Connection Finder Planning 2022 [closed]

Question

Hi there!

We're working on the plans for the example profiles and themes used in the Connection Finder for 2022 and want your input. 

If you have ideas for EPOWs (example profiles of the week) or themes for the empty days (Wednesdays are the feature days), speak up! We really need help improving profiles and their genealogy. It's a great opportunity to highlight collaboration within our community. 

We can't guarantee your idea will be used, but we track every. single. idea. that comes in, and we may use it in the future, so don't be afraid to throw something out there. This post gets updated as plans are made or changed (which happens frequently), so be sure to follow the "epow" and/or "connection_finder" tags to keep apprised of what's happening.

All plans are subject to last minute changes due to current events and updates in information. These are suggestions and may not be what the final theme is for that week. 

November

• 2 GOATs
• 9 Notable Military Heroes
• 16 Disney Icons
• 23 Mayflower Passengers
• 30 Harry Potter and the Potterverse

December

• 7 
• 14 Business Tycoons
• 21 Classic Christmas Film Stars
• 28 Extraordinary Voices (renowned vocalists)

(next year's planning post will be coming up near the end of November)

Let us know what you think; if you have a different idea for who to feature or what theme to use, just speak up!

Here are our general guidelines for choosing and working on EPOWs.

Comments

Where can we find a list of the past themes, so as to avoid making suggestions for things that have already been done?

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Hi Julie,

I'll put something on the EPOW space later today. It's okay to repeat some themes, especially where they're especially appropriate to a date or have a lot of options so there are fewer profile repeats.

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Thank you.

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Hello Julie,

I have a start on the EPOW page with 2021 to date. I'll add previous years as I have time over the next week or two.

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Thanks, Abby.

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I have no idea what date would be applicable but I've often wondered what profiles are the furthest back,  How about the 10 persons who are born the closest to year zero?  If they're that far back they are probably connected. The only way we find any of these persons normally is if we're following a relationship chain backwards.  Might be fun to approach it from the other direction and it seems that it would attract people to find out if they have a relationship to one of those profiles

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I love this last idea--very old profiles with interesting, readable biographies that are very well sourced, perhaps by the Musty Dusty team or their equivalent.

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Instead of an American theme for the 29th June, why not make it about Shakespeare, and involve the larger (international) community?  (And, yes, I know it was to be 4th July themed, and has recently been changed.)

The 29th June 1613 was when Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London burnt down during a performance of "Henry VIII".
He wrote so much, and so many people from around the world have acted in his plays, or in movies based on his plays, that there should be a wealth of profiles we could look at.

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See the excellent idea from Léa Haupaix and the French Project for a French New Wave film theme, following the deaths of directors Jean-Luc Godard and Alain Tanner.

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Are there proposed categories for November?

Answer 1

I've been trying to think further out so that the group has time for vetting. Here are some ideas:

• The Perseid meteor shower is usually around August 11-12. We could do famous Astronomers. Alternatively, we could do that on November 17-18 for the Orionids or December 13-14 for the Geminids.
• August 13 is left-handers day. We could do famous southpaws.
• August 26 is Women's Equality Day. We could do famous suffragettes.
• September 22 is Hobbit Day. We could feature Tolkien for EPOW and then do actors from any of the movies or famous fans or other Inklings. Tolkien's birthday is January 3 so we could do that day instead.
• September 16 is Mexican Independence Day. We could do famous Mexicans.
• September 21 is the International Day of Peace. We could do Nobel Peace Prize winners.
• October 31 is Juliette Gordon Lowe's birthday. She could be the EPOW and the rest could be famous Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.

Comments

I like every one of your suggestions Beverly.

Answer 2

I've created many fun "Spaces" for famous film frachinces. Doing one on the films of Mel Brooks would be fun - https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:The_Films_of_Mel_Brooks

Comments

John, I love this project! Are you aware that there is a place where you can add links to your Free Space project pages on the Notables Page? It would be great if you could add links to your pages so that we can see what all you've been working on, and perhaps even offer you some assistance. Let me know if you need help with this.

Notables Project Page

Answer 3

In trying to come up with some ideas for the August Connection Finders, I discovered that August 31 is Maria Montessori's birthday. How about famous teachers/educators? A few that immediately come to mind are: 

William Holmes McGuffey (McGuffey Readers)

Booker T. Washington

Anne Sullivan (Helen Keller's teacher)

Christa McAuliffe (Teacher in Space)

All have fully developed WikiTree profiles, and all are connected to the Big Tree.

Answer 4

Aug 3 is Tom Brady's Birthday. What about NFL players for that week?

Answer 5

What about famous landscape architects, such as Frederick Law Olmsted?

