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The following is an archived discussion of a featured article nomination. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the article's talk page or in Wikipedia talk:Featured article candidates. No further edits should be made to this page.

The article was promoted by Laser brain 21:28, 5 March 2011 [1].

Luke P. Blackburn

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Luke P. Blackburn (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views)

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Nominator(s): Acdixon (talk • contribs • count) 14:38, 14 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Nineteenth century governor, physician, philanthropist, reformer... and accused bioterrorist! Hope that generates some interest. It's also true. I think this is a comprehensive account of the life of a very interesting individual who was accused of engaging in germ warfare during the American Civil War using yellow fever, the very disease he spent most of his life helping to combat. I look forward to responding to comments. Acdixon (talk • contribs • count) 14:38, 14 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Sources comments:

  • Perrin et al: this is cited to the original 1888 book, but in fact the online source is a typewritten extract provided by rootsweb.ancestry.com. How do we know that this is reliable and that the transcription is accurate?
    • I've tried without success to locate this blurb elsewhere. Much of what is cited to it is probably in the Baird biography, but I haven't checked every instance.
  • In the bibliography, publisher locations are missing in one or two cases. For consistency, either show all locations or none.
    • Fixed.
  • Likewise, consistency necessary betw. retrieved/Retrieved. But retrieval dates are not required for Google book links.

Otherwise sources and citations look OK Brianboulton (talk) 00:19, 16 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Disambig/External Link check - no dabs or dead external links. --PresN 00:36, 18 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Comments. I've started reading through the body of the article looking for prose issues. I'm enjoying it greatly so far! My comments are located on the article's talk page; please respond to individual concerns there. Once I've run through the entire article, I'll check out the lead to make sure it is well balanced. --Cryptic C62 · Talk 02:57, 18 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Support happily! Thanks for the time that you've put into this. The interwebs are a better place because of it. --Cryptic C62 · Talk 18:09, 3 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Moved from talk: Here are some comments on the article's prose:

