Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/William Houston Blount


 * 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   delete. Although multiple sources are provided, they are mostly obituaries of a trivial nature. He seems to have been well known is his local community but not generally notable. No prejudice against recreation if better, more substantive sources can be found.Beeblebrox (talk) 02:36, 26 January 2011 (UTC)

William Houston Blount

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Declined A7 speedy. The speedy tag was contested by the creator on the grounds that the subject is expected to pass away shortly and his death is sure to be "covered by newspapers all across the US." But that hasn't happened yet. In my opinion, this does not qualify for speedy deletion, however I am unable to find non-trivial sources about this man in GNews archives. Delete.  Blanchardb -Me•MyEars•MyMouth- timed 16:47, 11 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Businesspeople-related deletion discussions.  -- • Gene93k (talk) 17:12, 11 January 2011 (UTC)


 * Hey can we consider removing the speedy deletion tag and all delete tags now that I have added two Birmingham News newspaper articles that covered his death? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Houstonbking (talk • contribs) 05:10, 16 January 2011 (UTC)
 * The speedy deletion tag had already been removed before this nomination. But our notability guidelines call for multiple sources. Please read, in the notability guidelines, the paragraph on sources: Multiple publications from the same author or organization are usually regarded as a single source for the purposes of establishing notability. --  Blanchardb -Me•MyEars•MyMouth- timed 14:01, 17 January 2011 (UTC)
 * This source, which you used, does not seem reliable for the purpose of establishing notability: it looks like a service the newspaper is providing to funeral salons in the area it serves, and not like something that was written by the newspaper staff out of their own initiative. The fact the author of the article is not mentioned anywhere lends credence to that view. --  Blanchardb -Me•MyEars•MyMouth- timed 14:06, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

 Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Ron Ritzman (talk) 01:18, 18 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion so a clearer consensus may be reached.

Re: "Multiple publications from the same author or organization are usually regarded as a single source for the purposes of establishing notability." - While the Birmingham News is one organization, it is a major newspaper with a circulation of 300,000. Furthermore, I have provided references where he has was inducted into the Alabama Hall of Fame, had a ship named after him (WH Blount), a charity named after him, Blount - Bowden Charity Classic, and referenced a Vulcan Materials Annual, the largest US producer of construction aggregates, which wrote" he had a significant impact on the company." In total 5 major references for notability.

While I did reference his obituary, [http://obits.al.com/obituaries/birmingham/obituary.aspx?n=william-blount-houston&pid=147764052, it was just to help add detail to his accomplishments as it was very thorough, not to establish notability. I added this Birmingham News article from the editors of the paper to help verify notability - http://blog.al.com/birmingham-news-commentary/2011/01/our_view_virginia_samford_dono.html   Again while from the same source, Birmingham News, it's a major news paper and decided on their own to write two articles re Mr. Blount's passing. I also have referenced the NY Times re him continuing as Chairman of Vulcan - http://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/05/business/business-people-president-named-head-of-vulcan-materials.html?ref=vulcanmaterialscompany (Houstonbking (talk) 16:10, 18 January 2011 (UTC))
 * Weak delete Doesn't quite seem to satisfy WP:BIO. Any more non-obit references? Edison (talk) 18:53, 18 January 2011 (UTC)

I have added a reference from the NY Times and Washington Post.

He was also covered in this radio program - http://www.wbhm.org/News/2011/archibald.html - 1.13.2011 edition.

Please understand a substantial amount of coverage on his life was in the 70's and 80's which is not online. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Houstonbking (talk • contribs) 04:13, 19 January 2011 (UTC) (Houstonbking (talk) 14:08, 19 January 2011 (UTC))
 * Your added references would warrant an article on Winton Blount (there's already an article on him), but when it comes to William Houston Blount, they only qualify as trivial. --  Blanchardb -Me•MyEars•MyMouth- timed 03:40, 20 January 2011 (UTC)

I have added two additional references. One from the radio station, WBHM, http://www.wbhm.org/News/2011/archibald.html - 1.13.2011 edition and one from the magazine, Pit And Quarry - http://www.pitandquarry.com/aggregate-producers/vulcan-materials/news/former-vulcan-materials-ceo-remembered-2326 In addition, I am not clear if you are factoring into your perspective that a major tanker, WH Blount, and a charity, Blount-Bowden were named after him. I would think both those items make a strong case for notability.

Houstonbking (talk) 15:42, 24 January 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.