Talk:Bill Pickering (rocket scientist)

cutting information
doesnt anybody care to discuss this action? "where Lord Rutherford had attended previously. As a boarder at Wellington College he was introduced to astronomy by Charles Gifford (then a teacher at Wellington College) at the school's observatory. " Personally I think its relevant, who added it and when, has it been verified, i would believe its true anyway, why was it cut, where is the spirit of wikipedia at times like this?moza 07:29, 15 July 2006 (UTC)
 * I agree about the removal of the Gifford Observatory link. (Not so much the Lord Rutherford link, which doesn't seem very relevant.)  I don't know of any written citations, but I'm quite sure that Pickering indicated on several occasions, including at the re-opening of the Gifford Observatory (which I was at), that the observatory and Charlie Gifford (his teacher at the time) had quite a major influence on his interest in space and astronomy.  I'm all for trimming information that's not relevant to the article, but I don't see the logic in cutting this.  It's a key part of how Pickering became interested in his most famous profession. Izogi 05:06, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

Other people named Hayward
I don't see the point of having this disambiguation link. --ChrisWinter 06:16, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

Sir ?
He recieved an  honorary knighthood in 1976, but seems to be universally referred to as "Sir William Pickering" in New Zealand. I assume this is because New Zealanders assume that one of them who's knighted automatically becomes a "Sir" - forgetting that he was no longer a NZ citizen. Some mention and clarification should be part of the article I think.

Not universally referred to as "Sir". That is a common mistake, but not universal by any means. I note that of three streets named after him, only one used the title. The street in Albany was going to use the honorific until I pointed out to the local council the error, and they changed the name. That was in the mid 1980's, if I recall correctly.Royalcourtier (talk) 21:43, 24 March 2014 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Time Cover July 23 1965.jpg
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BetacommandBot (talk) 02:29, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Time Cover March 8 1963.jpg
Image:Time Cover March 8 1963.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 02:29, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

Requested move 14 February 2015

 * The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section. 

The result of the move request was: Move to Bill Pickering (rocket scientist) - three !votes (including the nom) favour a move, with valid arguments, and one !vote against; this disambiguated version seems to match the consensus best. &mdash; Amakuru (talk) 12:37, 2 March 2015 (UTC)

William Hayward Pickering → William Pickering (scientist) – At least in New Zealand, he's not known by his middle name. I thought I'd put this up for a formal request, as this might be different in the US. --Relisted. &mdash; Amakuru (talk) 10:22, 22 February 2015 (UTC)  Schwede  66  20:09, 14 February 2015 (UTC)
 * Commonly known as Bill Pickering, e.g. Bill Pickering, 93, former JPL director and arts patron, Longtime JPL Director Put U.S. in Space Race, Lecture series from IPENZ. Paora (talk) 04:04, 19 February 2015 (UTC)
 * Ok, there appears to be ample evidence that it should rather be Bill Pickering (scientist); fine by me.  Schwede 66  18:31, 25 February 2015 (UTC)


 * Oppose. Suggested title does not disambiguate him from the other William H. Pickering who is a scientist. DrKay (talk) 12:57, 25 February 2015 (UTC)
 * I suggest that your argument is invalid, as we use hatnotes to deal with issues like that.  Schwede 66  18:31, 25 February 2015 (UTC)
 * And I suggest we use WP:PRECISION, which Britannica, the Royal Society, Pasadena Museum of History, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Franklin Institute among others seem happy to use as well. DrKay (talk) 18:40, 25 February 2015 (UTC)


 * Move to Bill Pickering (rocket scientist). "Scientist" is too ambiguous; it's always best to go for a more specific disambiguator if possible. -- Necrothesp (talk) 14:18, 26 February 2015 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

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Bill or William
I've never heard him called Bill Pickering. I propose that it be changed to his full name and this article be moved to William Pickering (rocket scientist) — Preceding unsigned comment added by LoganBlade (talk • contribs) 04:13, 6 August 2020 (UTC)
 * There are sources in the requested move section above and on the article itself. DrKay (talk) 07:24, 6 August 2020 (UTC)