Talk:Hamish Harding

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"Billionaire" businessman[edit]

News articles about his disappearance on the Titanic tourist sub refer to him as "British billionaire businessman Hamish Harding", yet there is nothing - zilch - in his Wikipedia entry about how he supposedly made his money, if in fact he is a billionaire. Strange. Betathetapi454 (talk) 19:14, 19 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Yes - I cannot find him in Forbes or the Sunday Times lists. No Swan So Fine (talk) 20:26, 19 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
This entire "Hamish Harding" entry was only created last year (5 May 2022), by a "MosalahUAE". If he was really a billionaire, you would have thought that he would have shown up much earlier. I kinda doubt that he is a billionaire. Betathetapi454 (talk) 20:43, 19 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Regardless of whether or not he was a billionaire, WP:COMMONSENSE tells us that he clearly had a lot of money to throw around on private jets and other expensive endeavours. There should at least be some information here about what kind of business he was involved in to make all his money, or if he just inherited it from someone else. At present there is nothing, as if we're just supposed to accept someone having that sort of money as some mundane thing. I'm sure he probably just made his money doing something very boring and above board, but the lack of information drives speculation (at least from what I've seen on social media) and may give a negative impression, as if it's information somebody might want to hide for some reason. HumanBodyPiloter5 (talk) 21:41, 22 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Chairman of Action Aviation: https://www.actionaviation.com/chairmans-message/ 24.15.46.91 (talk) 05:48, 24 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Basic bio[edit]

[1] has a short biography with some basic data that’s missing here, such as education and prior jobs. The “billionaire” label probably depends on the currency it’s measured in—I doubt it’s true for US$.K. Oblique 21:01, 19 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I'm going to do a bold delete as per WP:BRD re: a number of details which are entirely unsupported. I do not say that, for example, the subject is not a double graduate of Cambridge University; indeed it seems highly plausible that he is. Yet the billionaire claims elsewhere, along with very little evidence anywhere of earnings anywhere near that level and status (for what it's worth...), lead me to take a cautious line with other claims. Given current events at the Titanic site, which I sincerely hope end well, this page seems likely to become more populated so it is essential that the foundation be sound. Please do revert if there is supporting evidence at non-deprecated sources. But then do discuss here. All the best, Emmentalist (talk) 22:43, 19 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I have made a couple of minor edits. But I have decided that a WP:BRD on a grand scale would be inappropriate since hopefully other editors in the next day or two will improve on the present citations. Some of them are nonsensical (Gulf news-sites which don't actually mention the things they're apparently cited for) and there is very little to support many of the claims. However, major media outlets are putting bios together and they will no doubt be published soon on-line. I have inserted one such Guardian citation. If others have not improved, I'll come back to the edit in a day or so. All the best, Emmentalist (talk) 23:19, 19 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Re: my last. I see the mainstream media is now putting out biogs. But they all seem to come from this Wikipedia article. They've had to do it in a rush, but the simple fact is they're using literally the same phrases and claims made here. Meanwhile, the article itself rests on many poor sources (e.g. gulf news sheets and websites of little provenance and quite likely to publish press releases as sent to them). This would seem to deprecate the MSM sources. I'm not sure. Perhaps other editors have a view? I'm going to ask at Teahouse too. Emmentalist (talk) 17:36, 20 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Worth noting that a BA & MA from Cambridge just means that he completed an undergraduate degree there, which is eminently plausible: see Master of Arts (Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin) Caeciliusinhorto (talk) 07:29, 21 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

"Astronaut?"[edit]

Article states that"Harding was one of six astronauts to go to space on Blue Origin’s 5th human spaceflight aboard the New Shepard rocket." As I understand it, an astronaut is a trained crew member of a spacecraft, while Hastings was one of six passengers who paid to travel to space. 67.84.88.176 (talk) 02:35, 20 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

There's been lots of debate in the space community, but the general agreement is that professional astronauts and tourist astronauts are both astronauts. Anyone who crosses the boundary of space is considered an astronaut... but where is space? DeclanM123 (talk) 04:13, 24 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Tourist?[edit]

Why is one of this man's labels 'tourist'? Can you be known for being a tourist? 'Space tourist' I get. Roentie (talk) 06:00, 20 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

AFAIK this corresponds to the sources. At least here in Germany (I haven't read international media yet) "tourist" is mentioned in every article. --AnnaS. (talk) 07:16, 20 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Place of birth[edit]

BBC says here: "In summer 2022, he told Business Aviation Magazine that he grew up in Hong Kong..." This source claims he was born in Edinburgh, but I cannot find any other source that corroborates. 86.187.173.73 (talk) 17:17, 20 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I know we can't use it, but the Daily Mail here says: "An only child, Harding was born in Hammersmith, London, in 1964 and, at the age of six, moved with his parents to Hong Kong, where his father Donald was a quantity surveyor. ... Six-year-old Hamish was enrolled at the fee-paying Peak School. At 11, he moved to The King's School, Gloucester, where old boys include actor Simon Pegg and BBC Breakfast presenter Charlie Stayt." 205.239.40.3 (talk) 11:28, 21 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
The Daily Express here also goes with Hammersmith. 205.239.40.3 (talk) 14:35, 21 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Looks like Hammersmith is correct: [2]. Mother's name was Livingston. 86.187.236.22 (talk) 21:21, 21 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Nybreaking.com also says here: "Mr Harding, an only child, was born in Hammersmith, London, in 1964, and holds degrees in science and chemical engineering from Cambridge University." 205.239.40.3 (talk) 08:54, 22 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I guess his birth time must be around 6:10 am when analyzing the planetary positions in relation to his birth chart and date of death. I am a researcher studying the influences of planetary positions on humans life. Could anyone please confirm his exact or approximate birth time. Ckumar95 (talk) 07:58, 28 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

