Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Katherine Mayo Cowan


 * 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. King of ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ 05:05, 19 July 2021 (UTC)

Katherine Mayo Cowan

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Biography of a mayor, not adequately sourced as passing our notability criteria for mayors. As always, Wikipedia does not hand mayors an automatic notability freebie just for being mayors per se -- making a mayor notable enough for a Wikipedia article is not done by offering summary verification that she existed, it's done by writing and sourcing a substantive article about her political impact: specific things she accomplished in the mayor's chair, specific projects she spearheaded, specific effects she had on the development of the city, and on and so forth. (And no, just stating that she was the first woman mayor of her own city does not automatically pass that in and of itself either.) But this just verifies the start and end of her term in office, and then devotes more time to covering her wedding than it does to saying anything noteworthy or substantive about the significance of her mayoralty, which is not how you make a mayor notable. Bearcat (talk) 14:20, 11 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Politicians-related deletion discussions. Bearcat (talk) 14:20, 11 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of North Carolina-related deletion discussions. Bearcat (talk) 14:20, 11 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Women-related deletion discussions.  Spiderone (Talk to Spider) 14:45, 11 July 2021 (UTC)


 * Keep Sources are available that do more than state "she was the first woman mayor of her own city", e.g. Cape Fear Unearthed: Wilmington’s Trailblazing Women (Wilmington Star News, 2020, "...Katherine Mayo Cowan, Wilmington’s first (and still only) woman to be mayor..."), and additional sources appear to be available in contemporaneous newspaper records, (noted in a blog), so with the multiple independent and reliable sources in the article and additional sources that can be incorporated, WP:BASIC notability appears to be sufficiently supported. Beccaynr (talk) 15:31, 11 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Keep: There are sources that prove her notability at the time. Plus being the first female mayor of a major city seems to be a substantial legacy given it was 1924. FiddleheadLady (talk) 13:44, 12 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Delete First x to do y is not a sign of notability. Especially when she did so as a succesor to a spouse. The sourcing is not enough to pass GNG.John Pack Lambert (talk) 14:09, 13 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Comment Additional sources that support her WP:SUSTAINED, WP:BASIC notability include: 100 for 100th: Women who have shaped Wilmington (Wilmington Star-News, 2020), 106 women who have made a difference in Wilmington (Wilmington Star-News, 2021) - this modern source is making WP:SECONDARY analysis, evaluation, interpretation, or synthesis of the facts, evidence, concepts, and ideas taken from primary sources, and Wikipedia articles usually rely on material from reliable secondary sources. Beccaynr (talk) 06:17, 16 July 2021 (UTC)


 * Keep per WP:BASIC. Djflem (talk) 08:08, 17 July 2021 (UTC)
 * Keep added materials to improve documentation, included later material showing her career in federal government. Cowan's tenure as mayor was short, but was considered significant at the time in both Wilmington and around the country because she was a woman holding office right after the 19th amendment passed, in a state that did not support its ratification.Musehist (talk) 00:20, 19 July 2021 (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.