Talk:John Jeffries

Shouldn't his place of birth be more specific (e.g. Boston, Massachusetts)?
I came here upon learning of John Jeffries' role in the first flight over the English Channel (see Note 1). This article describes him as a Boston-born military surgeon in the British Army. Within those English Channel and British Army contexts, I assumed that his birth place was the British Boston (in Lincolnshire). His graduation from Harvard College suggested the American Boston instead, but he got his medical degree in Britain. He moved to British territory (Nova Scotia) following the American Revolution. Because of this British-American duality, I think this article should be specific about which Boston was his birth place. I would have changed it already, and Boston, Massachusetts seems obvious now, but I couldn't find a quotable source (see Note 2).

Note 1: The article text omits the most important aspect of his 1785 exploit. By hot air balloon, he and Blanchard made the very first successful human flight between England and France.

Note 2: The Jeffries Family Papers, Massachusetts Historical Society is already the reference source for the dates of his birth and death, but that brief biography does not state the place of his birth.

ChrisJBenson (talk) 02:34, 26 July 2013 (UTC)

Birth year
Is it 1744 or 1745? Sources seem to differ. Woodshed (talk) 02:30, 28 May 2014 (UTC)


 * Even our very own article can't make up its mind. We have 1744 in the lede, but 1745 in the infobox.  Absurd.  --   Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  08:10, 21 May 2015 (UTC)