Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/John Dalgleish Donaldson


 * 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   no consensus. Self identified "weak" arguments all around. No convincing case made for retention or deletion. I kind of doubt being the judge of a Lego robot contest is a reasonable claim to notability but nobody seems to have objected to that... Beeblebrox (talk) 17:45, 14 April 2011 (UTC)

John Dalgleish Donaldson
AfDs for this article: 
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Not a notable individual beyond being the father of Mary Elizabeth Donaldson.

Professor Donaldson has no notability which warrants a Wikipedia page. He has no significant academic accomplishments. His sole notability is a daughter who has married into a reigning Royal family, but no individual personal notability. In addition, most sources which discuss Donaldson are non-reliable, "gossip" style blogs and minor journal materials. The page on his daughter adequately discusses her background, and there is no further notability required. — Preceding unsigned comment added by ProperlyRaised (talk • contribs)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Australia-related deletion discussions.  —Grahame (talk) 01:24, 2 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Delete. Agree with the nom. Does not pass the general notability guideline or the subject specific notability guideline for academics. Also, notability is not inherited. Jenks24 (talk) 12:27, 4 April 2011 (UTC)
 * My above argument still stands, but perhaps a redirect to Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark would be a better outcome (I guess he may be a plausible search term)? Jenks24 (talk) 12:29, 4 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Note: this AfD was not transcluded onto a log page until 4 April. Jenks24 (talk) 12:50, 4 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Academics and educators-related deletion discussions.  -- • Gene93k (talk) 15:07, 6 April 2011 (UTC)


 * Comment. I remain neutral on this one as I am too busy to look for sources, but it could well be that he is notable as an academic. Full Professor is more elite in Australia than some other countries, including the US, and Dean of the Faculty of Science is an important position in the University of Tasmania. Someone needs to search for his CV and his publications list. -- Bduke    (Discussion)  23:26, 6 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Delete. MathSciNet only lists 10 papers by him over the period from 1972 to 2004, and one edited volume. In Google scholar, the most heavily cited paper ("A unified approach to quadrature rules with asymptotic estimates of their remainders" from 1972) has 59 citations, and it goes downhill rapidly from there. According to this report he seems to still be at Tasmania, where he has recently done some graduate supervision. But this is not enough for WP:PROF, and his sometime administrative posts are also not enough. So it looks like a case of WP:BIO1E and WP:NOTINHERITED to me. —David Eppstein (talk) 00:54, 7 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Comment: Is his receipt of the Grand Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog (and his rather splendid shield in the Chapel of the Royal Orders) sufficient for notability (Heraldisk Tidsskrift, Vol 10, No 95, (March 2007), pp 201-212)? (Msrasnw (talk) 23:34, 7 April 2011 (UTC))
 * Based on the source provided, it appears that the award and the creation of the heraldic symbols were a result of (and possibly necessitated by) his daughter's marriage into royalty. -- Kinu t /c  23:42, 7 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Weak Delete, senior member of a heraldic order, but not much other non-inherited notability to be seen here. Lankiveil (speak to me) 05:55, 9 April 2011 (UTC).
 * Delete. Most claims to notability appear to be inherited. WP:PROF might be met for his former position as the Dean of Faculty, but however this is ultimately an unsourced WP:BLP without any actual sourced information about him to justify an article. Optionally redirect to the article on his daughter. -- Kinu t /c  17:52, 10 April 2011 (UTC)
 * NOT Delete: Come on, this is ridiculous! He is the father of the future Queen of Denmark! Even the sister of Kate Middleton, Pippa Middleton, has her own page! Seems to be a case of bureaucracy here? Why not making more fuss about all those Pokémon characters which have their own pages too... Mr. D. E. Mophon (talk) 17:48, 10 April 2011 (UTC)
 * WP:OTHERSTUFFEXISTS. Can you find sources which show that this subject meets WP:GNG and explain why he is notable outside of the scope of being his daughter's father? -- Kinu t /c  18:35, 10 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Keep: "Father of the future Queen of Denmark" - when put that way does to me sound compelling. The reference to his being a senior member of a heraldic order should be sufficient for notability. (Msrasnw (talk) 19:10, 10 April 2011 (UTC))
 * Comment: as the article indicates, he received membership in the Order as a direct result of his daughter's marriage into royalty. This appears to be another example of inherited notability. -- Kinu t /c  19:16, 10 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Comment: Will this reference help? : Mathematics professor John Donaldson, perhaps best known in Denmark as the father of Crown Princess Mary, will serve as patron for the First Lego League robot tournament, set to get underway on 13 November at Århus City Hall. The Copenhagen Post: Online : MONDAY, 08 NOVEMBER 2004 (Msrasnw (talk) 19:20, 10 April 2011 (UTC))


 * Weak Keep By no means notable as an academic, but his family connections seem likely to ensure a steady diet of news coverage and interest. Ray  Talk 23:36, 11 April 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.