  • "Henry Clay was also a distant cousin, and occasionally visited the Blackburn home." Who is Henry Clay? This sentence would benefit from a few words of explanation about Henry Clay.
    • I tend to forget that non-U.S. folks read these, too, and they aren't familiar with "The Great Compromiser". Fixed.
  • "Luke Blackburn quickly became an active member of the community, helping found a temperance society, joining an elite militia group, and becoming the administrator of a local hospital." I find it somewhat confusing that this section's first mention of any military experience finds Blackburn in an "elite militia group". How can it be possible that he could be an elite combatant without any previous combat experience? Unless, of course, he did have previous combat experience, in which case such experience should be mentioned in the article.
    • No, I've found no mention of previous military experience, although you are right that this seems strange. The source does not elaborate, so I'm not sure how this happened. If it is too jarring, I can just remove that, since it isn't all that important to his overall life.
  • "Blackburn was stricken with grief over the death of his wife, and friends encouraged him to tour Europe as he had often spoken of doing" The connection between these two clauses is not clear. I suggest adding in a phrase like "as a means of easing his grief" or some such.
    • Good point. Done.
  • "Too old to enlist in the Confederate Army, he acted as an envoy" What is an envoy? I suggest adding a wikilink or perhaps a link to the Wiktionary entry.
    • OK. I thought this was common enough language, but I've linked it now.
  • "but he failed to secure the arms" This phrase leaves the reader wanting more. Do you happen to know why he failed?
    • There may be some additional detail, but I'll have to check the source again.
    • Just double-checked the source. It says "Information about Blackburn's activities during the first two years of the war is sketchy. He served as an unsuccessful envoy for Governor Beriah Magoffin of Kentucky to obtain guns from Louisiana for the defense of the commonwealth,..." then goes on to talk about his service in Sterling Price's unit. There doesn't appear to be any elaboration.
      • Argh! Oh well, we can only summarize information that actually exists. My intuition tells me that "but he was unable to secure the arms" would be slightly less jarring, though I don't really have a good reason for thinking that. Feel free to either employ this wording or not at your discretion. --Cryptic C62 · Talk 18:01, 23 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]
  • "After securing sufficient medical accommodations for the wounded" What does "medical accommodations" mean? Does it refer to supplies or to a physical structure in which the wounded could be treated?
    • Clarified.
  • "When the offer was refused, Governor Pettus asked Blackburn to travel to Canada to collect provisions for blockade runners there." and "Blackburn was aboard a blockade running ship carrying ice from Halifax to Mobile, Alabama" seem to contradict each other. The first implies that Blackburn went to Halifax, stayed there, and helped gather supplies. The second implies that he travelled back and forth between Halifax and the Confederacy transporting supplies. Which is the case?
    • The sources don't say specifically, but based on my reading, I believe his primary job was staying in Halifax to secure supplies, and that this trip was a deviation from the norm. After the close call, I'm guessing he didn't go on many more such excursions!
  • "When word of the plot was leaked to Union officials, they reinforced Boston, Massachusetts" Reinforced how? Structural or manpower? Either one would make sense here.
    • Clarified.
  • "Independent of Hyams' testimony, officials in Bermuda had received information that Blackburn had collected a second cache of "contaminated" garments and linens and contracted with Edward Swan, a hotel owner in St. George's, to store them until mid-1865 and then ship them to New York City, presumably an attempt to start an outbreak there." This is an extremely long sentence! I suggest chopping it in half, probably after "garments and linens".
    • Done.
  • "The Courier-Journal carried an announcement of Blackburn's candidacy for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination on February 11, 1878" In which state was this? Blackburn was zipping all over the place at the time, so it's not entirely clear where he was running.
    • Good point. Clarified.
  • "Whatever the reason, even his friends did not believe his announcement was wise." Why not? Because of his inexperience, or because of the allegations of biological warfare?
    • Inexperience. Clarified.
  • "Blackburn's first concern as governor was to balance the state's budget." seems to contradict with "Blackburn's primary focus was on reforms to the state's penal system." If the two concerns were addressed sequentially rather than concurrently, I suggest prepending the second sentence with "Once the state's budget had been adjusted," or some such.
  • "In 1879, 75 percent of the state's prisoners had scurvy due to a poor diet and 7 percent of the incarcerated individuals died." 7% died as a result of scurvy? If so, I suggest appending "as a result". If not, I don't see why the 7% statistic is relevant. People die all the time.
    • The 7% figure refers to the entire prison population. I think it's highly relevant, as did Lowell Harrison when he included it in A New History of Kentucky. Yes, people die all the time, but nearly 1 in 10 inmates in the prison dying in a single year seems a bit abnormal to say the least. That's 67 people dead in one year. I think this merits inclusion to show how poor the conditions were.
      • A valid point. I do think the current phrasing is a tad bit misleading, as it could be misconstrued as saying that 7% of the prisoners died of scurvy. Perhaps we could add "of preventable diseases" to the end? I wouldn't know if such a statement were supported by the source, but if so, I think it adds a nice bit of clarity. --Cryptic C62 · Talk 18:01, 23 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]
  • "He later successfully lobbied Congress to construct a series of hospitals for boatmen along the Mississippi." I suggest changing "hospitals for boatmen" to "similar hospitals" to cut down on the number of repeated words between this sentence and the previous one.
    • Done.
  • "Although he was acquitted by a Toronto court, public sentiment was decidedly against him." Where/when does this statement apply? Surely not everywhere and everywhen, for the people of Kentucky didn't seem to think it was relevant when they elected Blackburn. Consider appending the sentence with "throughout much of the (Northern) United States" or "for the remainder of the war".
    • Done.
  • "his liberal pardon record and expenditure of scarce taxpayer money to improve the lot of criminals was unpopular at the time," I don't think that the meaning of "to improve the lot of criminals" will be entirely clear to all readers, particularly those who were born after 1900. While there may be ways to rewrite this particular phrase, I think the simplest solution would be to drop it altogether, especially since this is already a very long sentence.
    • Reworded. I think this phrase is important.

