Connection Finder & Checkers Planning 2024

Question

Hello WikiTreers!

How is it almost 2024?!?

We're working on the plans for the example profiles and themes used in the Connection Finder and for the Connection Checkers game for 2024 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 need YOUR 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, WikiTree Challenges, notable deaths, and updates in information. These are loose plans and may not be what the final theme is for that week.

May

• 29 Auto Racers

June

• 5 80th Anniversary of D-Day (WWII Heroes)
• 12 Known as Fathers
• 19 War of the Roses
• 26 Canadian Notables (1st Canada Day)

July

• 3 US Independence Day
• 10
• 17  Tour de France? (Bicycle related)
• 24 Utah Pioneers
• 31 Summer Olympics

August

• 7 Multiples (Twins fest)
• 14 Lefties (13th)
• 21 Redheads (Redhead fest)
• 28

September

• 4
• 11 First Responders
• 18
• 25 Maritime Notables (26th)

October

• 2 Shepherds (Trailing of the Sheep)
• 9
• 16 Cold War
• 23 Cricket
• 30 Halloween-related theme; Boxers? (anniversary Rumble in the Jungle)

November

• 6 President-related
• 13 Notables Veterans? Royalty (KCIII Bday 14)
• 20 Mathematicians (Benoît Mandelbrot's 100th birthday)
• 27 Thanksgiving related theme (Indigenous people?)

December

• 4 Jamestown Thanksgiving (4th)
• 11 ?Nobel Prize (10th)
• 18 2024 Memorial
• 25 Christmas related theme ?Scrooge

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

Is there a more up to date list of previous themes than https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:EPOW ?

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There are archive categories which give you the themes and profiles by year.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Featured_Connections_Archive

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The 2023 list of features by date doesn't seem to be complete there. For those you can select from

https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/tag/epow

and its successor pages.

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Thank you Joe and Jim.

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Appreciation: Thank you Abby for offering us this opportunity to place recommendations. I always have fun with all of them. Again Thank you

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Appreciation: Thank you Joe for this url: It is nice to see what has been observed in the past and by year.

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Please note that Thanksgiving is in October in Canada.

Could we use holidays from countries other than the US?

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hi Culley, that's a whole 'nother thread LOL (beware it got a bit heated)

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Culley, it's a great suggestion. How about picking a holiday and giving some suggestion on what profiles you might showcase.

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Inventors from all countries. You can choose one from your own country.

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The date of Arbour/Arbor Day or equivalent differs by country (and sometimes by state).  The 26th April is USA.

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Like Canadians for Canada Day! Mix the people up.

Like Anne Murray, past PMs, Sport figures...

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Has Agathe de St-Père ever been featured?  Notable woman entrepreneur in early days of the colony here.  I can fix up her profile, which does need a bit of clean-up.

Answer 1

Greetings Abby, as a Veteran, I would say the week of Nov 11th (or anytime really) would be a Veteran Theme. I found a Veteran today in Nevada that his remains went unclaimed and he didn't receive a proper burial until 2017.  Other Veteran ideas - Veterans still MIA, Unclaimed Remains, Medal of Honor Recipients

Comments

As an Australian, I support Nov 11th. The end of the Great War is widely acknowledged.

It also celebrated in Poland as National Independence Day.

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I agree Kimberly. I as a Woman Veteran always appreciate any time related to us women and men veterans and to include all the past battles. Many in our family have been unrated for the sacrifices they made, no matter what side they were on.

That is unfortunate but still, an interesting find on the Veteran in Nevada, thank you for sharing. Yes three very good recommendations that may be under-looked.

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Hey Alice, it broke my heart when I found the article.  They have a group trying to locate family of the unclaimed (I'm sure it's not just in Nevada), which is awesome.

I'm creating profiles for Northern Nevda Veterans Memorial Cemetery and I created one this week for a Marine Corps PFC from WWII.  Her headstone reads "Mommie off another journey"  Sounds like she paved her own way

Military themes open up the opportunity to many types of profiles being highlighted, cannot wait to read the stories and (hopefully) view the photos.  

Have an awesome day and thank you for your service!

Answer 2

June 14th  Flag Day USA  and Dave Draper's Birthday! (and two of my kids's birthday!  Abby is my 9th cousin

Comments

David, you were born on the anniversary of National Flag Day and I was born on the Anniversary of D-Day.  

So in honor of the 80th Anniversary of D-Day, another idea would be D-Day 80th anniversary or Battle of Normandy ideas (I think my father planned that I would be born on that day) 

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D-Day is "Draper Day"  right? 

Kimberly is my cousin! 18th cousin twice removed

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Of course Cousin David, at the very least 14 Jun is!

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I'm on the anniversary of Pearl Harbour.  I guess that's not really something to celebrate, but it helps my kids remember my b'day.

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Happy early birthday Brenda.  That's how they taught me my birthday and then later they added on the anniversary of the death of JFK.

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Thank you, Kimberly.

Answer 3

How about those born in 1924? Here are a few names to start -

Actor Dennis Weaver

Actress  Cicely Tyson

Comedian - Alan Sherman

Comments

Love Cicely Tyson

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US politician Shirley Chisholm was born 1924. 

