Talk:Thomas Sheridan (actor)

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Thomas Sheridan shouldn't be labelled as an actor

At the moment the title of this page is "Thomas Sheridan (actor)". But his notability is not for acting:

(1) He permanently quit acting when aged in his late thirties and wrote a handful of books about British education, and especially about standardising the English language, and it is these books that are his primary claim to fame today. They have nothing to do with acting.

(2) When working as an actor in his twenties and thirties, he was also (a) a theatre manager, and (b) a theatre play director, and (c) he wrote at least one play himself.

Therefore entitling the page "Thomas Sheridan (actor)" is wrong. I suggest "Thomas Sheridan (1719–1788)" or "Thomas Sheridan, educator" or "Thomas Sheridan (1719–1788), educator". I intend to change it to one of those. Seanwal111111 (talk) 01:50, 24 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

It is not normal to have dates in article titles and so I have reverted. The (actor) version seems quite reasonable as he was the most famous actor in Ireland in his day and the sources emphasise this. For example, Britannica has as its lead, "Irish-born actor and theatrical manager and father of the dramatist Richard Brinsley Sheridan.". It doesn't even mention elocution there. Colonel Warden (talk) 07:54, 24 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Accepting it's not normal to have dates in article titles, I intend to rename it "Thomas Sheridan, educator". I believe I have already explained why "actor" is inappropriate, and if you read the Wikipedia article itself you can reach the same conclusion. Seanwal111111 (talk) 18:55, 24 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The Dictionary of Irish Biography (Boylan), has Thomas Sheridan, actor. I feel that this fits the bill. I'll check tomorrow what the new large Irish biographical dictionary has to say. Hohenloh⁺ 22:43, 24 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The Dictionary of Irish Biography, published last year by the Royal Irish Academy, has "Thomas Sheridan, actor, theatre manager and orator" (Volume 8, page 619). Hohenloh⁺ 17:49, 25 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]