Talk:Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit

Fahrenheit Scale

I read an account of the origin of the Fahrenheit Scale in the textbook General Chemistry, by Linus Pauling that differs with the account here, but agrees with the account listed on the Fahrenheit scale Wikipedia article, namely, that the human body temperature was taken to be 100˚, not 96˚ as labeled here. I think these accounts should be reconciled, or at least some mention of this discrepancy should exist on one if not both pages.--Jwwetzel (talk) 23:31, 18 February 2014 (UTC)

Birthday 24 May

Fahrenheit was born on 24 May according to the modern Gregorian Calendar then already in use in Danzig. In other places (eg. London's Royal Society), the old calendar was still in effect, and the date was "translated" into 14 May "old style". Thus old sources (also ADB) still list the wrong date. See Old Style and New Style dates, and Albert Momber in Altpreußische Monatsschrift 1887, S. 143.-- Matthead 12:37, 16. Jun. 2009 (CEST)And also German.

Birthplace Danzig

As shown in the template above, Wikipedia has a clear policy

• For Gdańsk, use the name Danzig between 1308 and 1945
• In biographies of clearly German persons, the name should be used in the form Danzig (Gdańsk) and later Danzig exclusively

NOTE: Nothing is said about a country, or province, or kingdom, or any political entity, as the histories of the cities he lived in can be looked up in the history articles, e.g. History of Gdańsk. There is no need to disrupt biographies with editwars about allegiances of cities. Please respect this. -- Matthead  Discuß   16:44, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

Adjust the name then if that has been agreed on.--Jacurek (talk) 16:47, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

Well, you made the change for the worse, you better restore it yourself to comply with policy. Besides: "Reverts to conform with community consensus are excluded from the three-revert rule (3RR)". It surely was double superfluous to add a country two more times so that the article on someone "who lived most of his life in the Dutch Republic" says "Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth" three times, and "Poland" twice. Wikipedia:Neutral point of view#Undue_weight: "An article should not give undue weight to any aspects of the subject, but should strive to treat each aspect with a weight appropriate to its significance to the subject." The affiliation of his home town had few if any significance to Fahrenheit. In Danzig, German was spoken, as in many of the German cities he visited. -- Matthead  Discuß   17:00, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

What did you mean by "you better restore it" ? Is this a threat? Please "strike" that out--Jacurek (talk) 17:38, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

I still think that it should be Danzig/Gdansk since the city was in Poland at the time. You are welcome to restore the name to the version agreed on earlier by others however (I was not a part of that discussion) and I will not revert it. Thank you.--Jacurek (talk) 17:46, 16 June 2009 (UTC)

Picture questions

Can a portrait of Fahrenheit be located and added to the article? Is there such a portrait in existence? Is the image at this site an actual, authenticated painting of Fahrenheit, or is it Celsius or someone else? - Astrochemist (talk) 12:06, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

Well, compare the pictures at Anders Celsius with the one on said website. See also here. We already had to deal with mis-attributed images. -- Matthead  Discuß   12:41, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

Protection request

My request at Wikipedia:Requests for page protection for permanent semi-protection (Indefinite semi-protection vandalism, Frequent target of childish vandalism. In addition, occasional outbursts of the old Danzig/Gdansk problem) was Declined, not enough recent disruptive activity to justify protection. Is the lesson to be learned here that the vandals should try harder, or that regular users should stop believing that admins could be helpful? -- Matthead  Discuß   14:27, 17 April 2010 (UTC)

Year of death of parents

The source article referred to in the biography section (http://www.g-gruppen.net/danzigforedt.htm) indicates that the parents died in 1701 rather than 1712 (see the family tree at the end of section 5). And clearly DGF could not be 16 in 1712 if he was born in 1686. --77.3.129.17 (talk) 02:28, 22 December 2010 (UTC)

Irrelevant details about sister?

Just querying the need to provide details about the marriage of his sister... --77.3.129.17 (talk) 02:30, 22 December 2010 (UTC)

Biographical timeline

The German language source (http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/bsb00016320/image_762) indicates that he trained as a merchant in Amsterdam from 1702 to 1706, travelled from 1707 to 1717 (including to northern countries), before settling in Amsterdam in early 1717. I daresay it might be useful to include these dates in the bio, where the dating seems a little confused. --77.3.129.17 (talk) 02:54, 22 December 2010 (UTC)

Polish-Born Dutch vs German vs Dutch etc.

I don't get it:

In ALL other wikipedia- languages the articles on Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit refor to him as a German. I think it is quite strange to refer to Danzig as Poland for that time. This is extremely confusing. He was quite obviously German, having lived in the Netherlands for a long perido of his life doesnt make him Dutch.

