Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Thomas Otho Travers

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. Nomination withdrawn. (non-admin closure) Acebulf (talk) 18:27, 24 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Thomas Otho Travers

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His only claim to notability is that he was friends with a famous person. Yes that person he was friends with and served with is definitely notable, but Travers is just a soldier that happened to be mentioned in memoirs etc. Not independently notable. Canterbury Tail talk 13:43, 22 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of People-related deletion discussions. MT Train^Discuss 14:18, 22 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Military-related deletion discussions. MT Train^Discuss 14:18, 22 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Ireland-related deletion discussions. MT Train^Discuss 14:18, 22 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Comment - The question here in my mind is whether Travers qualifies under WP:AUTHOR or WP:SOLDIER(8), or alternatively if this should be renamed to cover the book. He is covered a bit, e.g. [1], however his main claim for fame is authoring the "The Journal of Thomas Otho Travers (1813-1820)" which is an important source for covering Stamford Raffles (including the founding of Singapore) and is widely quoted with some coverage of Travers resulting from the quotation.Icewhiz (talk) 14:47, 22 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Comment - Hmmm, interesting, hadn't considered it from that perspective. Unfortunately I don't know enough about the topic but you may be onto something. The article would need completely reworked and I contend that as it stands it's not notable based on it's claims to notability. Anyone able to do work? Canterbury Tail talk 15:50, 22 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

I'm undecided on standalone notability here myself. In some cases such works can confer notability. In this case it doesn't appear to me as clear cut (either way, though WP:NOTPAPER), but I'm not a subject area expert - this is what I saw in my BEFORE. In terms of work - re-purposing this to focus on the journal (either named for the journal, or for Travers) is fairly easy.Icewhiz (talk) 15:57, 22 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Singapore-related deletion discussions. Icewhiz (talk) 16:01, 22 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of India-related deletion discussions. Icewhiz (talk) 16:01, 22 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Indonesia-related deletion discussions. Icewhiz (talk) 16:01, 22 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Keep ~~and Move to~~ The Journal of Thomas Otho Travers (1813-1820), a notable book. I ran a couple of searches and didn't find much on the man (he seems to have been a successful East India Company career soldier, successful enough, that is, to retire to a nice house in Ireland.) He had notable ancestor and a daughter, so he is listed in genealogies. His book is notable. Here's a book review: [2] E.M.Gregory (talk) 18:10, 22 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

The article will need some work but yes I think this may be the better course of action here. Canterbury Tail talk 18:34, 22 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

After doing a little more searching, without the middle name, and and as "Captain Travers" more 19th century sources turn up. I am no longer certain that Travers should be redirected to his book.E.M.Gregory (talk) 19:09, 22 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

He was also a major later. He is in some 30-40 books (with and without middle name, various filters to account it him). Often, however, as brief mentions in regards to some thing or another Raffles told him to do, or mentioning the journal. I did find one title (though I am not sure of publisher quality and it is recent) where he appears in 49 different pages.

Keep. Undecided on rename to book. But the journal should be clearly mentioned in the article if not.19:35, 22 February 2018 (UTC)
Keep - I've expanded the article based on his extensive coverage in a biography of Raffles: Wurtzburg, Charles Edward. Raffles of the eastern isles. Hodder and Stoughton, 1954. Travers's role in the East India Company as well as in Raffles life in England is discussed in-depth in that book. In 1820, travers was appointed Resident and Commandant at Singapore, to replace Robert Townsend Farquhar, although Farquhar did not relinquish the position and Travers let it go. This position would, I think, have given Travers a pretty good clain to NPOL, but even without it there is plenty of material in reliable sources to write an article that passes V, NPOV, NOR, etc. Smmurphy^(Talk) 21:45, 22 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Keep. Good work on the expansion. There is enough now to merit keeping. Edwardx (talk) 00:13, 23 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]
Withdraw - Excellent work everyone, the article is so much better now and more clearly notable, I withdraw the nomination. Canterbury Tail talk 12:45, 23 February 2018 (UTC)[reply]

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.