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Add to that list:

Jimmy Carter (October 1st)

Lauren Bacall

James Baldwin

Billy Barty

Marlon Brando

Truman Capote

Benny Hill

Don Knotts

Tom Landry

Audie Murphy

Carroll O'Connor

Rod Serling

Gloria Vanderbilt

Sarah Vaughn

Answer 4

8 March 2024 is International Women's Day.

An all-female theme for 6 March or 13 March, perhaps women novelists, women artists, or women world leaders, would help to redress the significant under-representation of women in EPOW features.

More generally, it is important to choose themes throughout the year where women can equally be included, and then for nominations to those themes to cover at least as many women as men.

Comments

Thanks Jim, those stats are not happy reading  we need a lot more women-only themes to make a tiny dent in them, and not just for EPOW

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Great work Jim, thanks for doing this.

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A feature on Ziegfeld Girls would be awesome.

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Great idea, Jim!

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Maybe instead of Presidents’ Day presidents.. it’s all wife of… or spouse of…

I know there are many women in the world now and past to be covered, but if we mostly have presidents covered.. go to their wives, kids etc.

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Thank you for pencilling in International Women's Day, Abby. But there's a long way to go. If every three weeks there were a women-only feature, and as well the intervening two weeks averaged 50/50, then with 12 profiles a week the increment over three weeks would be 24 women out of 36 total. At that rate, it would take 96 weeks to catch up from the present cumulative 353/1082 fraction of women (32.6% since January 2022) to 1121/2234 (50.2%).

One idea would be to convert some of the foreshadowed themes to women only. For example, we could look at whether this might work for Notables Born in 1924 (e.g. in acting), Poets, Eurovision, and Royalty. Perhaps themes like Signers of the Declaration of Arbroath which are likely to be all male or nearly so should also be reconsidered.

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The purpose of this list is to establish that there are many suitable notable profiles of women born in 1924, so an all-women "Notables Born in 1924" theme is viable. All these profiles have an image and at least an adequate short biography, if not better. Twice as many profiles as the weekly complement of 12 have been provided, to demonstrate that there are plenty to choose from, and that there will be enough even if several of these are eliminated for some reason.

1. Alice Babs (1924-2014) CC7 38, Sweden
2. Lauren Bacall (1924-2014) CC7 1258, USA
3. Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005) CC7 85, USA
4. Colleen Rose Dewhurst (1924-1991) CC7 1224, Canada/USA
5. Nina Foch (1924-2008) CC7 39, Netherlands/USA
6. Janet Frame (1924-2004) CC7 588, NZ
7. Margaret Fulton (1924-2019) CC7 59, Scotland/Australia
8. Frances Marie Gage (1924-2017) CC7 366, Canada
9. Samia Gamal (1924-1994) CC7 54, Egypt
10. Susan Nona (Heald) Hibbert (1924-2009) CC7 2595, UK
11. Betty Jean (Jennings) Bartik (1924-2011) CC7 209, USA
12. Katy Jurado (1924-2002) CC7 229, México
13. Julia Verlyn LaMarsh (1924-1980) CC7 86, Canada
14. Dorothy Malone (1924-2018) CC7 356, USA
15. Bette Clair (McMurray) Graham (1924-1980) CC7 699, USA
16. Noreen Nash (1924-2023) CC7 248, USA
17. Elinor Catherine (Nicholson) Hamlin (1924-2020) CC7 656, Australia/Ethiopia
18. Christine Norden (1924-1988) CC7 370, UK
19. Patricia (Roberts) Harris (1924-1985) CC7 95, USA
20. Mary Catherine (Small) Long (1924-2019) CC7 106, USA
21. Brett Somers (1924-2007) CC7 574, Canada/USA
22. Cicely Tyson (1924-2021) CC7 149, USA
23. Clara Ward (1924-1973) CC7 342, USA
24. Dinah Washington (1924-1963) CC7 177, USA.

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Here's an attempt at a list for Eurovision. Probably not enough for an all-woman theme, but 50/50 may be achievable.

• Cecelia Ahern unconnected, Ireland
• Patricia Bredin (1935-2023) CC7 576, England/Canada, no image
• Celine Dion CC7 1558, Canada
• Françoise Dorin (1928-2018) CC7 45, France
• France Gall (1947-2018) CC7 145, France
• Lulu CC7 170, Scotland.

Answer 5

Hello Abby,

How about the few who have won the Indianapolis 500 two or more times? The Indianapolis 500 is the largest single day sporting event in the world. Only four drivers have won four times, seven have won three times and only ten or so have won twice since the first race in 1911. This would be perfect for the week prior to the race (22 May) Memorial Day Weekend, or any time in the month of May.

Here's an example of one 4-time winner profile, Alfred Unser Sr. 

Edited to add the profile above...

Comments

Tour de France would be cool. If only we could be sure that it's going to be a thing at least 2 months in advance, we might have a French profile ready and connected.

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For the "German week" I suggested below, we have enough connected profiles we could highlight, but I also need time to write decent biographies. It would be good if we knew that at the start of May the latest.

Yes Abby, your "alerts" 36 hours in advance or even later are far too late!

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Jelena,

I can't give more alert than what I already do; that's why I share the rough plans. I often have to change the theme at the last minute and end up doing much work myself. WikiTree encourages well-written biographies and good connections, so there's no harm in taking the time to do so if the theme is a possibility. The "alert" is meant to be a last-minute tidy not a call to suddenly bring the profile up to standards that it should probably already be on its way to.