By the way: The article on temperature scale named after him says "Fahrenheit is the temperature scale proposed in 1724 by, and named after, the GERMAN[1][2] physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit...." using the same sources as the article on his life. This is very inconsistent. Somebody ought to check the facts. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.185.255.192 (talk) 11:23, 12 March 2011 (UTC)

The sources cited to support the "Polish-Dutch" claim clearly state that he was German! Looks like the revisionist-fantasy history posse is on the loose again!Udibi (talk) 04:05, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

Actually Britannica calls him "Polish-born Dutch physicist" - yet this is being used to source "German". Huh?Volunteer Marek (talk) 04:41, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

And I notice that in fact, before Udibi's change, "Polish-born Dutch" is exactly what was in this article [1].

Also please drop the editorializing in edit summaries.Volunteer Marek (talk) 04:43, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

Ah, Marek. Part of the nationalist Cadre... Always ready to defend.

http://www.notablebiographies.com/Du-Fi/Fahrenheit-Gabriel.html - German [This is the other source listed to supposedly substantiate Fahrenheit's Polish-born Dutch-ness, although it mentions none of those things.

http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blthermometer.htm - German

http://www.answers.com/topic/gabriel-fahrenheit - German

You are correct. The encyclopedia Britannica now calls Gabriel Fahrenheit Polish-born Dutch of German ethnicity - interesting development. Also interesting is that he remains indexed as "Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (German physicist) -- Britannica Online .." The Kids' version of Encyclopedia still lists him as German: http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/article-9274252/Daniel-Gabriel-Fahrenheit — Preceding unsigned comment added by Udibi (talk • contribs) 04:53, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

You know, in my Wikipedia experience I've noticed it is usually the biggest nationalists who are the first to accuse others of "nationalism", perhaps because they tend to assume that everyone is like them. Drop the personal attacks. Stick to content. Btw, I don't remember ever interacting with you.Volunteer Marek (talk) 05:01, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

(ec) Here's more:

• "Polish-Dutch Physicist". There is no description of Fahrenheit as "German" in this source. Source: Encyclopedia of weather and climate, Volume 1 By Michael Allaby
• "Polish born scientist". Again, no description of Fahrenheit as "German" here. Source: Dictionary of energy By Cutler J. Cleveland, Christopher G. Morris
• "of German parentage]" - so here you got one. Unfortunately this is the Daily Telegraph which says he was born in "the free city of Danzig" which is total nonsense, and is illustrative of the quality of this source.
• "Polish-born Dutch scientist". Again, nothing about him being German. Source: From clockwork to crapshoot: a history of physics By Roger G. Newton
• "Polish-Dutch scientist". Nothing about him being German. Source: A Change in the Weather By Michael Allaby, Richard Garratt
• "Polish born Dutch instrument maker". Nothing about him being German. Source: Theories for everything: an illustrated history of science from the invention of numbers to string theory by John Langone, Bruce Stutz, Andrea Gianopoulos
• "Polish-Dutch physicist". Nothing about him being German. Source: The Facts on File weather and climate handbook By Michael Allaby
• "Polish Dutch German". So here you got all three. Source: A biographical dictionary of people in engineering: from the earliest records until 2000 by Carl W. Hall
• "Polish born German". So here it's Polish and German but no Dutch. Source Fiber optics illustrated dictionary By Julie K. Petersen

This isn't to deny that some sources call him German (or Polish born German or similar). Just that he is very often listed as "Polish Dutch" and similar. Can we go with "Dutch-German-Polish"? I think that should satisfy everyone.Volunteer Marek (talk) 04:58, 4 April 2011 (UTC)

If there is no reply to my proposal to change it to "Dutch-German-Polish" soon, then I am going to make that change.Volunteer Marek (talk) 18:06, 6 April 2011 (UTC)

Would you call Marie Curie Russian-Polish-French, Józef Piłsudski a Russian-Lithuanian-Polish statesman or Henryk Sienkiewicz a Russian-Polish author? All of them were born in Russia, subjects of the Tsar. However, being born in a multi-national state like Tsarist Russia (or the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) doesn't mean to be Russian (or Polish). We should leave Fahrenheit's nationality out of the lead, his ethnic background is already explained, as well as the constitutional situation of Danzig in the 17th century and his later work in the Netherlands. Three different nationalities in the lead look simply odd. HerkusMonte (talk) 05:41, 9 April 2011 (UTC)

If a large number of reliable sources described Marie Curie as "Russian-Polish-French" then I would (there might be some which describe her as French-Polish but that's about it). If a large number of reliable sources described Pilsudski or Sienkiewicz as those things then I would. But they don't, unlike here where they do.

