footballer

    KurashikiWikipedia: An Yong-hak
  56. 1802

    Richard Parkes Bonington, English painter (died 1828)

  57. 1914

    John Berryman, American poet and scholar (died 1972)

    McAlesterWikipedia: John Berryman
  58. 1935

    Rusty Schweickart, American soldier, pilot, and astronaut

    Neptune TownshipWikipedia: Rusty Schweickart
  59. 1944

    Jon Anderson, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

    AccringtonWikipedia: Jon Anderson
  60. 1947

    Glenn Tipton, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

    BlackheathWikipedia: Glenn Tipton

What is celebrated on 25 October

  • Armed Forces Day (Romania)
  • Christian feast day: Bernat Calbó (Bernard of Calvo)
  • Christian feast day: Pope Boniface I
  • Christian feast day: Canna
  • Christian feast day: Blessed Carlo Gnocchi
  • Christian feast day: Crysanthus and Daria (Western Christianity)
  • Christian feast day: Crispin and Crispinian
  • Christian feast day: Fructus
  • Christian feast day: Gaudentius of Brescia
  • Christian feast day: Goeznovius
  • Christian feast day: Minias of Florence
  • Christian feast day: Mar Nestorius (in the Nestorian churches)
  • Christian feast day: Tabitha (Dorcas)
  • Christian feast day: Tegulus

A greeting link for someone

Type a name and, if you like, the year of birth. The link opens with a greeting, and beside each event it says how old the person turned that day, or how many years before their birth it happened.

The name and the year go only into the link you send.

Download the day’s picture

All 366 days

How the globe is made

Where the events come from

Each edition of this page uses the day’s list from Wikipedia in its own language: Romanian, English, Spanish, Chinese. The lists are written by volunteers and differ from one edition to the next; the text of each event is Wikipedia’s, with a link to the article. A row that appears twice in a list is shown once. The lists have not been checked event by event: they are Wikipedia’s, mistakes included.

For events before 1582, and for countries that moved to the Gregorian calendar later (Britain in 1752, Russia in 1918), the same day may be counted Old Style in one list and New Style in another.

The chapter “What the other Wikipedias remember” adds up to five events a day from the lists of the other three editions, only for years in which the English list has nothing on that day. They were translated for this page, passed the same filters as the tour, and are not counted among the events of the English list.

How an event gets onto the map

The place comes from Wikidata. If the sentence links to the article about the event itself (a battle, an opening, an earthquake), dated to the same year, the ray stands on its coordinates or on those of its location. Otherwise it stands on the first place the sentence links to: a town, a building, a mountain, an island. This second step can be wrong: sometimes the sentence only mentions the place. That is why the page says, under each event, which place the ray stands on.

When the sentence links to a single state or province, or to a single sea, lake or desert larger than 5,000 km², the globe shows a dashed circle, not a ray. The circle has the area Wikidata gives, with its radius kept between 1.2° and 16°, or a radius of 4.5° when Wikidata gives no area; it says only that the sentence links to that place. Organisations, ships, spacecraft, museum objects, rivers, mountain ranges, languages and continents are never used as places. When a sentence names several states and no exact place, the event stays in the list only.

What the height means

The height of a ray shows how many years have passed, on a logarithmic scale: 10 years, 100 years and 1,000 years are equal steps apart; anything older than about 2,600 years has the tallest ray. The colour runs from pale yellow for recent years to violet for antiquity.

Where the tour stops

In each region the tour stops at up to three events (five in Britain and Ireland), chosen mainly by three things: whether Wikipedia’s editors put the event in the “On this day” box of their main page (the English, Spanish and Chinese editions), how many Wikipedia editions have an article about it, and how many of the four lists include it. Events whose sentence or article is about a war, an attack, a crime or a disaster are left out of the tour; they stay in the whole list, in Wikipedia’s wording. The filter is a list of words and a list of Wikidata types, so it can miss some.

The tour of births names the people with articles in the most editions and leaves aside those whom the list or Wikidata describes as rulers, politicians, commanders, leaders of movements or criminals; they stay in the list.