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Abby, as a coordinator of the German Project I see how much work there is done after the "last minute alert", as you call it. How much cleanup and still improvement there is done and how long it takes.

This is just why I already advocate for years to get the "last minute call" at least one week earlier. And I won't stop to advocate for that until it is eventually and finally put in practice.

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One week is available; the profiles aren't chosen until the following week and having them already brought up to a reasonable standard makes them more likely to be chosen. I literally cannot give more time than I do. The system wouldn't work the way it's intended if there were more time; we have to ride on the current events wave and it changes far too quickly to move things further out than they are.

My recommendation is, always has been, and will continue to be, that a profile shouldn't be nominated until it's close to ready to go. That's the way the original Profile of the Week posts used to work. You nominated profiles you'd worked on or came across that were in great shape. If you a know a theme is coming up, work on a profile and get it ready ahead of nominating it. There's obviously the possibility it won't be used. Unfortunately, the Team is limited on space for connections and has certain criteria we use to decide which profiles to use based on several things discussed in other posts. It's highly unlikely that the few days heads up will ever change, unless the entire Featured Connections process and goals change.

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It's highly unlikely that the few days heads up will ever change, unless the entire Featured Connections process and goals change.

I was in the team that worked with the profiles around Albert Einstein when he was once chosen (note - not that much with Einsteins profile itself, but with his wives and children mostly). There was so much editing and discussion about those profiles which lasted nearly until the weekend when he was already in the shown profiles. Someone who had a look on the profiles of his wives on Wednesday would have been astonished to see the profile on Saturday.

So yes, one week can make a big difference.

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The best thing that you can do is ...

- If you are interested in a particular theme, start working on some of the significant profiles now. Don't wait for the "last Call". This way, a particular theme has a higher chance of being selected.

- If you are interested in a particular theme but few if any profiles meet the guidelines, create and start working on those profiles now. This way, a particular theme has a higher chance of being selected.

Hope this helps!

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This helps, but it doesn't change anything to the problem I call out for years: That the last calls are far too late. It's not only me who is complaining about it, but I am the loudest of all. I see that every time I mention it in the "What's your wish for WikiTree for (the next year)?" -thread. And I think on behalf of *all* Projects, it would be better to have an earlier call.

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As Abby said, the last calls are to give others a chance to make any last minute changes or additions to existing profiles. I agree though that if you have an unfinished profile, it may be too late at that point. An example a last minute change would be if someone passed away recently and it was not yet updated to show that fact.

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Indy 500 is well known in New Zealand, however for some Southern Hemisphere balance, hoe about Bathhurst? Or the connections of Melbourne cup Winners?

Answer 6

• The Global Project relaunches in January - each country that has a project manager/co-ordinator should be asked for 50/50 nominations for their chosen theme and then those themes could get put to a G2G vote (there are potentially 195 countries so too many for one year ).

• And pleeeeeaase no Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas... again. Or 9/11 (the Disasters project doesn't work on anything less than 75 years, so I suggest connection finders shouldn't either unless there is equal coverage of other worldwide disasters).

Comments

As an alternative to Halloween, Diwali begins on 31st Oct in 2024 (and lasts 5 days).  Notables whose name or achievements are connected to light, perhaps?

And thinking along the same lines, 25th march 2024 will be Holi, the Hindu Festival of Colour, so maybe notables with colour related last names?

Answer 7

2024 is a leap year, so how about some notable "leaplings"?  The examples I came up with would all need some work as they are unconnected, but there must be others. (They're also all American. The internet is biased ) 

Al Rosen US baseball player b 29 Feb 1924 

Dinah Shore US singer and actress b 29 Feb 1916

"Mother" Ann Lee founding leader of the Shakers in America b 29 Feb 1735/6

ETA: James Milne Wilson, 8th Premier of Tasmania is a rare example of someone who was born on a leap day (in 1812) and also died on a leap day (in 1880).

Other ideas: 

International Holocaust Memorial Day is 27th January.  (Notables who perished / who survived?) 

Notable gardeners, horticulturalists etc. Examples (British this time ): 

Gertrude Jekyll (has over 2,000 connections)

Lancelot "Capability" Brown (has 1,475 connections) 

Comments

Notables born in 1824? More British bias with these two, but I'm sure others can find examples from their own countries:

Samuel Plimsoll British politician, social reformer and inventor of the Plimsoll line b 10 Feb 1824 (777 connections)

Wilkie Collins British novelist, author and playwright (The Woman in White) b 8 Jan 1824 (685 connections)

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Every Wikipedia-version has a page dedicated to every day of the year. Well, English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Serbian, Norwegian, Portuguese and Dutch have at least. And every version has partly different people who were born that day. Sometimes they are so widely known that they are available in all languages, But there are enough ideas to find people who were born on February 29.

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There was a thread on Leap Day babies 4 years ago with a fine variety of profiles mentioned. Possibly a good starting point.

