Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Quesnay de Beaurepaire


 * 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.  Sandstein  21:17, 9 March 2012 (UTC)

Quesnay de Beaurepaire

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Nicely sourced, but the article fails to tell what makes him notable. A failed project is no reason for notability. Night of the Big Wind talk  22:43, 19 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of France-related deletion discussions.  • Gene93k (talk) 02:23, 20 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Military-related deletion discussions.  • Gene93k (talk) 02:23, 20 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of People-related deletion discussions.  • Gene93k (talk) 02:23, 20 February 2012 (UTC)


 * Comment - while I'm neutral on the article (some of the sources are a bit...questionable), I would like to point out that notability is not temporary, the fact his project failed isn't a failure of notability. The question is was the project notable - I'm leaning torwards "it was", but would like to see evidence of it being the first notable university of its sort in Virginia/the U.S. (was it?) before coming down on one side of the argument or the other. - The Bushranger One ping only 04:17, 20 February 2012 (UTC)


 * Comment - failure does not make something not notable, otherwise, remove the Bay of Pigs wiki, or Scott's expedition to the Antarctic, etc. I believe this wiki is interesting and should not be deleted for the following reasons. 1. Example of T. Jefferson's endeavors regarding education. 2. Early post-War of Independence cooperation between France and USA. 3. A remarkable example of a French Royal Officer fighting with the American Revolutionary Army who extended his involvement in America to cultural and educational purposes. 4. The De Beaurepaire family in France ruptured not long after this period - with one side supporting the Royal Family and the other side being major supporters of the French Revolution (one family member was a key protagonist in the National Assembly debate for the execution of Louis XVI). One of the very under-reported causes of the French Revolution was the return of officers and men from America who had experienced its liberte, egalite et fraternite. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.238.49.115 (talk) 11:38, 21 February 2012 (UTC)
 * The fact that WP:OTHERSTUFFEXISTS doesn't make the keeping, or not keeping, of this article more or less likely. Also, WP:ITSINTERESTING usually isn't a valid reason to keep. - The Bushranger One ping only 16:13, 23 February 2012 (UTC)


 * Comment The citation links require membership of JSTOR, however if you go to the JSTOR website (www.Jstor.org) and use the search function, it allows one to read the extracts. Otherwise, sign up to JSTOR and read the entire material (it's free). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.238.49.115 (talk) 11:51, 21 February 2012 (UTC)


 * Comment From Wikipedia's deletion guidelines: "Delete: Non-notable subject. Article has no references, and I can't find any coverage of the subject. The lone external link is subject's own site". There are 12 external sources... How is that not notable? KEEP — Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.238.49.115 (talk) 12:40, 21 February 2012 (UTC)
 * I assume that you are identical with WBeau, but forgot to log in. Unfortunately, shouting and roaring does not help to make a subject notable. What will help is translating your twelve source in an article, instead of the present one sentence. Did he do anything more then co-found that institute? Can you write an article about the "Academy of Science & Arts" and proof that it is notable? That would be a major help to the current notability issue. And please sign your edits on talkpages with four tildes ( ~ ). These tildes will automagically be replaced by your name, date and time. Thanks in advance. Night of the Big Wind  talk  14:03, 21 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Apologies, forgot to log in. Thanks. I paid for the GBooks Hits.. Will summarise and upload the content this week. Thanks Wbeau (talk) 02:57, 4 March 2012 (UTC)


 * Weak keep Unfortunately, while there are plenty of GBooks hits, most of them seem only to be visible as snippets, if that - it is therefore difficult to judge the depth (and often the reliability) of coverage they give to the subject. However, this encyclopedia entry (in French) gives a detailed account of Quesnoy de Beaurepaire's time in America, which agrees with (and puts in context) the various glimpses one gets from other snippets, and mentions other potential sources. The picture one gets is of a career of ambitious (and repeatedly more ambitious) failures - in Philadelphia and New York before Richmond - but the Academy of Sciences and Fine Arts, at least, does seem to have been a notable failure, involving (if rather peripherally) not only Americans like Jefferson and Franklin but also most of the leading French scientists and artists of the day. Finally, assuming the article is kept, it should really be renamed to Alexandre-Marie Quesnay de Beaurepaire - there were, at least, two late 19th century Quesnay de Beaurepaires, Jules (a prominent legal official involved in the Dreyfus affair and probably a descendant of Alexandre-Marie) and Alfred (an artist who illustrated some of Jules Verne's novels). PWilkinson (talk) 00:48, 22 February 2012 (UTC)
 * Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion so a clearer consensus may be reached.


 * Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Ron Ritzman (talk) 00:00, 26 February 2012 (UTC)

 This is especially true in historical terms, where first attempts that do not quite succeed have historical importance and are appropriate for an encyclopedia. Excellent sourcing, also. What we need now is an article on the United States Academy of Science & Arts  DGG ( talk ) 01:17, 8 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Comment The nearest article on the French Wikipedia appears to be Jules Quesnay de Beaurepaire. -- Trevj (talk) 13:47, 5 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Keep per the excellent source-search from PWilkinson. Martijn Hoekstra (talk) 18:21, 6 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Keep . People are notable usually when they succeed in doing something, but that isn't necessarily the case.
 * Keep per the French encyclopedia article. -- Michel Vuijlsteke (talk) 18:49, 9 March 2012 (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.