Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/George Washington/archive6

George Washington

George Washington (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs)

As of 3 January 2025, 00:55 (UTC), this page is active and open for discussion. An FAC coordinator will be responsible for closing the nomination.

• Featured article candidates/George Washington/archive1
• Featured article candidates/George Washington/archive2
• Featured article candidates/George Washington/archive3
• Featured article candidates/George Washington/archive4
• Featured article candidates/George Washington/archive5
• Featured article candidates/George Washington/archive6

Nominator(s): ErnestKrause (talk) 00:57, 27 December 2024 (UTC); Nikkimaria (talk) 01:07, 27 December 2024 (UTC)

This article is about the founding father George Washington. It is a co-nomination with Nikkimaria and is the sixth time that this page has been nominated. A previous GA nomination of the article from a decade ago was successful though subsequent FAC nominations did not move forward. The current nomination is a significantly trimmed and condensed version of the Washington biography which previously had reached about 230Kb in system size, though now condensed to about 160Kb system size. Looking forward to comments and criticisms from editors interested in this founding father. ErnestKrause (talk) 00:57, 27 December 2024 (UTC)

Comments from Cmguy777

• I recommend George Washington pass FA nomination. It is well written. The only issue I noticed is the Introduction does not mention why/when Washington joined the Patriot forces. Maybe something like, "Believing Parliamentary Acts and the King were oppressing American colonists, Washington joined the Patriot forces." Maybe something to that effect. Thank you. Cmguy777 (talk) 18:23, 30 December 2024 (UTC)

• Thanks Cmguy777, I've made some amendments to the lead. Nikkimaria (talk) 05:43, 31 December 2024 (UTC)

  Yes. I like your addition Nikkimaria. I think the reader wants to know why Washington initially fought for the British (French Indian War) and then against them (Revolutionary War). That should be mentioned in the introduction section. Thank you. Cmguy777 (talk) 06:08, 31 December 2024 (UTC)

Image review (passed)

Given the large number of images, I'm only going to highlight any issues:

• File:Residence of the Washington Family on the Rappahannock.jpg - The template reads "The copyright situation of this work is theoretically uncertain, because in the country of origin copyright lasts 70 years after the death of the author, and the date of the author's death is unknown." Given that this work appears to have been published in the US, that's not accurate. I get that this is intended to allow for copyright status in other jurisdictions, but I wonder if there are better templates.
• Jacques Auguste Regnier died in 1860, so File:Washington the soldier.jpg should be PD-100 in addition to the US PD Template.
• File:Martha Custis Washington as a young woman circa 1843 (Steel engraving).jpg - Do we have years of death for Cheney and Kellogg?
• File:George Washington, 1776.jpg - Ideally we should have a proper licensing template as well (PD-100/PD-1929 as per the other Peale painting)
• File:Washington taking command of the American Army at Cambridge, 1775 - NARA - 532874.jpg] - Given that the source identifies the work as having been created in 1775, this can't be PD-USGov (Bicentennial Commission wasn't active in Washington's lifetime). Better tags are needed.

• Removed. Nikkimaria (talk) 02:19, 27 December 2024 (UTC)

• File:Gilbert Stuart, George Washington (Lansdowne portrait, 1796).jpg - The source provided (Smithsonian) does not seem to point to the same digitization (colours are less vibrant in the SI's)

• Not sure what significance that has? Digitization doesn't typically garner separate copyright. Nikkimaria (talk) 02:19, 27 December 2024 (UTC)

• Not a copyright concern, but rather one of verifiability. That being said, that's a different ball of wax that could easily derail discussion, and this isn't the article on the painting that would require such a detailed discussion. — Chris Woodrich (talk) 02:34, 27 December 2024 (UTC)

• File:Washington Monument Dusk Jan 2006.jpg - No tag for copyright status of the monument. Also, alt-text does not begin with a capital letter.

• The monument does not meet the US threshold of originality. Nikkimaria (talk) 02:19, 27 December 2024 (UTC)

• Fair enough. — Chris Woodrich (talk) 02:34, 27 December 2024 (UTC)

• File:George Washington Presidential $1 Coin obverse.png and File:2006 Quarter Proof.png - Source links are dead.
• Coin and stamp images don't have WP:ALTTEXT
• Per MOS:IMGSYN, captions should be last; several have the alt text last.  — Chris Woodrich (talk) 01:54, 27 December 2024 (UTC)

  Thanks Chris, all fixed except as noted. Nikkimaria (talk) 02:19, 27 December 2024 (UTC)

  Thanks. I can't tell if I'll have time for such a massive prose review, but marking the image review as passed. — Chris Woodrich (talk) 02:34, 27 December 2024 (UTC)

AirshipJungleman29

Alright, let's have another VA3 bio. Comments to follow; as always, they will be suggestions, not demands, so feel free to refuse with justifications. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 23:39, 1 January 2025 (UTC)

Lead

• Per MOS:ROLEBIO, the "and planter" bit of the first sentence is relatively non-integral to Washington's importance, and could be removed. The full "Founding Father of the United States" is also a little top-heavy (especially as "of the United States" is duplicated in the first sentence) but I don't quite know how you could slim it.
• Per MOS:LEADREL, "Washington's first public office was as surveyor of its Culpeper County from 1749 to 1750" is relatively little emphasised in the body (around 75 words) so probably doesn't need a mention in the lead.
• "In 1752, he became a major in the Virginia Regiment. During the French and Indian War, Washington was promoted to lieutenant colonel and subsequently became head of the Virginia Regiment." is to my eyes, slightly too focused on positions attained, especially considering his role in starting the war. One mention of the Virginia Regiment should do.
• The lead links "American Revolutionary War" twice (as it does for Patriot (American Revolution)) and doesn't give its start or end dates, which are likely needed per WP:EXPLAINLEAD. In fact, the only event between 1752 and 1787 the lead dates is his 1775 appointment.
• "His 1796 farewell address became a preeminent statement on republicanism in which he wrote about the importance of national unity and the dangers that regionalism, partisanship, and foreign influence pose to it." is a little clunky grammatically, suggest rephrasing.
• You could mention Mount Vernon in the lead. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 23:57, 1 January 2025 (UTC)

Thanks AirshopJungleman29, I've done some reworking of the lead. Nikkimaria (talk) 03:13, 2 January 2025 (UTC)