Answer 8

Greetings Abby and all, 2 additional ideas

World Tourism Day 27 Sep 2024

Explorers That Changed the World Of Travel

Cristoforo Colombo (Christopher Columbus) (connected), Elizabeth Cochran Seaman Aka Nellie Bly (connected), Gertrude Bell (connected), Idris Hall Aka Aloha Wanderwell Baker (connected but only 81), Marco Polo (does have a profile), Sir Richard Francis Burton (connected)

Dreamers Who Changed the World Of Travel

Amelia Earhart (connected, featured in 2020 & I believe just recently),  Heinrich Schliemann (connected), Jules Verne (connected but only has 45, featured in 2022), The Wright Brothers (both Wilbur & Orville are connected, Orville was EPOW & featured in 2020)

Anthony Bourdain (connected but only 37, featured in 2021) (he falls into both categories) “Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life — and travel — leaves marks on you.” Anthony Bourdain

World Food Day – 24 Oct 2024

Culinary Luminaries (too many to list but here’s a few)

Joël Robuchon (doesn't look like he has profile), Michael Chiarello (died 2023, doesn't look like he has profile), Anthony Bourdain, Clarissa Dickson Wright (doesn't look like she has profile), Julia Child (connected, featured in 2021), India's YouTube star Grandpa Kitchen (doesn't look like he has profile), Floyd Cardo (doesn't look like he has profile), Benoît Violier (doesn't look like he has profile), Marguerite Patten (doesn't look like she has a profile, died in 2015 at 99 after achieving renown for her cooking radio shows during WWII)

Answer 9

Greetings All - Additional ideas

National Bobblehead Day – 7 Jan 2024

Yes, I have a bobblehead. I absolutely love John Elway (darn, no profile) and a friend gave me one as a gift

temple Nodders from the 17th century (Buddha is one, I looked for Siddhartha Gaufama but found no profile), major league baseball (Roberto Clemente - profile, but no connected), Mickey Mantle (connected, featured in 2021), Roger Maris (connected), and Willie Mays, connected but only 90 - head nodders), The Beatles (Ringo Starr connected), John Lennon EPOW 2019), George Harrison (connected, shows EPOW, not sure when), Paul McCartney connected, featured 2021), (fyi National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum opened in Wisconsin), Wobble Elvis" or "Wobbly Elvis (connected, featured in 2022). Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, both past and present (there are 2 free space pages dedicated with plenty of choices (Sandra Day O'Connor (connected), Joan Ruth (Bader) Ginsburg (connected, but only 55), 1st Chief Justice John Jay (EPOW, 2020)

National Cancer Prevention Month – 1 Feb 2024

Pioneers in Cancer Research (only 1 of my choices has a profile - José Baselga, Judah Folkman, Gaspare Aselli, Hippocrates, Virginia Kneeland Frantz, Bernard Fisher (has a profile, only indicates he was a scientist), Marjorie G. Illig (founder of the Cancer Society), Angelika Amon, Susan Love (founder of National Breast Cancer Coalition, died in 2023)

National Epitaph Day – 6 Apr 2024 (lots of funny ones, but majority are American Actors/Actresses)

William Shakespeare (connected, featured in 2022), Jesse james (featured & EPOW, not sure when), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (connected), John Keats (connected), Virginia Woolf (connected, featured & EPOW not sure when), William Bligh (connected, EPOW 2020)

National DNA Day – 25 Apr 2024

Pioneers in DNA - Francis Crick (connected), Rosalind Franklin (connected, EPOW, not sure when), James Watson (connected but only 76), Maurice Wilkins (connected), Paul Berg (cannot find a profile), Maclyn McCarty (cannot find a profile), James Michael Creeth (cannot find a profile), Friedrich Miescher (cannot find a profile), Phoebus Aaron Theodore Levene (cannot find a profile)

Comments

I have a Dr. Anthony Fauci bobblehead.

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Oh David, although I love my John Elway, I think you got me beat on this one.  Why Dr. Fauci?

Answer 10

Several ideas that lend themselves to more diverse featured profiles (a lot of the people I listed are American because those are the notables I know as an American, but I tried to suggest themes that would allow for additional suggestions from other countries too):

• Eid/Ramadan: Ramadan will likely begin on/around March 10th and run for a month with Eid then occurring on/around April 9th, giving a large window of possible dates. We could do Muslim notables with the prophet Muhammad as the main featured profile. There are plenty of connected Muslim royals/political leaders and historical figures like Suleiman the Magnificent/Lawgiver, Ibn Saud (founder of Saudi Arabia), and Abdullah I of Jordan, to name a few. There are also a number of well-known Muslim Americans who are connected like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Muhammad Ali, and Malcolm X.
• Poets: April 19th will be the 200th anniversary of Lord Byron's death.
• Eurovision Song Contest: The 1st semifinal will be on Tuesday May 7th and the final will be May 11th. 2024 will be the 50th anniversary of ABBA's win and ABBA members Agnetha Fältskog and Björn Ulvaeus are both connected and could be main featured profiles. Some other connected past contestants I found include LuLu, Cliff Richard, France Gall, Celine Dion, and Olivia Newton-John. If there aren't enough connected profiles to do just Eurovision winners/contestants, we could expand it to be winners and/or contestants of televised music competitions.
• Musical Composers: May 7th will be the 200th anniversary of the premiere of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony
• Pride Month (June): could perhaps center around the 55th anniversary of Stonewall on June 28th with Stormé DeLarverie and Marsha P. Johnson, along with other LGBTQ+ activists like Barbara Gittings, Gilbert Baker, Kiyoshi Kuromiya, Harry Hay, and Ian McKellen (all connected).
• Summer Olympics: the Summer Olympics will run from July 26th-August 11th. We could do Summer Olympic Gold Medalists from all over the world. To find connected profiles: connected Gold Medalists grouped by country, 5star (most viewed) profiles of connected Summer Olympic Gold Medalists, and all connected Summer Olympic gold medalists. There are already 166 connected profiles to choose from! As a member of the USBH project, I'd love to see Simone Biles, Jesse Owens, and/or Wilma Rudolph featured.
• Boxing: October 30th will be the 50th anniversary of the The Rumble in the Jungle boxing match between Muhammad Ali (connected) and George Foreman (unconnected) which Wikipedia describes as one of the most-watched television events of all time. There are 59 connected profiles in the Professional Boxers category - a few I even recognize as someone who knows nothing about boxing: Joe Louis and Mike Tyson.
• Female Firsts in Politics or Female Governors: November 4th will be the 100th anniversary of the first election of a female governor in the US (Nellie Tayloe Ross, connected) and there's a US election on November 5th so this anniversary would be timely for a political theme. This would be a great time to feature female firsts in politics from around the world. Or female governors/the closest equivalent of a governor in other countries. Right now, we have 28 connected female governors in the US including some that are in the news a lot (Gretchen Whitmer, Sarah Palin, Kristi Noem, Sarah Huckabee Sanders).