" UAE-based British"[edit]

UAE could at least be linked? Although the source here suggets that "Dubai-based British" might be better? 86.187.170.25 (talk) 20:29, 20 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

We don't link common country names per WP:OVERLINK. Canterbury Tail talk 21:45, 20 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Opening sentence has now changed to: "Hamish Harding (born 24 June 1964) is a British businessman, pilot, explorer, and space tourist based in the United Arab Emirates. He is the founder of Action Group and chairman of Action Aviation, an international aircraft brokerage company with headquarters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates." So that looks pretty clear and has a link to Dubai. 205.239.40.3 (talk) 11:22, 21 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Full name[edit]

Hamish Hardings full name is not published many places, but it can be found on several Action Aviation LLC documents. This lists his full name under a recent change in significant control: http://www.datalog.co.uk/browse/detail.php/CompanyNumber/08097808/CompanyName/ACTION+AVIATION+CONSULTING+LTD

Listed as: George Hamish Livingston HARDING — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mookieflukie (talk • contribs) 09:50, 21 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

And this UK GOV business appointments catalog lists him as associated with another aviation services company: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/eJyYH5_q844VOQDCmSVlPRrYNZc/appointments

He founded Action Aviation under the name George Harding. Mookieflukie (talk) 06:23, 21 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Date of birth[edit]

Is there any source for his date of birth, or should this be marked as "citation needed"? There are three sources at the end of the first paragraph, but none of them give his date of birth. 205.239.40.3 (talk) 11:29, 22 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I wonder where The New York Times sourced his date of birth? Assuming they give it. 86.187.226.153 (talk) 20:00, 22 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Education - degree subjects[edit]

One of the existing sources here says: "He is a graduate of Cambridge University with degrees in natural sciences and chemical engineering." I think the subjects of his degrees should be added. Natural Sciences (Cambridge) has its own article. Presumably the Ch'emical Engineering was a post-graduate degree. 205.239.40.3 (talk) 12:34, 22 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Background section now says "This section needs expansion". So should be added. 86.187.226.153 (talk) 21:50, 22 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
We have "BA" and "MA" in the infobox, but nothing to explain those in the text. Could someone please add the degree details in Early life and education?? Was watching the moon landings on TV really a key part of his education? That's how it currently reads. 86.187.161.157 (talk) 21:47, 24 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I wonder if anyone could possibly add his degree subjects? This are already sourced as above. I don't see that this is really contentious. Thank you. 86.187.234.53 (talk) 10:58, 25 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Could someone please add his degree subjects? There is a reliable source (already used in the article) given above. I think this is basic biographical information that could have been added a week ago. 86.187.166.87 (talk) 12:32, 29 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
 Done Article is no longer protected. 205.239.40.3 (talk) 14:50, 5 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Picture[edit]

Apparently Knightoftheswords281 and I had roughly the same idea at roughly the same time. Not sure which of these two pictures is actually better (although personally I prefer the picture which I uploaded, but I'm not too fussed about it to argue over it), but I'm making this discussion section to decide that, and I'll let those chips fall where they may. silviaASH (inquire within) 20:03, 22 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

And of course I prefer the image of my uploading, thank you very much!
On a serious note, I do prefer mine since the lighting is a lot better and there's less obstruction, but it could do with some cropping. I have Commons:CropTool installed here on Enwiki, but for whatever reason, the button isn't appearing on the file I opened (and before anyone says that "well obviously its not working, that's for Commons," you can indeed install it on other projects). - Knightoftheswords281 (Talk · Contribs) 20:14, 22 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Fair enough points about the lighting. I personally don't think he looks as nice in it, but I suppose that it doesn't matter if the better quality picture isn't as flattering. I've added a cropped version of the picture you chose and reverted my change to the infobox, and placed an F1 tag on the one I uploaded. (Here's the full version of the image I chose in case anyone is curious/wants to make a case for using it instead.) silviaASH (inquire within) 20:38, 22 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Wrong category[edit]

Place of birth missing (living people) is a wrong category as he died and also it is known where he was born, London, so I ask for its removal. 37.159.37.9 (talk) 20:40, 22 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

 Done -- Maddy from Celeste (WAVEDASH) 20:42, 22 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Hammersmith could be added to the infobox and Category:People from Hammersmith could be added at the bottom. 86.187.226.153 (talk) 20:53, 22 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I've added it to the infobox, and someone else already added the category. -- Maddy from Celeste (WAVEDASH) 21:34, 22 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Another editor removed Hammersmith from the infobox. But I don't see it as problematic. It's a bit more accurate than just "London, England". And reflects what's in the text and Categories. 205.239.40.3 (talk) 08:59, 23 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 23 June 2023 (3)[edit]

The United Kingdom also helped to find the Titan. 82.23.245.177 (talk) 18:08, 23 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. M.Bitton (talk) 19:07, 23 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]
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