And there's two good reasons to keep the "triple" in the lede, one policy based, one practical. The policy reason is ... well, that this is standard policy and how it's usually done. The practical reason is that I am sure if the nationality gets removed sooner or later peoples will come back here and try to sneak in their favorite nationality and exclude the others. I don't know if it will be the Polish the German or the Dutch, but I do know, based on experience, that people will do it. So just putting in all three prevents this problem.Volunteer Marek (talk) 20:42, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

I agree with you. Naming every country a person has lived in, doesn't really help readers. (What if his parents were from Austria and Switzerland? Does this make him a Polish-Dutch-Austrian-Swiss scientist??) Ludwig van Beethoven is referred to as a German musician and composer, allthough his name indicates that his parents and ancestors were from Flanders (Belgium), he was born in Bonn (in present-day Germany), but he spent most of his life in Austria - according to this article, he would ba a Flemish-German-Austrian musician and composer. The article "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart" doesn't contain any information concerning his nationality at all, because he was born in Salzburg (independent ecclesiastical state, 1278-1803), spent most of his life in Austria, but his parents were from Augsburg (Germany)and St. Gilgen (independent Archbishopric of Salzburg). My suggestion: skip the info concerning the nationality, because it's unknown whether he ever referred to himself as a Dutchman, German or Pole.Johnny2323 (talk) 17:15, 14 May 2011 (UTC)

Again, what matters is how he is described in reliable sources. Beethoven is not described as German-Belgian in sources. Fahrenheit *is* described as Dutch-Polish in sources. It doesn't matter what he referred to himself as. What matters is what sources refer to him as. Pretty much anything else is OR.

Incidentally, if we were to remove a nationality from the three, the German one is the least often mentioned one in sources (not surprisingly since this kind of designation comes about mostly from conflation of Dutchness and Germaness) so it should be the first to go.Volunteer Marek (talk) 20:42, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

I believe the "Polish" description should be dropped, or as a compromise, there should be no mention of nationality at all. There is no evidence Fahrenheit (like Copernicus) identified himself as a Pole or knew a word of the Polish language. All of his letters are in German or Latin. The fact that Gdansk (Danzig) became a part of Poland in 1945 does not retroactively change centuries of previous history. (Was Cicero an "Italian" or a Roman?) I have no bias against Poland, but this historical revisionism is not based on evidence. I am so tired of the English-language Wikipedia being used as a battleground for petty inter-ethnic conflicts and radical ultra-nationalists from around the world. Giordano Bruno (talk) 18:51, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

There's no point in speculating in how Fahrenheit regarded himself or how he felt or what he fancied. All that doesn't matter. What matters is how reliable English language sources describe him. And a large number of them - as shown above - do mention his "Polishness". If you're "tired of the English-language Wikipedia being used ... radical ultra-nationalists from around the world" then you might want to ask the (English, American etc) authors of the above given sources why are they promoting this kind of insane "radical ultra-nationalism". If you're "tired of the English-language Wikipedia being used as a battleground for petty inter-ethnic conflicts" then you might want to refrain from trying to inflame an issue that appears to be essentially settled, as is the case here.Volunteer Marek (talk) 20:36, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

I think this discussion is pointless. Fahrenheit's first language was without doubt German, Danzig was politically a part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth(although its inhabitants were mostly of German origin), he spent most of his life in the Netherlands.

But people in the 17th/18th century didn't think in "national" categories. At the same time, Stralsund and Wismar were part of Sweden, but obviously the inhabitants of these cities were mainly Germans - and if asked, they would have said: "I am a citizen of the Hanseatic city of Wismar/Stralsund and subject of the king of Sweden." Nobody would call a famous person born in a part of Swedish-Pomerania "German-Pomeranian-Swedish". This "Dutch-German-Polish" is clearly POV, as mentioned above: "In ALL other wikipedia- languages" - including Czech and Russian! - "the articles on Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit refer to him as a German".

(By the way: I remember a discussion with a former teacher born in a village near Königsberg, and he said: "If you were a Protestant, people called you German, if you were Catholic, you were called Polish. In reality, we were all of Masurian origin.") 87.188.206.95 (talk) 12:48, 28 May 2011 (UTC)

Why don't you make it as in the artcle about George Washington for example. "Ethnicity: German; subject to the Polish king" (who oddly enough also was German by that time, namely August the Strong). Fahrenheit's family is from Hildesheim, his grandfather then moved to Rostock and from there to Königsberg. His mother (a born Schumann) and her family are natives of Danzig. None of the names indicate a Polish ethnicity and it's ridiculous to talk about nationality at that time, nation states first developed in the 19th century. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.172.34.202 (talk) 13:14, 12 June 2011 (UTC)

Look, you can argue, opine and fulminate all you want, but at the end of the day all what matters is how he is described in sources. Volunteer Marek  17:23, 30 October 2012 (UTC)

Wrong date of birth in box in the article of Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit by wikipedia