Comments

@Jim- Thanks for these suggestions - they certainly make it more likely that some of these themes will be feasible enough to get picked. Some good poet options from the US might be [[Dickinson-53|Emily Dickinson]] and [[Plath-66|Sylvia Plath]]. And yes, there are a good number of female poets - I very specifically and carefully only suggested themes that would be really conducive to featuring either women, people from not-USA places, and/or some other group that is not frequently featured, and for most of them, I pre-checked if there were connected profiles for those groups. Although, I might quibble that some of the poets you've suggested, especially Auguste Magdalene von Hessen-Darmstadt, do not seem like they are actually well-known enough as poets to be featured in a Poets theme - like their notability seems to be more for a novel they wrote or being a noblewoman and poetry was just a side-pursuit for them. Some of the other themes I've suggested are more difficult to find connected women for than poets - Eid/Ramadan (if you want anyone besides minor royals, and especially if you want anyone with name recognition in the English-speaking world), Eurovision and Underground Railroad. I can't remember exactly what they were now, but there were some other themes I was trying to make work and couldn't even come close, so I didn't suggest them. I also generally was trying to find people that hadn't been featured before if possible (a common complaint from WikiTreers) and that have decent name recognition in the US (maybe not 100% necessary, but helpful with the Team's goals for the Connection Finder and therefore making it more likely to get picked), and adding those criteria also makes it harder to find qualifying women. The more carefully you try to find profiles that really do fit the Team's goals for the Connection Finder (basically, to bring in a lot of non-member views to generate ad revenue to keep the site running and free for all) and the common complaints they get from WikiTreers (repetitive themes, US-centric themes, repeated profiles, only white American men), the harder it is.

Maybe I'm wrong about it being difficult to find connected women in a lot of areas, though, or making it harder than it needs to be by being kind of picky. Or maybe you're just better at finding them than me. Either way, I'd encourage you to continue finding and suggesting female profiles (or profiles from other less-frequently-featured groups) that would work for more themes. If it's something you really want to see happen, making suggestions yourself is the way to get there. All of the suggestions might not get used, but if you make 50 suggestions and only 5 get used, that's still more than the 0 that would have been used if you made no suggestions.

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All the Australians I mentioned are worthy of inclusion as poets per se, as is

• Oodgeroo Noonuccal (1920-1993) CC7 ?

whom I was negligent in leaving out. I'm not familiar with German poetry myself, but the ones I suggested who are not mainly poets could easily be replaced from other countries. I think my point stands that both in the Pride case and the woman poet one, difficulty of finding suitable profiles is not an issue.

The Team does choose the goals, but there is no reason why it couldn't make approximately equal representation of women one of them. It is not in intrinsic conflict with the other aims, and might in fact help with generating page views by appealing to a very large potential audience.

I've been making my own individual weekly suggestions for profiles of women to feature for some time, and I'm glad to say many have been accepted. But it's uphill work when so many themes are focused mainly towards men.

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Indeed an all-woman Eid theme would be challenging, but if that theme goes ahead it should be possible to avoid an all-male line up. Places to start looking might include

• 15 Important Muslim Women in History
• Remarkable Muslim women throughout history
• 10 Inspiring Muslim Women We Should All Look Up To

However, it's possible there is a significant overall gap in WikiTree's coverage of Islam.

Edited to fix spelling mistake.

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"I think my point stands that...difficulty of finding suitable profiles is not an issue...But it's uphill work when so many themes are focused mainly towards men."

Then please do suggest more themes that are not focused towards men. Same principle applies...if you suggest 50 themes and only 5 get used, that's still 5 more than 0. And be sure to include a good number of suggested profiles that are connected and ready to go for each theme.

The Team does choose the goals, but there is no reason why it couldn't make approximately equal representation of women one of them. It is not in intrinsic conflict with the other aims...