Those are the only concerns I have with the article. --Cryptic C62 · Talk 22:03, 19 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for your comments so far. Glad you're enjoying the article. Blackburn's is a pretty unique story. I'm going to move these comments to the FAC page so other reviewers can see them, per standard practice. Acdixon (talk • contribs • count) 14:20, 18 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Support by Ruhrfisch comments This is an intrersting read and looks quite good. I am leaning towards support, but I have a few comments I'd like to see addressed first.

  • The lead seems to deviate from WP:LEAD in some ways.
    • WP:LEAD says The article should begin with a declarative sentence telling the nonspecialist reader what (or who) is the subject. - since much of the article is about his time as governor, it seems to me this should be mentioned in the first sentence. Since the second sentence mentions his term as governor and he served a term in the Kentucky House, perhaps he could be identified as a politician in the first sentence? Or perhaps the first and second sentences could be combined?
      • Good point. Fixed.
    • Since the article title is Luke P. Blackburn, shouldn't this name be given in the lead too (not just Luke Pryor Blackburn)? So something like "Luke Pryor Blackburn (commonly known as Luke P. Blackburn, June 16, 1816 – September 14, 1887) was a physician and philanthropist..."? Again WP:LEAD says in part If the subject of the page has a common abbreviation or more than one name, the abbreviation (in parentheses) and each additional name should be in boldface on its first appearance.
      • I'm inclined to just move the article to "Luke Pryor Blackburn". I can't find any preference for the initial over the name or vice-versa in any of the sources.
    • The lead is a summary of the rest of the article, and as such, nothing important should be just in the lead. However, the material in Until the election of Ernie Fletcher in 2003, Blackburn was the only physician to serve as governor of Kentucky.[1] is only in the lead.
      • I've repeated the sentence under Governor of Kentucky. That paragraph was a little short anyway.
  • Still in the lead, Blackburn was sympathetic to the Confederate cause during the Civil War. seems to really understate his work on behalf of the Confederacy - this is a man who went to Canada and Bermuda to help Confederate blockade runners and was accused of trying to infect the North with yellow fever.
    • I was really trying to convey that, during the lead-up to and at the outbreak of the Civil War, he was sympathetic to the Confederate (states' rights?) cause, prompting him to serve the Confederacy during the war. I don't think I can succinctly and eloquently convey that, though, so I've changed the sentence around a little to better fit with your understanding of it. See what you think.
  • Early life and family section - since there are articles on all the Kentucky lieutenant governors have articles, shouldn't his uncle be named and linked (if an article exists) in His maternal grandfather was a delegate to the 1799 Kentucky Constitutional Convention and his uncle was a member of the state legislature and acted as lieutenant governor in the administration of Governor James Turner Morehead.[3]?
    • There is no article for the uncle, William Blackburn. Lieutenant Governor James Turner Morehead ascended to the governorship upon the death of Governor John Breathitt. At the time, there was no provision for electing a new lieutenant governor in the case of succession; the President Pro Tem of the Senate acted as lieutenant governor in such a case. William Blackburn was apparently President Pro Tem for at least part of Morehead's term. (I can't find any information about him at present). Because of this, he was acting lieutenant governor, but was not elected to that office.
      • I still think his uncle should be named to provide more information and avoid confusion. No need for a red link. Ruhrfisch ><>°° 22:44, 2 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
        • Done, and I've reworded the sentence to better highlight that he was acting lieutenant governor, rather than being elected to that office.
