Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2016 April 10

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April 10

Who was the Spanish explorer "Francisco Lazcano", and why doesn't he have a Wikipedia article?

Hi WP:RD/H people,
According to Charles II of Spain#Legacy, "The Caroline Islands were named for him by Francisco Lazcano." (WP:COPYWITHIN-d from that article)
I initially suspected that this might have been a hoax, started in that article and then reported as a fact in Wikipedia mirrors, but there are pre-Wikipedia sources that mention him.
Normally I would have swooped on this red-link like a seagull onto chips, but it would appear to me that - despite naming the Caroline Islands - Lazcano may not be a be a notable Age of Discovery person. I note that there is no es:Francisco Lazcano article.
What do y'all think about this? Pete AU aka --Shirt58 (talk) 12:09, 10 April 2016 (UTC)

Perhaps not enough biographical info for an article. Appears to have been real enough though. [1], [2], [3]. older ≠ wiser 13:39, 10 April 2016 (UTC)

The English sources (1st and 3rd) list him as "pilot" and "commander" of a ship. I take that to mean he was the captain of a single ship in a larger group, and not the overall expedition leader. By comparison, look at Christopher Columbus, who took 3 ships to the "new world". The captains of the other 2 ships names are less well-known. StuRat (talk) 14:11, 10 April 2016 (UTC)

There is a bit of information here - but my Spanish isn't up to a proper translation. http://cronologiahistorica.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1234:ano-1686&catid=25&Itemid=120 217.44.50.87 (talk) 15:23, 10 April 2016 (UTC)

I'm not finding him in the Spanish Wikipedia either. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 15:42, 10 April 2016 (UTC)

Isn't this a typo for Francisco Lazeano? See [4], also our History_of_the_Pacific_Islands#Other_islands - Nunh-huh 07:48, 14 April 2016 (UTC)

Wow, great research, Nunh-huh. (To the best of my knowledge and belief, the ref desk was originally started to aid writing and editing Encyclopedia articles.) One "Admiral Francisco Lazeano" is a red-link in es:Yap and mentioned in es:Historia de las islas del Pacífico#Otras islas. What an interesting puzzle, and what an opportunity to WP:SOFIXIT.--Shirt58 (talk) 11:11, 14 April 2016 (UTC)

Yet, this reasonably authoritative looking source calls him LazCano. So does this. I find no sources of similar authority for LazEano. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 11:40, 14 April 2016 (UTC)

Identyfing Railway Stations

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Bradshaw's_Monthly_%28XVI%29.djvu/18

I've not been able to find articles (even stubs) to link in,

• Moore railway station
• Preston Brook railway station
• Minshull Vernon railway station
• Basford railway station

All are Grand Junction Railway stations.

Anyone got references to map them onto what the names at closure were? ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 21:08, 10 April 2016 (UTC)

MOORE and PRESTON BROOK were stations on the Grand Junction Railway between Warrington and Acton Bridge in Cheshire. They seem to have closed to passengers in 1943 and 1948. MINSHULL VERNON (note the correct spelling) was further south on the same line towards Crewe, between Winsford and Coppenhall (not to be confused with Coppenhall in Staffordshire) and was closed in 1942.

We already have a Basford North railway station and a New Basford railway station; I don't know if your redlink refers to either of those or a third option which eludes me at present. Alansplodge (talk) 21:44, 10 April 2016 (UTC)

I've just found our Minshull Vernon article, which looks like a good home! Alansplodge (talk) 21:54, 10 April 2016 (UTC)

There is a marshalling yard at Basford Hall which is very close to Crewe. I wonder if that is it? Alansplodge (talk) 22:11, 10 April 2016 (UTC)

I think it's the most probable candidate, considering its location in the timetable. The staff of the station donated £1-7-0 to the Repeal Association in 1843 ([5]), but that and various contemporary timetables seem to be the only remnants of its existence. Tevildo (talk) 23:46, 10 April 2016 (UTC)

@Alansplodge: - Basford Hall, is the "Basford" on the GJR, The other Basford's you mention seem to be in Nottinghamshire and servered by GNR and GCR respectively.ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 10:10, 13 April 2016 (UTC)