They could make that a goal, though keeping the website up & free should remain their primary goal, unless you want it to become a paid subscription site. I don't. Also, this assumes that there enough suitable female profiles to feature. That requires (1) creation, connection, and improvement of female profiles by WikiTreers, (2) suggestion by WikiTreers of themes that can include women, (3) suggestion by WikiTreers of female profiles that fit the theme, are connected, and fit the other requirements for features, as well as being well-known enough to bring in views, and (4) the WikiTree team to choose female-friendly themes and female profiles over other suggestions. I'm not convinced #1-3 are happening yet in sufficient quantities for #4 to happen. There's a difference between suggesting "let's do XYZ theme" and hoping someone else is going to find profiles that fit it and saying "let's do XYZ theme and here are 10 great profiles that fit the theme and are ready to go".

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Christy, as well as particular profiles weekly and in my comment above, I have been suggesting themes, as have many others. I'll try to flesh more of those out with profiles as well. But I think you're overestimating the difficulty, and underestimating the extent to which unnecessary repetition and choices of male-oriented themes are hindering representation of women.

I don't think it's likely that having more women in EPOW features would cause WikiTree to go subscription-based.

Edited to add: See also this suggestion, which gives a ready-made 50%-women theme with no work required, or a 100%-women one needing only a bit of technical wizardry to find female top CC7 profiles.

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My impression is that yes, there is a significant gap in WikiTree's coverage of Muslim people in general and there are basically no categories related to the religion, which makes finding Muslim notables particularly hard. That Islam category was only created about a month ago after I asked some questions about how to categorize a notable I was working on. That whole categorization issue is complicated by the fact that the Religion project is in the middle of overhauling their categorization structure and so it may not get resolved anytime soon. I looked through many lists like the ones you linked to, as well as looking for connected profiles of Muslim notables I'm aware of, and mostly I was not having much luck. If you want to look through those types of lists and can find some profiles, go for it.

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Here are three starting points, but there's a lot of work for people with the right kinds of expertise:

• Khadijah bint Khuwaylid (abt. 0555 - abt. 0619)
• Rashida Tlaib
• Ilhan Omar

I hope you're wrong that the religion category reorganisation is only in the middle.

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https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ride-21 - How about Dr. Sally Kristin Ride? 1st female American astronaut in space & 1st gay astronaut, connected, (1951-2012), CC7 258, could fall into another category of "firsts"

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"Here are three starting points, but there's a lot of work for people with the right kinds of expertise:" Yes, that's what I meant with not having much luck.

Well, the reorganization may not be in the middle but it doesn't seem to be finished. At the very least, as of a month ago, whatever decisions they have made so far have not been clearly outlined on a help page or anything.

At this point, I'm going to exit this conversation so I can focus on profile work. Hope you're able to find lots of good themes and profiles to suggest.

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Great suggestions, Christy. I like every one of them.

Answer 11

I like the Wood/Tree names theme, but why not move it to Arbor Day, Earth Day or another nature day and simply celebrate the Year of the Dragon with people associated with dragons? Here's a quick list of names I can come up with...

JRR Tolkien (Lord of the Rings)

George RR Martin (Game of Thrones)

Kenneth Graham (The Reluctant Dragon)

Gary Gygax (Dungeons and Dragons)

Christopher Paolini (Eragon)

Cresida Crowell (How to Train Your Dragon)

Anne McCaffrey (Dragonriders of Pern)

Michael Ende (Never Ending Story)

Ishiro Hondo (Godzilla)

Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball)

Sean Connery (voice of Draco in Dragonheart)

Charlie Callas (voice of the original Pete's Dragon)

Eddie Murphy (voice of Mushu in Mulan)

Daryl Dragon (The Captain and Tennille)

Peter, Paul or Mary (Puff the Magic Dragon)

Comments

It will be the Chinese Year of the Wood Dragon. I hope some of the people featured could be Chinese, or of Chinese ancestry. There's 云 马 (Jack Ma), who was actually born in 1964, the preceding Wood Dragon year, but his profile is not connected. Maybe someone can find further possibilities.

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For David's Arbor Day date idea for wood names, there's W. E. B. Du Bois, with a very eligible profile not featured since February 2022.

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International Workers' Day/Labour Day/May Day, is a celebration of labourers and the working classes promoted by the international labour movement every year on 1 May, or the first Monday in May.  Perhaps we could do something to celebrate the international working class members of the labor force that hold a service-type occupation and do not hold a bachelor's degree. Common working class occupations include restaurant employees, auto mechanics, construction workers, and other service-type workers, etc.

Nov 1- All Saints Days - celebrate Saints worldwide....Jewish ḥasīd or tsaddiq, the Islamic qidees, the Zoroastrian fravashi, the Hindu rsi or guru, the Buddhist arahant or bodhisattva, the Daoist shengren, the Shinto kami, to name a few.

September's suicide prevention month. Maybe we could remember those who took their life.

Edit: May 6-12 is National Nurses week but we could make it worldwide.

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I'd also thought of May 1st and wondered about notable trade union leaders.  

I couldn't find a wikitree profile for Sarah Chapman (UK: Bryant and May matchgirls strike of 1888) but she shouldn't be too difficult to research. 

Lech Wałęsa was later President of Poland, but he previously led the Solidarity trade union. He's not connected.  

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Good ones!

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What about Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).

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Good idea, Isabelle. There's a profile to be worked on.

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Jim - I was merely suggesting a profile I would like to see one day in a Connection feature. The way the profile looks now, it's out of my range. I hope someone from the Notables project can take it up.

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Ditto, Isabelle—that's why I used the passive voice :-) I hope someone with the required expertise will look at it some time.