  • Awkward sentenceJust prior to Cary's birth, Blackburn invested heavily in a failed business venture in the hemp rope and bagging industry and suffered a significant financial loss.[7] I assume he did not invest in a venture which had already failed?? I think this would be clearer as something like Just prior to Cary's birth, Blackburn invested heavily in the hemp rope and bagging industry and suffered a significant financial loss when the business venture failed.[7]
    • Much clearer. Thanks.
  • Since other brothers are named later in the article, shouldn't his brother's name be given here too? He did not seek re-election, and in 1844, he and his younger brother opened a medical practice in Frankfort, Kentucky.[7]
    • The source only identifies him as "a younger brother".
  • "the federal Congress" sounds odd - why not just "congress" or "the US Congress" in He also successfully lobbied the federal Congress to establish a hospital in Natchez; upon its completion in 1852, he was appointed surgeon there.[5]
    • I'm sure I had a reason when I wrote that, but it eludes me now. Changed.
  • Acting on a commission from the Mississippi Legislature, Blackburn lobbied both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature to establish a quarantine at New Orleans to protect cities along the Mississippi River; as a result of this entreaty, the Louisiana legislature authorized him to organize such a quarantine system.[5] - this could be tightened, and does the link to Bicameralism (at both houses) really add anything to the reader's undertanding when the Louisiana legislature is linked a few words later? Tightened to something like this (things that could be cut further if not essential are in [brackets] like this): The Mississippi Legislature commissioned Blackburn to lobby [both houses of] the Louisiana [State] Legislature to establish a quarantine at New Orleans to protect cities along the Mississippi River; Louisiana authorized him to organize such a [quarantine] system.[5]
    • Done.
  • More tightening (the previous sentence was about his wife's death) Blackburn was stricken with grief over the death of his wife, and friends encouraged him to tour Europe, as he had often spoken of doing, to ease his grief. Would "ease his sorrow" work here instead- avoids two uses of "grief" in one sentence.
    • Good suggestions. Done.
  • "hold an audience with" sounds odd (and isn't the person in power the one who usually holds the audience anyway?) Would it be better as Blackburn traveled to Richmond, Virginia to hold an audience [meet] with Confederate Secretary of War James Seddon wherein he [and] offered to serve as General Inspector of Hospitals and Camps ...
    • That works.
  • In Civil War, this reads oddly as Halifax and Toronto are hundreds of miles apart: Blackburn left Mississippi for Halifax, Nova Scotia in August 1863, and he and his wife found lodging in a boardinghouse in Toronto.[14]
    • Not being too familiar with Canadian geography, this didn't strike me as odd when I wrote it, but after you pointed it out, I've reviewed the source and reworded to give a more accurate description of his travels.
  • Yellow fever plot - should the article let the reader know this was just as the Civil War was ending (the surrender at Appomattox Court House was a few days before the double agent's report)?
    • Done.
  • Is "over" needed in He was held over for trial on $8,000 bond.[26]? Could it just be He was held for trial on $8,000 bond.[26]
    • Done.
  • Per Wikipedia:CREDENTIAL, I think Dr. should be omitted in Writing in the journal America's Civil War, Dr. J. D. Haines notes that the Confederate agents who testified against Blackburn were of dubious reputation.[24] J. D. Haines could be described as "professor of History at XYZ University" (or whatever) if that is known.
    • According to this, he is (or was in 2006) a Navy medical doctor. Would you actually spell all that out as opposed to just calling him doctor?
      • 1) I still think WP:Credential says not to do this. 2) Doctor is ambiguous and can also mean someone with a Ph.D. or other doctorate. 3) Historian Edward Steers is a doctor (presumably a Ph.D.) (see here) but is not identified as "Dr. Edward Steers", so the use of titles is inconsistent in the article 4) Describing him as a Navy physician works for me - it avoids the ambiguity of "Dr." and the fact that he wrote an article titled "Did a Confederate doctor engage in a primitive form of biological warfare? The Northern press thought so". makes more sense when he is identified as a physician. Ruhrfisch ><>°° 14:17, 3 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