Comments

Maya Lin would also be a good choice in this category. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lin-167 2022 is the 40th anniversary of the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that she designed. The dedication occurred on November 13, 1988.

Answer 6

If there is nothing scheduled for Wednesday, November 23, 2022 — how about "Diminutive Performers"?

I am thinking specifically of actors (stage and screen, and circus performers, rather than folk such as Napoleon but it could be made broader if others think that's too narrow a focus.

Names that come immediately to mind are David Rappaport (Time Bandits, The Wizard) — the 23rd November would have been his 71st birthday; Kenny Baker (R2D2 in Star Wars); Jack Purvis (Time Bandits, Star Wars); Verne Troyer (Mini-Me in Austin Powers, Griphook in Harry Potter); Warwick Davis (Willow, Star Wars) - and his daughter Annabelle Davis (another Living Notable - Star Wars, and some English television shows); Annabelle's maternal grandfather Peter Burroughs (Star Wars, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, Willow, Flash Gordon); Michael Dunn (Star Wars, The Wild, Wild West would need to be Connected before he could be featured); Hervé Villechaize (Fantasy Island, The Man with the Golden Gun); Zelda Rubinstein (Poltergeist, Teen Witch, Picket Fences — I did not find a profile).

edited 20221019 to note that Michael Dunn is Connected.
edited 20230628 to add WT link for Annabelle Davis

Comments

Eddie Gaedel who was the shortest player in Major League Baseball (MLB) history would fit in this category.  https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Gaedel-1 He was a professional performer, belonging to the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA) and he was paid under the AGBA pay scale for his one MLB appearance. He walked in his one time at bat that occurred on August 19, 1951.

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Thanks for that addition, Russell.

It is noted on Peter Burroughs's profile that he and Warwick Davis created Willow — "an agency that treats those actors who are shorter in stature with dignity and respect, and works hard to align them with roles that will not only suit their needs but also help to further their career".  It might be possible to find other worthy, and well-known, actors on the list of Willow members (if that's available), or maybe by checking "dwarfism" on Wikipedia.

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Michael Dunn was Connected some while ago, but Rappaport, Troyer, and Villechaize still need to be Connected.  (Villechaize also needs the LNAB changed from his mother's maiden surname.)

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Add another female to the list.  Debbie Lee Carrington.

Also, Hervé Villechaize's last name at birth still has not been corrected, as it is still his mother's maiden surname.

Answer 7

Since the week of August 10th is still open, how about using that week's theme to highlight veterans of WWII?  Or highlighting outstanding people from the war?  Generals, and spys and strategists? The war officially ended on the 14th of August, so it would seem an appropriate time.

Answer 8

For the week of August 17th, how about doing a Woodstock theme?  Famous bands and the organizers

Comments

Jimi Hendrix is connected!

Answer 9

September 7th was the birthdate of financial tycoons JP Morgan, John Paul Getty, and E.F. Hutton. It is also the birthdate of Buddy Holly, Gloria Gaynor, and Grandma Moses.

September 7 was also the date of the 1st Miss America contest and the date Bill Shoemaker became the "winningest" jockey in history.

Answer 10

September 14, 1939 was the first practical flight of the helicopter designed by Igor Stkorsky. Famous aviators could be moved to that date.

Answer 11

Perhaps prisoners of war? 

From https://www.military.com/pow-mia-recognition-day

POW/MIA Recognition Day is commemorated on the third Friday of every September, a date that's not associated with any particular war. In 1979, Congress and the president passed resolutions making it official after the families of the more than 2,500 Vietnam War POW/MIAs pushed for full accountability.

I know the link is US centric but ...

Answer 12

How about family tree skeletons for a week in October.  Pick some famous lawbreakers or wayward people-all countries must have at least one. Forgers, counterfeiters, con-men, embezzlers, stuff like that.

Comments

Thanks, Susanna.

Answer 13

The end of September marks Hispanic Hertage Month (I think it's the 15 of Sept to 15 Oct).  How about a week honoring Hispanic trailblazers.

Answer 14

Hispanic heritage month Sept-Oct.

Galvez-10, Arango-53 (Panch Villa), Yorba-10, Clemente-89, Juarez-128, Kahlo-3, Rivera-950.

Comments

Thanks, Susanna.

Answer 15

World Animal Day is celebrated on October 4th -  https://nationaltoday.com/world-animal-day/

Some examples of notables who could be included for a connection finder related to animals:

* Stephen Backshall - (Backshall-111) - Naturalist, TV personality, and animal expert/new animal species finder (Now opened as a living notable)

* Jane Goodall (Morris-Goodall-1) - Chimpanzee expert

* Hugh Lofting (Lofting-7) - Author of Dr. Dolittle who could talk to the animals (Recently connected profile)

* Frederick Douglass Patterson (Patterson-14581) - Tuskegee's  President who founded the Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine

* Charles Whitman - (Whitman-5079) - Zoologist influential to the founding of classical ethology (study of animal behavior)

* Angus Young (Young-18677) - Actor who played the owner of TV talking horse Mr. Ed and the voice of Disney character Scrooge McDuck.

