Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates/Adele Spitzeder/archive1

TFA blurb review
Adele Spitzeder (9 February 1832 – 27 or 28 October 1895) was a German actress, folk singer, and confidence trickster. Initially a promising young actress, Spitzeder became a private banker in Munich when her theatrical success dwindled. Running what was possibly the first recorded Ponzi scheme, she offered large returns on investments by continually using the money of new investors to pay back the previous ones. At the height of her success, contemporary sources considered her the wealthiest woman in Bavaria, although she maintained the persona of a pious Christian woman who helped the poor. Brought to trial in 1872, she was convicted of bad accounting and mishandling customers' money, since Ponzi schemes were not yet illegal, and sentenced to three years in prison. In her later years, Spitzeder performed as a folk singer, living off friends and benefactors, but never completely left her criminal life, resulting in further trials and periods of incarceration.

Just a suggested blurb ... thoughts and edits are welcome. - Dank (push to talk) 18:40, 3 November 2019 (UTC)


 * Not sure how this works, so I have made some corrections directly above. Thanks for starting this! Regards So  Why  19:58, 3 November 2019 (UTC)
 * Good to see you again SoWhy, feels like old times! Could we maybe change "while maintaining" to "although she maintained"? - Dank (push to talk) 20:08, 3 November 2019 (UTC)
 * Has it really been that long? Sure, that sounds fine. I just moved that bit since it belongs to her banking days, not the time afterwards. Regards  So  Why  20:11, 3 November 2019 (UTC)
 * Done. I was thinking of the old RFA days. How is life? - Dank (push to talk) 20:15, 3 November 2019 (UTC) Since you've requested her birthday at WP:TFAP, I added that date to the blurb. - Dank (push to talk) 20:19, 3 November 2019 (UTC)