        • OK, done.
  • Post-war humanitarian work - this could be tightened from Not waiting for Johnson's response—a response that never came—Blackburn returned to the U.S., arriving in Louisville ... to something like Not waiting for Johnson's response—which never came—Blackburn returned to the U.S., arriving in Louisville ...
    • Works for me.
  • Should "Louisville's" be added at the start of The Courier-Journal carried an announcement of Blackburn's candidacy...?
    • Done.
  • Would it help to end this sentence with a colon and combine it with the next? Might also help to make it clearer these were his second wife's brothers. Two of his wife's brothers also held political office.[33]
    • Good idea. Done.
  • Add something like "his proposal for" or "the idea of" to clarify this To a large degree, his pleas fell upon deaf ears, with the exception of [his proposal for] the state board of health, which was created in March 1878.
    • Done.
  • Close paraphrase concerns: page 260 of A New History of Kentucky has the first quote, the second is from the article:
An 1875 study had found that 20 percent of the inmates had pneumonia; the year Blackburn took office another report revealed that three of every four prisoners had scurvy, owing to poor diet. More than 7 percent of the nearly one thousand prisoners had died during the year.
An 1875 study showed that 20 percent of the state's inmates were suffering from pneumonia.[56] In 1879, 75 percent of the state's prisoners had scurvy due to a poor diet and 7 percent of the incarcerated individuals died.[56]
    • How would you rephrase this? The statistics are what they are, and rephrasing them too much could change their meaning.
      • How about something like this (inlcudes the current previous sentence in a modified version): Conditions in the penitentiary were poor and resulted in many illnesses. One fifth of the state's prisoners suffered from pneumonia in 1875. When Blackburn became governor in 1879, the mortality rate of the almost one thousand inmates in the state penitentiary was over 7 percent. Scurvy caused by poor nutrition afflicted 75 percent of prisoners.[62] You could also just quote the two sentences and be done with it, ;-) Ruhrfisch ><>°° 22:44, 2 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
        • I've adopted your wording above.
  • I would add the year here (instead of today): This was done, and the rechartered institution, located at Lexington, became known commonly as the State College; today, it is the University of Kentucky.[62] with the date it would be something like This was done, and the rechartered institution, located at Lexington, became known commonly as the State College; in 1916 it was named the University of Kentucky.[62]
    • Done.
  • Later life and death - I would move the sentence that he had stated he would not seek further political office at the start of his term earlier in this section. As it is, I assumed he was speaking about his own (re)nomination at the 1883 Democratic nominating convention.
    • Hadn't thought of that. Besides his campaign promise, the Kentucky Constitution at that time prevented him from serving a second consecutive term, but I couldn't neatly work that in. I've moved the info closer to the top now.
  • Some WP:OVERLINKing - do consul, telegraph, Negro, Fête, pardon, and President of the United States right before Abraham Lincold really need links? Also Kentucky General Assembly is linked three times in the body of the article.
    • I do typically err on the side of overlinking. Fixed these examples.
  • Not an actionable request, but I do not think the locator map for Hickman adds much to the article. What if the Good Samaritan image from his tomb were moved to the "Post-war humanitarian work" section instead, and the full image of his tomb could be used in the "Later life and death" section instead?
    • I guess it doesn't add all that much, but I think I'd rather just delete it than show the tombstone twice (even if one is an extreme closeup.)