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Michelle Yeoh's profile was created and connected by the 15 Nations Tour. She comes from a very prominent Malaysian family. In fact, her cousin runs the Yeoh Museum in her home village which is all about her family history. Imagine having your own museum for the sole purpose of displaying your genealogy. How cool would that be?

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Thanks to you and the Tour for creating it, David! Of course the privacy is correctly not Open. Could the biography be enhanced at least as far as saying she starred in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? Then she could easily be nominated for a dragon theme.

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Hmm, sorry, the profile David linked already has this. The reason I'm confused is that I'm looking at a duplicate, Michelle Yeoh Choo-Keng. I've proposed the merge.

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Hi David, the Sean Connery movie where he played the voice of Draco was Dragonheart not Dragonslayer. This movie has one of my favorite movie scores.

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Thanks for catching my goof, Sonda. It was a fantastic movie whatever it was called. I've corrected the title above to avoid confusing others.  

By the way, Dragon Slayer was not such a shabby move either!

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It was a great movie and the Randy Edelman score was so good that it was used for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and has been used for many movie trailers, including:

Anna and the King (1999) Theatrical Trailer
Atonement (2007) TV Trailer
Mulan (1998) Theatrical Trailer
Patch Adams (1998) Theatrical Trailer
Seven Years in Tibet (1997) Theatrical Trailer
Six Days and Seven Nights (1998) Theatrical Trailer
The Young Black Stallion (1998) Theatrical Trailer
Two Brothers (2004) Theatrical Trailer

Answer 12

Greetings everyone, here is another list.  Some have already been featured, some do not have profiles.  I'm fairly new to WikiTree so I don't know all the rules/policies but if they do not have profiles, what is the date they have to be created by to be considered?

International Artists -

Enya (Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin, no profile that I can find, still living), Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (connected), Miriam Makeba (connected, featured connection 2023), The Chieftains (none appear to have profiles), Edith Giovanna (Gassion) Piaf (connected, featured 2022), Pete Seeger (connected, featured 2021), Edú Lobo (no profile), Phil Coulter (may have profile under Ireland Project, still living), Caetano Veloso (no profile),

Comments

There is an extant profile for Enya (unconnected).

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Good ideas, Kimberly! A few more:

• Natalie Imbruglia CC7 1705, Australia
• Carmen Miranda (1909-1955) CC7 196, Portugal/Brazil
• Astrud Gilberto (1940-2023) CC7 22, Brazil, needs image now has image.

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Greetings Jim, 3 more good ideas

Answer 13

Nov 14 - King Charles birthday so could have other monarchs

Aug 13 is Left-Handed Day

Dec 10 is Nobel prize awards day every year

Comments

I see the Nobel prize awards is already slotted in.   There's lots of helpful information about previous winners here.  Also, I think the winners are usually announced in the first week of October, so if Dec 10th is already taken, or early October is looking empty, you have options.  

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For your Left-Handed Day idea, Liza, here are some notable left-handed women:

1. Drew Barrymore CC7 525, USA
2. Kim Basinger CC7 39, USA
3. Maria Curie (1867-1934) CC7 551, Poland/France
4. Celine Dion CC7 1558, Canada
5. Tina Fey CC7 66, USA
6. Lady Gaga CC7 111, USA, needs longer biography
7. Judy Garland (1922-1969) CC7 1798, USA
8. Whoopi Goldberg CC7 87, USA
9. Angelina Jolie CC7 585, USA, needs biography
10. Goldie Hawn CC7 863, USA, needs longer biography
11. Helen Keller (1880-1968) CC7 1487, USA
12. Nicole Kidman CC7 1441, Australia, needs longer biography
13. Jennifer Lawrence CC7 431, USA, needs longer biography
14. Annie Lennox CC7 27, Scotland
15. Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) CC7 1415, USA
16. Demi Moore CC7 291, USA, needs biography
17. Julia Roberts CC7 1068, USA, needs biography
18. Emma Thompson CC7 42, UK, needs longer biography
19. Oprah Winfrey CC7 178, USA.

Answer 14

International Maritime Day 26 Sep 2024 & Women in Maritime Day 18 May 2024 - Famous ship captains - Captain Francis Drake (featured in 2022), Captain Ahab (Herman Melville, featured in 2022), Captain Sir Henry Morgan (featured in 2021), Captain James Tiberius Kirk (William Shatner, featured in 2022), Captain Pedro Álvares Cabral (I couldn't find a profile), Captain William Kidd (couldn't find profile), Captain James Cook, Blackbeard (Edward Teach, profile of the week 2014, not connected), Captain Nemo (Jules Verne, featured 2022), Captain Jeanne (Belleville) de Clisson, Captain Jeanne Baret aka de Bonnefoi, honorable mentions (Anne Bonny, Mary Read, Zheng Yi Sao aka Ching Shih, Mary Lacy, Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz "sailed around the world solo")

Comments

Also on the maritime theme, there will be a couple of Saving Lives at Sea type anniversaries in 2024.  The UK charity RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) was founded on 3^rd March 1824, and its Dutch equivalent, KNRM, was founded later in 1824.  I’m sure both will be making the most of their 200 years of saving lives.  The UK’s shipping forecast also marks 100 years on BBC radio (where it has a cult following among people who have never been to sea).