Wrong date of birth in box in the article of Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit by wikipedia —Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.211.83.26 (talk) 14:49, 24 May 2011 (UTC)

This page consisted of material which was in duplicate, one page worth right after the other. In case I missed something, I am placing what I removed here for safekeeping. Here it is:

---

>

Jihadcola (talk) 17:10, 11 November 2012 (UTC)

There's no point in having a duplicate of the article on the talk page, hence I've removed it from here. Editors can always check the article history to see if something was missed.Volunteer Marek 06:25, 24 January 2013 (UTC)

europe

Until the switch to the Celsius scale, the Fahrenheit scale was widely used in Europe

Is this an accurate story? Noting that the boiling/melting points of water had already been proposed in the preceding century (e.g. Huygens) for defining a universal scale.. was it just that nobody else was selling mercury thermometers? Kind of weasely wording at any rate.. Cesiumfrog (talk) 22:48, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

Nationality vs. Ethnicity

User:Zacwill, first off, I don't appreciate you language it's arrogant and condescending. Now, in regards to Daniel Fahrenheit, you need to understand that nationality is not the same thing as ethnicity. Fahrenheit was ethnically German. But, his nationality was Polish and Dutch… in fact Fahrenheit never resided in any of the "German" states of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. And this catch-all approach that anyone that's ethnically German is a "German" in the modern sense is down right dishonest and has no basis in how other Wikipedia articles are written.

Also, to address your uninformed opinion and statement: "DiCaprio is not culturally German and does not speak the German language. Fahrenheit did." If you think that language is what defines your nationality/ethnicity you are way off. Celine Dion is a CANADIAN singer, not a FRENCH singer, so just cause she speaks French as a French Canadian does not give her an automatic link to the mother country. Perhaps, all Scots are English because they speak the English language?

BTW, pls see the List of Baltic Germans notice how they are all identified by the Country they are from (Russia, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, etc.)… not automatically labeled as German in the modern sense. If anything, Fahrenheit would be a German-Pole. --E-960 (talk) 12:53, 22 May 2016 (UTC)

I don't agree that it's dishonest to call Germans Germans. Some people do now use the term 'German' in the very narrow sense of 'person from the Federal Republic of Germany,' but that doesn't mean we have to do the same. If you really think that calling him German is likely to confuse readers we can say 'Baltic German' or 'Germanic'. I'll even agree to 'German-Polish', just so long as his actual identity isn't completely erased. Zacwill (talk) 13:30, 22 May 2016 (UTC)

I would be ok with using the term German-Pole (Deutsche Polen) — just like French-Canadian or Polish-American — which is what German minority in Poland article provides as a generic term given to "Germans" living in Poland; whether they held any allegiance or not, they were subjects and/or citizens of the Polish state. --E-960 (talk) 16:12, 22 May 2016 (UTC)

The initial compromise following the discussion above was "Dutch-German-Polish"[2], the "German" somehow disappeared. I would support this compromise or the Copernikus solution (leave it out completely). HerkusMonte (talk) 12:41, 23 May 2016 (UTC)

If we must tack on a nationality, I would prefer that it be just Polish. Identifying him with three countries is ridiculous. Zacwill (talk) 14:13, 23 May 2016 (UTC)

All that matters for Wikipedia is how sources describe him. And for that please see above. This has already been discussed to death.Volunteer Marek (talk) 23:37, 27 May 2016 (UTC)

But the result of the discussion above was "Dutch-German-Polish" as suggested by you, Marek. As you said in in 2011: "This isn't to deny that some sources call him German (or Polish born German or similar). Just that he is very often listed as "Polish Dutch" and similar. Can we go with "Dutch-German-Polish"? I think that should satisfy everyone" HerkusMonte (talk) 07:59, 28 May 2016 (UTC)

Yeah, that's fine.Volunteer Marek (talk) 16:40, 30 May 2016 (UTC)

The cultural appropiation must stop. Fahrenheit was not of Polish ethnicity. That Poland exerted a - very weak - suzerainty on Prussia at that time, does not make him an ethnic Pole. If we take political suzerainty that absolute, every Pole born in Congress Poland and even more in Vistula Land, has to be considered a Russian. Gun Powder Ma (talk) 22:54, 8 July 2016 (UTC)

As has already been explained a couple dozen times, all that matters is how sources describe him. Read the previous discussions first.Volunteer Marek (talk) 23:02, 15 August 2016 (UTC)

Moving Fahrenheit Scale over to Fahrenheit scale article

So another article for the Fahrenheit scale exists already. There is considerable controversy over its development which I'll be writing more about so I think much of what is mentioned here should eventually be moved and integrated into the Fahrenheit scale article. If anyone has any thoughts on this, let me know, please. Nysus (talk) 16:48, 4 December 2023 (UTC)