The Earth and the Sun

The daytime images are NASA’s Blue Marble Next Generation mosaics, one for each month of 2004; the night side is Black Marble 2016. The tilt of the line between day and night is computed for the day; the hour is chosen so that the place being read is in daylight. The latitude where the Sun stands overhead is the average of the four years of the leap cycle; in a given year it can differ by up to 0.4°.

The day you were born

The number ones come from the weekly lists on Wikipedia: Billboard for the United States (from 1940; the Hot 100 from August 1958), the UK Singles Chart (from November 1952), Los 40 Principales for Spain (from July 1966) and, for Romania, the Romanian Top 100 and Airplay 100 (2001–2021, with missing weeks). The page shows the chart of the week in which the day of birth falls, with its date; Billboard and the UK chart are dated at the end of their week. For Romania before 2001 and for China these sources have no weekly chart.

The films are those that reached cinemas in the United States up to ten days before or three days after that day (some of them in a few cinemas at first), from the English Wikipedia’s yearly lists (from 1968), in order of how many editions have an article about them. The events “in those days” are the ones on the neighbouring days’ lists that carry the year of birth, passed through the same filter as the tour.

The day of birth, year included

The Moon, the star sign and the constellation are worked out by the page itself, for noon Universal Time on the day. The lit part of the Moon is rounded and can differ by a few per cent from that at the hour of birth. The sign follows the usual zodiac of twelve equal parts starting at the March equinox; the constellation is the one the Sun actually stood in front of, by the borders set by the International Astronomical Union, and within a day of a border the page does not name it. When the Sun changes sign while it is that day anywhere on Earth, the page gives the moment of crossing, rounded to ten minutes and accurate to within about a quarter of an hour, and the clock time in a few cities, with the time zone and summer time of that year.

The year in the Chinese calendar is the one your device’s own calendar gives for the date, checked against the Hong Kong Observatory’s tables. “All your birthdays” uses the same sources as the rest of the chapter for the same day in every year since the birth: the temperature, well-known launches that took place on that very day, matches of the teams the edition follows, snow deeper than 10 cm and strong geomagnetic storms. The three things at the top and the four on the picture are chosen in a fixed order (the song, the animal, a full Moon, a well-known launch before an ordinary earthquake); on the picture you can change them.

When the link carries a year of birth, the page adds a few things about that exact day. The weather is the Met Office’s Central England temperature record and the readings from New York’s Central Park; the “usual high” is the average of the daily highs of 1961–1990 for that date, with two days either side. The carbon dioxide figure is the monthly mean at the Mauna Loa observatory, where measurements begin in March 1958.

The earthquake is the one with the largest magnitude in the USGS catalogue for that day, counted in Universal Time. Before the 1960s the catalogue has gaps even above magnitude 5.5, so in the older years many days have no earthquake. The page gives only the magnitude and the place: the country the epicentre falls in or, when the epicentre is at sea within 300 km of a coast, the nearest country; farther out, only the ocean.

The launches are those that reached orbit or left for the Moon and the planets, from Jonathan McDowell’s GCAT catalogue. If nothing left that day, the page shows the nearest launch within three days before or after, and says how many days away it was. The geomagnetic storm appears only when the Kp index reached at least 5 in one of the day’s eight three-hour intervals.

The animal comes from GBIF: an observation made by a person (the animal seen or heard, or its tracks), dated to that exact day, with coordinates and a CC0 or CC BY licence. Only a few hundred well-known species are searched (mammals, birds, turtles, butterflies); of those noted that day, mammals and species with articles in many Wikipedia editions come first; birds noted almost every day, and species used recently, wait their turn. Observations dated 1 January are left out, because records without a day are often filed there. An observation shows that the animal was recorded there, not how many animals there were.

The matches are those between national teams. Only matches of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia are shown, along with those at the big final tournaments. The picture to send is drawn in the page from the day’s globe and the facts above, and stays on your device until you send it.

Sources

More pages about birthdays