Dorus Rijkers (1847-1928) famous Dutch lifeboat captain and folk hero

Grace Darling (1815-1842) lighthouse keeper’s daughter famous for her part in the daring rescue of the crew of the SS Forfarshire in 1838.

Sir William Hillary (1771-1847) founded the RNLI in 1824

James Beeching (1788-1858) inventor of the self-righting lifeboat

Henry George Blogg (1876-1954) Britain’s most decorated lifeboatman 

Some of these would need work, but maybe others can supply famous sea rescues and rescue innovations from around the world?

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I like your theme....

Answer 15

May 23 (unfortunately a Thursday) is the 75th birthday of Germany. This would be an opportunity to make a complete German roster for a change (or use one or two [descendents of] immigrants).

Edited to add: There are lots of interesting German people connected from all sorts of topics. We have connected Nobel Laureates beside Einstein, we have composers, authors, painters, scientists, etc. pp., so lots of people to choose from.

Comments

Awesome idea, which I absolutely agree with!

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I third this.

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Agree it is a cool idea, but to be precise, it  is the 75th birthday of Bundesrepublik Deutschland ... I 'd locate that "Germany" birthday somewhere in the ideas of the 1848 revolution... so may be we would have to drive the focus on people of "Bundesrepublik Deutschland" ?

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with the problem that most of the people who are born after 1949 would still be living and probably hard to connect.

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Love it. Maybe some of the people involved parlamentarischer Rat who set up the Grundgesetz can be looked at https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_der_Mitglieder_des_Parlamentarischen_Rats or the (only) four mothers involved, https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BCtter_des_Grundgesetzes

This is also an opportunity to look at the emerging notables (or spies) during the Cold War. 

The players in the Berlin Blockade https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Blockade

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1949_East_German_Constitutional_Assembly_election and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_East_Germany

Or the people playing a notable role during the capitulation of Germany https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedingungslose_Kapitulation_der_Wehrmacht /  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Instrument_of_Surrender and everything in between…

Last one https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1949_in_Germany

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Great idea! Even if we concentrate just on people who were still living in (West) Germany in 1949, -- not necessarily born after the Bundesrepublik was founded --, there will be more than enough notables to choose from who shouldn't be too hard to connect.

Answer 16

The week before US Independence Day includes July 1 which is Canada Day. We could use that as a theme.

Answer 17

January Battle of New Orleans

January Steven Foster Memorial Day

January Martin Luther Memorial Day

February Ground Hog Day

February Ronald Reagan Day

February Rosa Parks Day

February National Women and Girls in Sports

March 2-5 will be Women's International Day

March National Employee Day: Special Occupations of our Ancestors

March St Patricks Day and our Irish Ancestors

April Easter and History of Easter around the world if celebrated

April Boston Marathon many family members have participated in it over the years

May 18th is Armed Forces Day

May Asian-Pacific American Heritage

May Jewish Heritage Appreciation

May Kentucky Sports Month

May Mother's Day

June 12 is National Women Veterans' Day

June 12 is Loving Day

July 24 Utah Pioneer Day

September 8 Grandparents Day

Sep 17 Constitution and Citizenship Day

October Leif Erikson Day

November President Lincolns Birthday

December 7th Pearl Harbor Day lost family that day

June Father's Day

June Jefferson Davis Heritage Day

November 19th is Mens International Day

Answer 18

The Oscars are awarded in early March. There were no Academy Awards in 1924, but we could still celebrate that year's biggest stars:

Mary Astor

John Barrymore

Wallace Beery

Lon Chaney

Douglas Fairbanks

Clark Gable (film debut)

Janet Gaynor (film debut)

John Gielgud (film debut)

Otis Harlan

Harold Lloyd

Jobyna Ralston

Vera Reynolds

Norma Shearer

Answer 19

Here's another Academy Award themed idea - the ten best actor/actress nominees from 50 years ago (1974):

Marlon Brando

Ellen Burstyn

Glenda Jackson (winner)

Jack Lemon (winner)

Marsha Mason

Jack Nicholson

Al Pacino

Robert Redford

Barbara Streisand

Joanne Woodward

[Or travel back another 25 years to 1949 if you prefer fewer living notables]

Answer 20

this thanksgiving will mark the 100th anniversary of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Instead of going the usual pilgrim route, perhaps this year we could celebrate noted department store founders. I only know American stores, but I'm sure there we could come up with some names from around the world.

Rowland H. Macy

Joseph B. Bloomingdale & Lyman Bloomingdale

Carrie Marcus Nieman, Abraham Lincoln Nieman & Herbert Marcus

John W. Nordstrom

James Cash Penny

Richard W. Sears & Alvah Roebuck

Andrew Saks

Comments

UK grocery/supermarket stores

For the England project, and a couple for the Poland project too.

1869 Sainsbury's: John James Sainsbury and wife Mary Ann Staples [English]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_James_Sainsbury

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ann_Sainsbury

1884 Marks and Spencer:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Marks [Polish]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Spencer_(businessman) [English]

1919 Tesco

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Cohen_(businessman) [Jacob Kohen - Polish]

1949 ASDA - Peter and Fred Asquith [English] and

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noel_Stockdale [English]

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Harrod's - Charles Henry Harrod in 1849.

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What about Tony Sarg? He came up with the idea for the balloons for the parade.

https://today.uconn.edu/2019/11/macys-parade-balloons-upside-puppets/