Template:Did you know nominations/Allen Mawer

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The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Cwmhiraeth (talk) 06:55, 15 March 2021 (UTC)

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Allen Mawer

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Allen Mawer
Allen Mawer
  • ... that Allen Mawer (pictured) was the driving force behind the establishment of the English Place-Name Society, which conducted the first scholarly survey of the toponymy of England? Source: Stenton, F. M. (2002). "Sir Allen Mawer". In Lapidge, Michael (ed.). Interpreters of Early Medieval Britain. British Academy. pp. 238–241. ISBN 9780197262771.; Ekwall, E. (1942). "Notes and News: Sir Allen Mawer: In Memoriam". English Studies. 24: 169–171. doi:10.1080/00138384208596736. There had long been a feeling in England that it was time for English scholarship to undertake a systematic survey of English place-names on lines similar to those followed in Scandinavia. It was now obvious that Mawer was the scholar to take the lead. He began paving the way… Thanks chiefly to Allen Mawer's untiring efforts the English Place-name Society was founded in January 1923 in order to finance the great survey planned. The Society met with a remarkable response from the public… The chief burden of the immense preparatory work lay on Allen Mawer's shoulders, and so no doubt did the task of drawing up the plan for the survey… It is really a feat of no small magnitude to have kept this great undertaking going without a hitch for so many years, and the chief credit is due to Allen Mawer. His organizing skill, his indefatigable energy, his infectious enthusiasm and unselfish devotion, his capacity for enlisting the interest and co-operation of other scholars and for frictionless collaboration, have been invaluable assets for the undertaking, as has been his scholarship, his etymological acumen, his sound method, and his experience as a place-name student. It will indeed not be easy to replace Allen Mawer.

Improved to Good Article status by Krakkos (talk). Self-nominated at 10:02, 8 February 2021 (UTC).

General: Article is new enough and long enough

Policy compliance:

Hook eligibility:

  • Cited: No - ?
  • Interesting: Yes
Image: Image is freely licensed, used in the article, and clear at 100px.
QPQ: Done.

Overall: The article achieved GA status on February 8 and was nominated the same day. Length is adequate. No plagiarism issues were detected, and the article meets DYK sourcing requirements. The photo of Mawer is freely licensed to the Commons, clear at a low resolution and would enhance the hook. The QPQ requirement has been completed. The hook is interesting, but I find it confusing that the term toponymy of England is not used in this biography and I do not feel the hook can be verified without more similar language used. I am concerned there may be weasel terms used in the biography. In the "Early career" section it says "he also published two notable papers", but it is not apparent to me why these papers are "notable". The statement "It established him as one of the major experts in this field of study" is not attributed to anyone, so the context is not apparent. In the section "Founding the English Place-Name Society", it says "It quickly became apparent that Mawer was the right man for the job". This statement should be attributed to someone who felt it was apparent. The statement, "Following a memorable speech" is not clear why the speech was notable nor who it is atributed to. In the statement "most notably Eilert Ekwall, Frank Stenton, Percy Hide Reaney, Albert Hugh Smith and John Eric Bruce Gover", it is not clear to me why these scholars are "most notable". The statement, "his highly important article "The Redemption of the Five Boroughs" seems very grandiose and does not attibute who said this nor why the article was important. In the "Provost at University College London" section, the statement "Although a man of great physical strength and energy" seems grandiose and would be better just to say he had a heart condition. Lastly, it is not apparent to me why any of the people listed in the "See also" section are related to this biography. Overall, the article is in decent shape but the tone could be improved. Flibirigit (talk) 17:20, 26 February 2021 (UTC)

Thanks for this thorough review, Flibirigit. I have adapted the hook to the content of the article. Unattributed statements have either been removed or sourced with quotations. Krakkos (talk) 14:24, 12 March 2021 (UTC)
I have inserted the revised hook as an ALT1 to make it easier for a promoter or other reviewers to see the changes mentioned in the reply above. I also pipe-linked [[Toponymy of England|English place names]]. I will follow up on the review shortly. Flibirigit (talk) 15:32, 12 March 2021 (UTC)
ALT1 is approved as interesting, mentioned in the article and verified by AGF on the multiple sources provided. The changes mades to the article are sufficient to improve the tone, and the nomination now adheres to all DYK criteria. Flibirigit (talk) 15:51, 12 March 2021 (UTC)
Great! Krakkos (talk) 16:01, 12 March 2021 (UTC)
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