Talk:O. Henry

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Is 'O.' the supposed first name initial of the pseudonym 'O. Henry'? If it is, it should be filed under 'Henry, O.' [[User:HamYoyo|HamYoyo|Contact Me!]] 15:28, May 31, 2004 (UTC)

Oddly enough, I can't find this spelled out in Wikipedia:Naming Conventions, but as you can see by looking for yourself, Wikipedia article titles do not invert names; names are given in their normal order, NOT last name first. Thus, the article on George Washington is entitled George Washington, not Washington, George.

In the pseudonym "O. Henry," O is the initial of the supposed first name and "Henry" is the supposed surname, so O. Henry is the correct title for the article.

Wikipedia:Naming Conventions specify that the most common (rather than, say, the most scholarly accurate) title is to be preferred, which is why the article is under O. Henry rather than William Sydney Porter. Dpbsmith 18:44, 31 May 2004 (UTC)

yes, but when categorising, it is possible to invert names, for instance: [Category:Writers|Henry, O]. [[User:HamYoyo|HamYoyo|Contact Me!]] 19:04, May 31, 2004 (UTC)

Contents 1 Presidential Pardon 2 Surprise Endings 3 O. Henry 4 pardon coincidence?

[edit] Presidential Pardon

On what grounds would a pardon be granted? A presidential pardon today would suggest that whoever was president back at the time of the imprisonment would have pardoned O. Henry had he been asked. Presumably, that president would not have granted a pardon because O. Henry was guilty of the crime. So what justification would a modern-day president have to grant a pardon?

[edit] Surprise Endings

O. Henry's endings seem to be more ironic than surprising.

[edit] O. Henry

O. Henry is a household name in Russia, as his books were among the few by Western authors read in Soviet schools.

This is double wrong. First, he was not in the school program, second, popularity in Russia was not gained through public schools, otherwise the most popular writer would have been Leo Tolstoy. O. Henry was indeed wastly popular, mostly on account on excellent translations into Russian, and partially because of a popular movie based on some Gentle Grafter stories. On an unrelated note, American authors in general were very much read in the former Soviet Union, popularity of some of them greatly exceeding their popularity at home (examples are such cult writers as Hemingway, Irwing Shaw, Wilder).

[edit] pardon coincidence?

The pardon paragraph mentions Henry Flipper's eventual pardon. Isn't it strange his middle initial was O?

O. Henry & Henry O.

J. Crocker 08:54, 20 October 2006 (UTC)