Talk:Alphonse Alley

Birth and death dates
Regarding the birth and death dates, the early history of the en-Wikipedia article has the following: Some discussion of this matter and the sources is also here. For what it is worth, the German Wikipedia article has an unsourced mention of plans in 2004 for a memorial tomb (mausoleum) for him in the town where he was born. I'm going to ask Sesel, Editorofthewiki and Canadian Paul to comment here and see if they can help. I'm sure it is possible to find a better source for the death date. Carcharoth (talk) 10:36, 5 February 2011 (UTC)
 * (1) Created in December 2004 (only birth year given).
 * (2) Second edit (around 2 months later, by an IP) adds the death year.
 * (3) Edit in March 2006 (also by an IP) removes the death year with the edit summary: "Death date removed, Mr. Alley is still alive and living peacefully in Cotonou".
 * (4) On 19 May 2006, User:Sesel restores the death-related material, and adds exact dates for birth and death.
 * (5) At this point in time, the German Wikipedia article had the birth date and death year, but no death date, and the French Wikipedia article only had the birth date.
 * (6) back on en-Wikipedia, in January 2009, User:Editorofthewiki removed the death date, saying the death is unsourced, then a few days later, User:Canadian Paul adds in a reference (rulers.org).
 * (7) Currently, the information is sourced to an African Press Agency article from July 2010 (cache), but I'm not sure how reliable this is.
 * As I have said, I am in the process of acquiring the Historical Dictionary of Benin, 1995 edition. This should take a couple weeks, but will hopefully clear up all death date issues. ~ EDDY  ( talk / contribs ) ~ 20:24, 5 February 2011 (UTC)
 * It won't. I can access that book from NetLibrary and it confirms the birth date but does not give a date of death, merely saying he "returned home after the fall of Kérékou," which happened in 1991. This means that either the book is incorrect or Alley outlived what is now given as his date of death. —Sesel (talk) 22:50, 5 February 2011 (UTC)
 * FWIW, the International Who's Who for the early 1990s list him without a death year, but that might not mean much either. There was or is a son with a similar name, I think. Sesel, you added the death date originally - can you remember where you got it from? Carcharoth (talk) 23:52, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Unfortunately, I can't be of much help. I based my edit off the assumption that rulers.org was a reliable source, but if the Historical Dictionary of Benin contradicts it, the apparently it is not (or, at least, not in this case). I did some more quick searching, but there's nothing clearly authoritative/reliable that I could find to support the DOD, or even confirm that he is deceased. Canadian  Paul  23:39, 5 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Following up the unsourced hint given on the German Wikipedia, I found the story about the mausoleum planned for him. The story is from August 2004, and refers to his death 17 years previously, so that corroborates the 1987 year, but not the exact date. Someone who subscribes (or wants to subscribe) to allAfrica.com will be able to read the full article. I will look for more in African French-language sources. Carcharoth (talk) 00:04, 6 February 2011 (UTC)
 * I'm just wondering how there can be this little written about Alley's later life, considering he was president of a country for a period. With Hubert Maga, there was 1 NYT obituary to confirm he's dead. That's it. I guess no one cares about Benin. ~ EDDY  ( talk / contribs ) ~ 01:40, 6 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Perhaps there might be something in the French press? Malleus Fatuorum 01:57, 6 February 2011 (UTC)
 * I found this, which mostly describes current Benin politics, but also mentions that Alley's tomb was never inaugurated. So it looks like internal strife still rules in Benin politics. As for Eddy's point about lack of coverage, Alley only had a few months in which for people to take notice of him. After that, it's not surprising that he sank out of the (international) public eye. Carcharoth (talk) 19:03, 6 February 2011 (UTC)