Thanks , I've stubbed the first three, but not Basford, as I'm still trying to pin it down :) ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 11:05, 11 April 2016 (UTC)

I've now stubbed Basford, Thanks. ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 19:56, 11 April 2016 (UTC)

A brief mention is in our Crewe railway station#London & North Western Railway article: "This huge undertaking also included a vast marshalling yard to the south of the station at Basford Hall, a revolutionary 'tranship shed' which allowed fast transfer of freight from wagons to road vehicles under cover, and the increase in the size of the passenger station by one-half again." Alansplodge (talk) 15:02, 12 April 2016 (UTC)

Do we have a full citation for this? Hmm, The LNWR must have semi-offical histories. I'm wary of using Bradshaw directly for Primary source reasons. ShakespeareFan00 (talk) 10:10, 13 April 2016 (UTC)

I think "the station" in that sentence is Crewe - there's never been a UK railway station called "Basford Hall", although presumably the 1840's station was located near to the marshalling yard. Tevildo (talk) 18:42, 13 April 2016 (UTC)

Schutzstaffel "ᛋᛋ"

I have a question about the Nazi SS. Has the SS ever been stylized with "ß" or "ßß" instead of "ᛋᛋ" or "SS"? --HolLebnics (talk) 21:36, 10 April 2016 (UTC)

I've never seen it in any English source, and I don't think it would make any sense to a German speaker since "ß" is a way of making a specific consonant out of two letters. We have an article, ß, which explains how it works. Alansplodge (talk) 21:50, 10 April 2016 (UTC)

Indeed. In particular, while "ss" is used when "ß" is not available, not every occurrence of "ss" can be replaced by "ß" In particular, this is never done if the two "s" come from different root words, as in "Schutzstaffel", a compound of "Schutz" (protection) and "Staffel" (squadron). --Stephan Schulz (talk) 07:39, 11 April 2016 (UTC)

It would be as meaningless as abbreviating (say) Unitarian Universalism as "W" because it's a double-u. Smurrayinchester 07:49, 11 April 2016 (UTC)

Furthermore, the "sharp ß" never occurs as an initial letter in a native German word, indeed, there is no accepted majuscule form. To the best of my knowledge, it is never used in an acronym or an abrevism. --Cookatoo.ergo.ZooM (talk) 08:08, 11 April 2016 (UTC)

Knockoff Nazis have a thing about "88" tattoos. The main reason is ostensibly because "Heil Hitler" has two Hs, and H is eighth. 8 isn't ß. But it looks familiar. InedibleHulk (talk) 13:34, 11 April 2016 (UTC)

"Two fat ladies..." Alansplodge (talk) 14:58, 12 April 2016 (UTC)

Is the mountain in the L.L.Bean logo a specific mountain?

I've been unable to find any source on which mountain the mountain in the L.L.Bean logo is, or if it's just a caricature of a mountain. It looks kind of like a Rockie to me. Shmuser (talk) 23:34, 10 April 2016 (UTC)

• Could be the Bigalow Mountain Range seen here, not too far from Bean's Freeport HQ. 72.196.204.208 (talk) 02:05, 11 April 2016 (UTC)

• LL Bean logos for comparison: [6] [7]. StuRat (talk) 03:17, 11 April 2016 (UTC)

• And here's a view of the Bigalow Mountain Range as seen past water, somewhat resembling the 2nd logo pic: [8]. StuRat (talk) 03:28, 11 April 2016 (UTC)

• I'm not at a place to watch it myself, and it may not be a scrupulously reliable source, but based on the title this video looks promising. --Jayron32 14:27, 11 April 2016 (UTC)
• Compare StuRat's:first link with this view of West Peak of the Bigalow Mountain Range from my original link. 72.196.204.208 (talk) 16:22, 11 April 2016 (UTC)

You could contact LL Bean yourself and ask them... It may actually be in the customer service rep's training materials. When I worked for the Vermont Teddy Bear Company, we were given a bit of info on the beginnings of the company during training. Dismas|^(talk) 16:30, 11 April 2016 (UTC)

Folks, it's the Bigelow Range, not the Bigalow Range. Marco polo (talk) 00:26, 12 April 2016 (UTC)