Remembering Wikipedia contributor Brian Boulton: A mentor to us all
In December, Wikipedia lost one of the best editors in its history, Brian Boulton. With over 100 featured articles to his name and more than 14 years experience, Brian was certainly an editor to look out for. Today, we delve into his life and great contributions to this project.
| “ | I cannot begin to say how sorry I am. I had the privilege of meeting Brian and his daughter in London once, and this news breaks my heart. Brian was an amazing man and a true scholar, and the world is a lesser place without him. If his family and friends are reading, please accept my heartfelt sympathy for your loss. He is a man I will truly never forget. | ” |
| — Kafka Liz, source. | ||
Brian Boulton was born on 4 July 1937. When he was 7 years old, he and his brother David lived with their Aunt Ena in Liverpool. This was at the end of World War II, and that year in Liverpool would leave a profound impact on him. Despite only living there a short time, as recently as 2011 he still considered himself Liverpudlian.
He married his wife Barbara in 1958, and in 2018 they celebrated 60 years of marriage. Together they raised three children.
| “ | Brian Boulton, a retired academic, died on 9 December 2019. He joined Wikipedia as early as 2003, editing as an IP until late 2007. At first he worked mainly on polar history articles and biographies, but later branched into classical music, literature, politics and history, with a curious taste for marine disasters from time to time. He was responsible for getting more than 100 articles to FA, and at the same time was a tireless, patient and immensely helpful reviewer.
He was unfailingly courteous, even to the few editors who persistently irritated him: he had private nicknames for a few of the worst offenders, but never let his exasperation show in his contributions. A fair few London-based Wikipedians had the pleasure of meeting him, and he was as convivial in real life as he was kindly and wise on Wikipedia. "He was a mentor to us all", said one tribute on his talk page, and indeed he was. |
” |
| — SchroCat, source. | ||
Before registering an account on Wikipedia, Brian Boulton made this edit to add some information to Kenneth Baker. Though, after suffering from a serious illness in real life, Brianboulton would soon register his username in November 2007. His first user page stated his intentions quite clearly.
It was not particularly long before Brian managed to get his first two articles to Featured article status; though he was not without guidance from SandyGeorgia.
| “ | Dear Brian, I want to thank you for all the most excellent work you have done recently to rewrite the article on the Australasian Antarctic Expedition; it was epic in its own right! I, for one, very much appreciate the many improvements you have brought to the article. Thank you for all your contributions to our encyclopedia. With kind regards; Patrick. |
” |
| — Pdebee, source. | ||
Until the week of his death, Brian Boulton continued his long history of contributions to Wikipedia. On 30 November 2019, he received his last token of thanks from Pdebee: the Epic Barnstar (depicted above).
One of Brianboulton's long-term projects was trying to bring Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration to featured topic status. As of the time of writing, the following reflects the progress that has been made so far:
Brianboulton's family has set up a memorial site dedicated to remembering his life. Those who feel inclined to do so, are encouraged to donate to Mission Aviation Fellowship in honor of Brian here.
Discuss this story
Brian
In the context, please see also Brian's talk page (where his family is also watching) and the thanks to him on Project Opera by Voceditenore, who said "He was without a doubt the finest editor that Wikipedia has seen.". --Gerda Arendt (talk) 12:28, 27 January 2020 (UTC)[reply]