Comments

Thanks, Russell.

Answer 16

I know it’s too late for this year but Aug 13th is Left-Handed Day. There are many people who are/were left-handed to choose from. Some examples: Oprah, Ruth Bader Ginsburg (dec), Prince William and several other royals, Neil Armstrong, Leonardo da Vinci (dec), Paul McCartney, Napoleon Bonaparte (dec), Barak Obama plus other US presidents, Angelina Jolie, Keanu Reeves, Lady Gaga, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs (dec), Mark Zuckerberg, Amar Bose, Jimmy Hendrix (dec), Julia Roberts, Charlie Chaplin (dec), Morgan Freeman, Lewis Carroll (dec), Hugh Jackman, Joan of Arc (dec), Mozart (dec), Helen Keller (dec), Emma Thompson, Babe Ruth (dec), Marie Currie (dec) & husband Pierre Currie (dec), Michelangelo (dec), Aristotle (dec), Julius Ceasar (dec), Kurt Cobain (dec), David Bowie (dec), Mother Theresa (dec).

And me lol!

Comments

Thanks, Lisa.

Answer 17

Since it's still blank, the American Labor Day is recognized the week of 7 Sep, so we could recognize labor activists from around the world. A few starters, some needing connections, could include:

Gerrard Winstanley, leader of the Diggers movement in England in the 1600s

Bayard Rustin, noted civil, gay, & labor rights activist

Cesar Chavez, leader of the United Farm Workers

A. Philip Randolph, civil & labor rights leader, founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first major Black union in the US

& Walter Reuther, United Auto Workers leader

Comments

Great idea, Thomas. This Women in Labor History list might be useful.

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Yes, thank you! Lucy Parsons was at the top of my list, but sadly I could find no profile for her (might have to fix that!). I do see Emma Goldman's got a nice-looking profile, though she's unconnected.

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Oops- just found Lucy Parsons- guess things get a little confusing when someone's background has disputed for a long time. One does have to ask, especially given the explanation on her profile, why Gonzalez is still listed as her LNAB. Regardless, the profile is lovely & should definitely be used.

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Well found, Thomas. 7 September is now Elizabethans, but your idea would be very worthwhile another time.

Joe Hill also has a profile meeting most or all of the EPOW criteria.

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Joe Hill was the featured profile Oct 4, 2021, which is long enough ago he could be a support profile for another theme at some time.

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Yes, Hill was last featured at my recommendation, I believe, for the theme on folk musicians. Would love to have him featured again, but held off on listing him because he'd been my suggestion last time too.

Ah well, there are plenty of labor anniversaries & holidays here in the US, & the world 'round- I'm sure it's a theme that can be reconsidered for another week.

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I agree it would be a good theme. May day 2023  perhaps.

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Annie Besant  (match girls strike) has photo, bio and connected 

Mary MacArthur , Cradley Heath chainmakers strike, Trade Unionist,  not connected needs photo and improved bio

George Loveless  Leader of Tolpuddle Martyrs.   Connected, brief bio, photo of commemorative plaque at Canadian burial site.

Answer 18

Hi! I'd like to submit Jorge Alejandro Newbery , Argentinian aviation pioneer in the "Aviators" category. Project Latin America has just connected him to the global tree. 

Answer 19

I'm a real newbie to Wikitree but I my teacher training tutor and I were using celebration days - like national salami day.. to add some interest to training during lockdowns.

One of those was Grandma Moses on September 7th. I have absolutely no idea who she is but from her photos on the page that tells you of what days is, she looks lovely. 1860, 7 Sept was her birthday. Her full name is Anna Mary Robertson Moses. It could be people with the Moses or biblical theme or famous grandmas.

Is this the kind of thing you do? Start from somewhere then find out interesting facts about someone then see if anyone is related?

It sounds intriguing and I can't wait to understand this site enough to be able to join in

Comments

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Robertson-3751

Was a "folk artist" - and a centenarian (we recently did a Centenarian theme week).  I know we've done artists, or painters, but can't recall if we've covered folk art.

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We had folk music, but not folk art. I'd love to have that as a theme sometime

Answer 20

The Latin America project would like to suggest Alberto Santos-Dumont for the 2nd week of September when you feature aviators. Is there another post I should be adding him to?

Comments

Hi Mindy,

Once the Aviators post is live, that's where he needs to be! Thanks!