Talk:William Lyon Mackenzie King

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This article is written in Canadian English, which has its own spelling conventions (colour, centre, travelled, realize, analyze) and some terms that are used in it may be different or absent from other varieties of English. According to the relevant style guide, this should not be changed without broad consensus.

( William Lyon Mackenzie) surname WAS NOT KING ( Mackenzie King ) completely different person ( occultist )

Lead - last paragraph

User:Mr Serjeant Buzfuz, I think that "Though he planned an active retirement..." should be removed. Writing memoirs doesn't necessarily indicate that he planned an active retirement. Ak-eater06 (talk) 06:10, 16 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

He "allowed his intense spirituality to distort his understanding of Adolf Hitler throughout the late 1930s"

Did this ever happen to any body besides William kingM this seems like a pathetic attempt to deflect and wash way what he believed. 199.119.235.138 (talk) 00:47, 3 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

short description

The current SD – Prime Minister of Canada (1921-1926 1926-1930 1935-1948 (55 characters) is too long, as well as being troublesome to read. Changes to a valid and shorter version – Canadian statesman and politician (1874–1950) (45 characters) were rejected. How about – Prime Minister of Canada (1874–1950) (36 characters)? Definitely short enough, correct about life dates, but also including "Prime Minister of Canada", so seems to meet the need — GhostInTheMachine ^{talk to me} 14:08, 12 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I could live with that. My objection to "politician and statesman" is that it's a generic description used for a large number of bios. The key thing here is that he was the PM of Canada; that's the most significant / notable factor about him as an individual, and the reason for this article, and should be reflected in the short description. Mr Serjeant Buzfuz (talk) 13:07, 13 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

— GhostInTheMachine ^{talk to me} 14:28, 13 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

The problem with Prime Minister of Canada (1874–1950) is that it implies he was prime minister during those years, per WP:SDDATES. ‑‑Neveselbert (talk · contribs · email) 22:33, 14 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Prime Minister of Canada (1920s–1940s) would be a better alternative. ‑‑Neveselbert (talk · contribs · email) 22:37, 14 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

There were three other prime ministers during the 1920s to 1940s: Meighen, Bennett, and St Laurent. Using this set of years suggests that he was the only prime minister (and that we're not certain of the dates). Mr Serjeant Buzfuz (talk) 17:38, 23 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Maybe Prime Minister of Canada over three terms from 1921 to 1948 could work? This makes it clear he wasn't in office continuously. ‑‑Neveselbert (talk · contribs · email) 20:11, 23 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

No, because that doesn't make it clear that the terms were non-continuous. For example, describing a US president like Reagan as "serving two terms from 1981 to 1989" would be taken as a continuouse term. Mr Serjeant Buzfuz (talk) 20:19, 23 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Prime Minister of Canada over three periods from 1921 to 1948 should suffice then. ‑‑Neveselbert (talk · contribs · email) 20:21, 23 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Prime Minister of Canada over three periods from 1921 to 1948 (61 characters) — way too long — GhostInTheMachine ^{talk to me} 20:30, 23 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

He was Prime Minister for 76 years? Nobody will be confused by that — GhostInTheMachine ^{talk to me} 22:51, 14 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Prime Minister of Canada is an office, not a description. Prime Minister of Canada (1874–1950) is illogical as a result. ‑‑Neveselbert (talk · contribs · email) 22:57, 14 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hence Canadian statesman and politician (1874–1950). At the least, that is correct — GhostInTheMachine ^{talk to me} 15:41, 22 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

But it does not mention the most important reason for Wikipedia having an article about him. "Politicians and statesmen" are two a penny; there have only been 24 Prime Ministers. The short description should have the most notable thing. Mr Serjeant Buzfuz (talk) 17:33, 23 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I don't see any problem with the 55-character short description. To do anything different would be to break consistency with Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, Harold Wilson, etc. estar8806 (talk) ★ 20:42, 23 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed. And the information page (note: not a guideline page) for short descriptions clearly acknowledges that 40 characters is not a firm cut-off, when it says that only 3% of short descriptions are longer than 60%, and that ones that are longer than 100 characters will get truncated. Clearly, that indicates that short descriptions over 40 characters can be used. Mackenzie King was unique in Canada and that affects his SD here. WP:SDLENGTH Mr Serjeant Buzfuz (talk) 21:53, 23 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]