Talk:Mycroft Holmes

Was the protagonist of the movie "sherlock holmes' smarter brother" ? Speculation: was Mycroft from the Heinlein novel an inspiration for the name Microsoft? likely not. Pedant 06:31, 5 Aug 2004 (UTC)

No. In "The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes Smarter Brother", the character is named Sigerson Holmes. And I doubt seriously that there was any link to Microsoft. RickK 06:35, Aug 5, 2004 (UTC)

There is a story in my family that Mycroft Holmes is named after a William Mycroft who played cricket for Derbyshire County Cricket Club in the 1870's. Is there any truth in this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.113.200.162 (talk • contribs) 1 December 2004

Wasn't M in The League really Moriarty, but everyone thought it was Mycroft? I don't really remember it was like 2 years since i read it. Gkhan 16:54, Dec 30, 2004 (UTC)


 * Yes, Moriarty was M to begin with, but Mycroft became M in issue #6. The statement in the article that Mycroft Holmes appears as M in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is the truth and nothing but the truth; it's not the whole truth, but the whole truth would be a spoiler and is arguably not necessary in this context. --Paul A 03:10, 31 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Why has this article been tagged with the "unverified" label? Which bit specifically is the problem? --Paul A 03:28, 7 September 2006 (UTC)
 * I'm removing it. Yes, we need supporting references. No, we don't need ambiguous ugly tags. ike9898 15:09, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

There are at least TWO Wikipedians who have usernames based on this character, although the other one is delete happy and frequently vandalizes select pages. . . Oh well. --Mycroft.Holmz 17:37, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Should the use of Mycroft as the name for the government's secure communications network (http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2070752/40m-deal-secure-immigration) be included in 'References in Popular Culture'? Gregmcdougall 15:41, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

The Lewis Gilbert mentioned in the text who supposedly played Mycroft in a 1922 movie was born in 1920 and probably was not the Gilbert that was meant. I don't know whether the link is wrong (i.e. a second Lewis Gilbert), the name of the actor or the date, but it doesn't add up. 62.131.103.236 (talk) 23:33, 15 December 2009 (UTC)


 * You're right – Wikipedia's article is about the film director Lewis Gilbert, not the actor who was in the Sherlock Holmes films. —Paul A (talk) 02:21, 16 December 2009 (UTC)

Etymology of "Mycroft"
Does anyone happen to know what the word/ name "mycroft" means etymologically? Is it orginally referring to the place of origin of some person or to the profession of his ancestors? I'm curious to learn, so please don't let me in the lurch. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.34.13.172 (talk • contribs) 29 March 2007

As far as is known, Mycroft is an Old English compound of mype=waterfall and croft=farming field. As a surname it is common in the Midlands and it is theorized it may have been a town there. No proof of a town exists. Jane Mycroft ca. 1601 is the first recorded use of the name. So to answer the query, the etymology of the name is Old English and I would have to go further back and say Saxon. I believe it is possible Doyle may have been also referring to this symbol from the I-Ching of water-over-field. One might say "Mycroft" means "Waterfield".75.21.159.227 (talk) 18:23, 26 October 2010 (UTC)

Any object called "Mycroft" gets to go in?
Well, as to this edit here, I have to disagree that a missile or any other inanimate object named "Mycroft" should be included. This is not an actual reference in any way to Mycroft's character, merely a name in this instance. However, I am in no position to revert the edit. I will respect it.~© Djathink imacowboy  18:11, 12 October 2012 (UTC)


 * It seems to be a pretty oblique reference at best; I don't see the need to include it. Mediatech492 (talk) 22:31, 12 October 2012 (UTC)


 * Seconded. What do you say, Mediatech, shall it be removed or should we wait for what I am certain will be deafening silence about the issue? It does seem oblique.~© Djathink imacowboy  23:23, 12 October 2012 (UTC)


 * I disagree in principle with any suggestion that inanimate objects should be excluded automatically; a list of references-to-Mycroft is not merely a list of characters-who-resemble-Mycroft, and if the latter is what you want to insist on, you should say so explicitly and retitle the list accordingly. Otherwise, an object named in reference to Mycroft Holmes is just as much a reference to Mycroft as a character thus named would be.


 * (And just what was the point of that random jab about "deafening silence", anyway?) — Paul A (talk) 06:40, 13 October 2012 (UTC)


 * Please keep discussion related to the topic only. WP:NOTFORUM This article is about the fictional character Mycroft Holmes, it is not intended to be a general survey of all uses of the name Mycroft. Admittedly Mycroft is an uncommon name, but unless it directly relates to the character it is superfluous. Your missile system might be added to the Mycroft page but I don't see its relevance here. Mediatech492 (talk) 16:00, 13 October 2012 (UTC)


 * Everywhere I say "Mycroft" above, I mean it as shorthand for "the fictional character Mycroft Holmes". "Reference to Mycroft" thus means "reference to the fictional character Mycroft Holmes", and so on. The Mycroft missile defense system is named after Mycroft Holmes, not any other Mycroft; this is quite clear in the original context. Knowing that, and remembering that I'd already said as much to Djathinkimacowboy (in an earlier conversation, not here), I assumed it as a given fact of the conversation, and thus expressed myself poorly, for which I apologise.


