Talk:Lech Wałęsa/Archives/2017/September

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Father's dob and dod

Latest comment: 6 years ago6 comments3 people in discussion

The article said that Wałęsa's father, while born in 1908, died in 1945, not yet 34 years old. Obviously, this doesn't hold up. Either he was born in 1911, or he died before his 37th birthday, not his 34th [1]. --Edelseider (talk) 18:46, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

I don't know where the years of birth and death came from. The source cited, Walesa's autobiography, doesn't include them, as far as I can see (using Google Books).

I'm editing using a phone, which is less than optimal for research, but when I have access to a computer, I'll try to find a reliable source that shows the father's years of birth and death. — MShabazz ^Talk/_Stalk 21:05, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

It is possible that the "34" is a typo or misprint in the book, it wouldn't be the first one in the history of the world :). The numbers 4 and 7 are located one above the other on the right side of the keyboard ([2]) and the finger could have hit the wrong one. --Edelseider (talk) 09:14, 19 September 2017 (UTC)

That's a possibility. We probably shouldn't be using an autobiography as a source when there are undoubtedly independent reliable sources. — MShabazz ^Talk/_Stalk 14:28, 19 September 2017 (UTC)

I can't find something easily accessible on Google Books, but I believe the year of birth is 1908 and the date of death is 15 June 1945, age 37. This is based on Lech Wałęsa: Idea i Historia: biografia polityczna legendarnego przywódcy "Solidarności" do 1988 roku ("Lech Walesa: Idea and History: political biography of the legendary leader of Solidarity until 1988"), which indicates "1908 r. - na świat przychodzi Bolesław Wałęsa" ("1908 - Bolesław Wałęsa is born") and "15 VI 1945 r. - umiera Bolesław Wałęsa" ("15 June 1945 - Bolesław Wałęsa dies"), and Lech Walesa: reportage su un uomo e un popolo ("Lech Walesa: reporting on a man and a people"), which says "Boleslaw Walesa, 37 anni, deceduto il 15 giugno 1945" ("Boleslaw Walesa, age 37, died 15 June 1945"). Unfortunately, the first book is only available using "snippet view" and the relevant portion of the second book appears on a page that Google shows in search results but not in direct view (search the book for 1945). I'll continue looking for a better source, but I think the years can be returned to the article and "shortly before his 34th birthday" removed. — Malik Shabazz ^Talk/_Stalk 02:02, 20 September 2017 (UTC)

Thank you! All the best, --Edelseider (talk) 07:34, 20 September 2017 (UTC)