Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Dr Robert Baker


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was   keep. Ron Ritzman (talk) 01:53, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

Dr Robert Baker

 * – ( View AfD View log )

Non-notable person. Stated awards do not appear to rise to the level of notability required. WikiDan61 ChatMe!ReadMe!! 20:36, 17 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Question: Are you sure that the Bessemer Medal isn't a "highly prestigious academic award or honor at a national or international level"? Guoguo12  --Talk--  21:08, 17 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Reply The award does not seem to rise to that level of notability. It is one of several awards handed out annually by the British IOM3, whose scope of interest is rather limited.  Also, since the article cites no references, and the IOM3 site does not present an archive of winners, there is no verification that Baker did win this award.  For the sake of assuming good faith, I'll stipulate that he did win the award, but that, since there is no press coverage of the event, it does not appear to have been a notable event at the time.  WikiDan61 ChatMe!ReadMe!! 21:31, 17 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Science-related deletion discussions.  -- • Gene93k (talk) 01:35, 18 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Academics and educators-related deletion discussions.  -- • Gene93k (talk) 01:35, 18 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Keep. I've just added several sources after performing some simple Google Scholar and Books searches and followed external links in articles wikilinked from this one. (It appears that the nominator did not follow WP:BEFORE point 4.) Together, these sources (particularly the obituary) constitute significant coverage in reliable sources that are independent of the subject, so it meets WP:GNG. He also meets Notability (academics) criterion 3, as being made a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering is a highly selective honour, as is the Bessemer Gold Medal. The steel industry was a vital component of the UK economy in the 20th century, so I believe someone awarded the annual UK prize for "outstanding services to the steel industry" in 1998 is worthy of inclusion in Wikipedia. Qwfp (talk) 09:01, 18 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Comment First, I would like to say that I certainly did attempt to find sourced related to Baker prior to nominating. Robert Baker is a fairly common name, so searching is not so simple.  Given the sketchy nature of the article at the time of its nomination, their seemed little direction in which to search.  Even given the fact that Baker had won a Bessemer Medal, I was unable to find the archive listing at the IOMMM site to verify this fact. There was no mention in the nominated article of Baker's election as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering -- that fact was apparently gleaned from an obituary published in a source that is not generally available without a subscription.  The significance of the Bessemer Medal is not immediately obvious, given its relatively minor mention in the Wikipedia article on the IOM3.  (Any description of the medal's significance at the IOM3 site must be discounted.)  That being said, I give kudos to Qwfp for finding what he did.  However, I am still not convinced of the notability of the subject.  Not being a British engineer or metallurgist, I await other voices to weigh in on the significance of Baker's achievements. WikiDan61 ChatMe!ReadMe!! 13:24, 18 February 2011 (UTC)
 * As his noteworthy role was as Research Director of British Steel, i simply tried --Qwfp (talk) 13:35, 18 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Keep - Being a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering meets point 3 of WP:ACADEMIC. -- Whpq (talk) 14:36, 18 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Keep. Notable through distinguished career. Article could have been better written in the first place. Congrats to those who improved it. Xxanthippe (talk) 22:49, 19 February 2011 (UTC).
 * Keep with thanks to Qwfp per WP:HEY. —David Eppstein (talk) 08:46, 23 February 2011 (UTC)
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.