Ruhrfisch ><>°° 22:12, 26 February 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Always nice to have your comments, Ruhrfish. Hope to gain your support as well. Acdixon (talk • contribs • count) 17:20, 2 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I have switched to support and struck where I thought the issue had been addressed. There are a few quibbles left, but trust they will be resolved too. Ruhrfisch ><>°° 22:44, 2 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I have uploaded a photo on Commons which I think would work well in the article and found an image of one of Blackburn's pardons which might work here. Details are on Acdixon's talk page. Thanks for an interesting and enjoyable read, Ruhrfisch ><>°° 14:17, 3 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
All issues resolved (I hope the Mississippi Boatman image is used). Nicely done, Ruhrfisch ><>°° 15:05, 3 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Support - concerns adequately addressed. Nikkimaria (talk) 04:17, 5 March 2011 (UTC) Comments[reply]

  • "By 1863, he was supplying Confederate blockade runners in Canada." - what was he supplying them with?
    • I'm not really sure; the sources don't say. Would it be better to say he was "aiding" Confederate blockade runners? This would include his combating yellow fever in Bermuda and his (apparently sole) attempt at actually doing some blockade running.
      • Yeah, "aiding" would probably work better
        • Done.
  • "Any plot of this nature was destined to fail, however. In 1900, Walter Reed discovered that yellow fever is spread by mosquitoes, not by contact." - not mentioned in article text, not sourced
    • I'll work on a source and add it to the end of the last paragraph under "Yellow fever plot" as well.
  • WP:OVERLINK
    • I've addressed some of this in Ruhrfish's comments above. Any more glaring examples that you see?
      • Europe for sure, probably some of the countries
        • Fixed these.
  • "Blackburn continued his ministrations until mid-July when he briefly returned to Halifax.[17][18] The epidemic on the island continued, and Blackburn returned there in September to continue his ministrations" - repetitive
    • Ick. Quite so. Fixed.
  • "a competing theory proposed by Thomas S. Bell" - what was that theory?
    • That cholera was a miasmatic disease. I didn't list this earlier because I wasn't sure that would make sense, but since I notice at second glance that we have an article on the Miasma theory of disease, I think it's safe to state this and provide a wiki-link.
  • Why "twenty percent" but "8 percent"? Be consistent
    • I always forget the rules on numerals versus spelling out numbers.
  • Use of "in" in References is inconsistent
    • How so? I use "in" when the same author wrote more than one of the sources in the bibliography; otherwise, I just use the author's last name.
      • Ah, okay. I'm used to seeing it used for works within larger works.
  • Be consistent in whether editors are first name or last name first
    • Darn copy-paste inconsistency! :)
  • Include second and third authors in shortened citations
    • Done.
  • University Press of Kentucky or The University Press of Kentucky?
    • I suppose the official name is "The" University Press of Kentucky. Changed.
  • Page number(s) for Boltz and Haines?
    • Although both articles originally appeared in print, I got them from electronic databases, and those electronic versions are not paginated.
      • Would it be worth including subscription links to those databases?
        • I'm not sure what convention dictates, but I've done so here.

Nikkimaria (talk) 14:31, 2 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for your comments. I hope to eventually secure your support. Acdixon (talk • contribs • count) 17:20, 2 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks for your comments. Acdixon (talk • contribs • count) 14:56, 3 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Support per standard disclaimer. I made all the following edits; feel free to revert. All of these edits are per WP:Checklist. - Dank (push to talk)

  • "Natchez, Mississippi", "June 16, 1816", and a lot more needed second commas. I filled them in this time; I may oppose over this many missed commas next time. I know some people like to omit them, but I don't know of an American style guide that supports that. See for instance Chicago 6.17 ("Commas in pairs"), 6.45 and 10.30; The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage, at "comma" (the last two paragraphs); and AP Stylebook, at "months" and in the punctuation section.
  • "Hyams said he was instructed to sell the trunks' contents to used clothing merchants. Blackburn ... hoped ...": "Hyams said he was instructed to sell the trunks' contents to used clothing merchants, and that Blackburn ... hoped ...".
  • "to store them until mid-1865 and then ship them to New York City, presumably an attempt to start an outbreak there.": "... presumably in an attempt to start an outbreak there.". "Attempt" was dangling as an appositive because it didn't refer to any single word or phrase.
  • - Dank (push to talk) 03:02, 5 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]


The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this page.
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