Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/William T. Stearn

William T. Stearn

 * This is the archived discussion of the TFAR nomination for the article below. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests). Please do not modify this page. 

The result was: scheduled for Today's featured article/April 16, 2018 by Jimfbleak - talk to me?  14:34, 20 March 2018 (UTC)



William T. Stearn (16 April 1911 – 9 May 2001) was a British botanist. Born in Cambridge in 1911, he was largely self-educated, and developed an early interest in books and natural history. His initial work experience was in a Cambridge bookshop. He was an assistant in the university botany department, then a librarian at the Royal Horticultural Society in London, and from 1952 a scientific officer in the botany department of the Natural History Museum. After retirement in 1976, he served on a number of professional bodies related to his work, including the Linnean Society, of which he became President. He also taught botany at Cambridge University as a visiting professor. Stearn is known for his work in botanical taxonomy (first described taxon pictured) and botanical history, particularly his studies of the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus. His best known books are his Dictionary of Plant Names for Gardeners, a popular guide to the Latin names of plants, and his Botanical Latin for scientists. Considered one of the most eminent British botanists of his time, he is the botanical authority for over 400 plants that he named and described.
 * Most recent similar article(s): no botanist that I'd remember
 * Main editors: Michael Goodyear
 * Promoted: March 2017
 * Reasons for nomination: birthday
 * Support as nominator. Gerda Arendt (talk) 21:58, 11 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Comment Support Any reason why the blurb doesn't use the image of Stearn himself? PaleCloudedWhite (talk) 22:23, 11 February 2018 (UTC)
 * I had problems with licenses like that, - doesn't say you are free to share etc.. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 22:26, 11 February 2018 (UTC)
 * I thought it might be a possible copyright issue. It's a shame, as the article image is a good one IMHO. Still, I add my support as I also cannot recall seeing a botanist on TFA (and, on a purely personal level, I worked for him in his garden once or twice, and chatted with him about Epimedium - which he was particularly fond of - so it would be nice to see him on the front page). PaleCloudedWhite (talk) 22:48, 11 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Lovely, that you chatted! I would have chosen Epimedium because of the caption, but I don't think it shows well enough in stamp size. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 22:53, 11 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Yes, the Epimedium image in the article is not the clearest. The ideal perhaps would be to have an image of the cultivar named after him, but I've looked and we don't appear to have one. PaleCloudedWhite (talk) 23:06, 11 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Biography is always tricky since it is rare to have a free image. But low resolution is considered fair use for that specific page only. I'm not sure how that would apply to "blurb" but it seems to me a case could be made, since it is merely a link to the article not a separate page, and of course only appears fleetingly. I am touched that we have someone here who actually knew him. Epimedium was of course something he is particularly known for. --Michael Goodyear (talk) 14:28, 12 February 2018 (UTC)


 * Support: Subject of article is interesting; no apparent reason not to become TFA on that date. Codyorb (talk) 22:38, 12 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Coordinator comment On the copyright issue, Michael Goodyear is right. The image can only be used under fair use on the article page itself. Many TFA blurbs, including books, video games, films and biographies, do not have an image of the topic itself, and sometimes no image at all Jimfbleak - talk to me?  12:02, 13 March 2018 (UTC)