 * Can I take a moment to dispute the phrase "your missile system". I'm not in this for the missile system (I didn't add the example to the page, if that's what you're thinking), I'm in this because somebody removed an example without explaining why it didn't belong, and I still don't see that it doesn't. — Paul A (talk) 05:11, 14 October 2012 (UTC)


 * Paul, try to post in some reasonable way, I am asking respectfully. You placed your above post here deliberately between Mediatech's earlier post and my reply to that post. You know better than that I hope, and will treat it as an oversight.~© Djathink imacowboy  07:39, 14 October 2012 (UTC) --I strike this statement out of respect for views that have been expressed to me. Thereby I retract what is in the statement as posted. My apologies for any misunderstandings.~© Djathink  imacowboy  22:22, 14 October 2012 (UTC)

It is good to see that we are, indeed, keeping on topic. I appreciate Paul's opinions, but I fear he is wrong in his view about this matter. I repeat my stated opinion that nowhere on any comparable page do the editors simply get to list anything that is named after a character; there has to be some significance about it. Because something is named "Mycroft", for example, and because it succeeds in a line of things that had been named "Moriarty", while clear references to "Sherlock Holmes" stories, doesn't mean it ought to be placed on this page - especially in light of the objections of two editors here.~© Djathink imacowboy  03:12, 14 October 2012 (UTC)


 * You say "I repeat my stated opinion", but that's not the opinion you stated above. What you said, and what I responded to, is that no inanimate object should be included. I didn't address the question of significance because if you were going to rule out all inanimate objects entirely, it wouldn't matter how meaningful the inanimate object's name was.


 * Since it does matter: I don't think that the naming of the missile system is entirely superficial. It's introduced as a superior alternative to the system that had previously been considered best ever, just as its namesake is introduced as a superior deductive reasoner to the deductive reasoner who had previously been considered best ever.


 * Incidentally, you want to be careful about saying things like "in light of the objections of two editors". It's a basic principle of Wikipedia that discussion proceeds by reason and consensus, not by popular vote. The number of editors with objections isn't supposed to be relevant, only the nature of the objections. — Paul A (talk) 05:11, 14 October 2012 (UTC)


 * Umm, well said. But I prefer a person to whom I can say, "Well done." So I'm not going to argue with you. That missile does not belong here because it is not a character based on the character of Mycroft, it is not a send-up, a spoof or a satire, it is really not anything but a missile. And you've read what some of us here think about that. So carry on by all means. I'm not going to do battle over something like this.~© Djathink imacowboy  06:54, 14 October 2012 (UTC)


 * I apologise if I did wrong about the order of my replies. I didn't mean to obscure the order of the conversation (which hopefully the timestamps would have made clear anyway); I meant only to reply to each of you directly on the points which you each had made.


 * I still don't really understand how a missile named in reference to Mycroft Holmes doesn't belong on a list of references to Mycroft Holmes, but I'm not going to do battle about it either. I've had a fair chance to explain my position, and if you're not still convinced, that's life.


 * I hope there are no hard feelings. — Paul A (talk) 01:05, 15 October 2012 (UTC)


 * No, Paul, the fault lies with me. I have been stubborn and frankly just plain wrong. You did perfectly well in the manner of your posting. It is nice to see that you 'extend the hand' as it were, and of course I accept. As to the other detail, I'm not certain that we see eye-to-eye in the matter but let's not break our hearts over it either. I've agreed to leave the missile reference in there because frankly it couldn't hurt. Cheers my new friend!~© Djathink imacowboy  22:28, 15 October 2012 (UTC)

Brain of Britain
Mycroft was the pseudonym of the "setter" of questions for the Brain of Britain quiz until April 2002. See Brain of Britain. Perhaps worth inclusion under references in popular culture? Everybody got to be somewhere! (talk) 23:14, 20 May 2017 (UTC)

Mycroft - my land. Mycroft first appears in two 1893 adventures. In 1893 Gladstone introduced the Second Home Rule Bill. In 'The Greek Interpreter' Holmes intervenes to prevent a forced marriage. In 'The Final Problem' Mycroft, Gladstone, drives the plot onwards. See 'Moriarty Unmasked: Conan Doyle and an Anglo-Irish Quarrel', Jane Stanford, Carrowmore, 2017. PPs.21-22.

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