Talk:William H. Gates, Sr.

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Contents 1 Eagle Scout 2 Contradict "Bill Gates" - Sr. or Jr. 3 Opening Sentence 4 Edited Opening

[edit] Eagle Scout

OK

1) In the BSA the phrase "Eagle Scout Award" is rarely used save for when they are refering to a BSA document of certification. 2) I'm not sure how to tell you this other than to say a person's becoming an Eagle Scout is like becoming a member of a Church. i.e. A person doesn't get the Satanist Award they become a Satanist. 3) A Person becomes an Eagle Scout for life (usualy).

BTW I was just curious if Gates II was a Mason.

If you'd like the sentence to emphasize becoming an Eagle Scout over receiving the accompanying documentation, fine. But the sentence you've rewritten is both awkward and grammaticaly incorrect. You might try something like "A member of the Boy Scouts of America, became an Eagle Scout on January 13, 1941.

I have no idea whether Gates is a mason, try the reference desk.

RadicalSubversiv E 29 June 2005 23:30 (UTC)

[edit] Contradict "Bill Gates" - Sr. or Jr.

I noticed that this article is titled "William H. Gates, Sr." Shouldn't the father of William Gates III be William Gates Jr., not Sr.? I would expect William Gates Sr. to be the grandfather of William Gates III. Q0 21:23, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

The Article says that William Sr. (this article) is actually the 3rd of his name. Shouldn't little Billy (Microsoft) then be William IV, not III ???-- ExpImp^talkcon 21:26, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

it seems unlikely that he dropped the II, as you generally don't add a II to your name.

• An individual is called John Doe Sr..
• His Son is called John Doe Jr.
• His grandson is called John Doe III
• His grand-grandson is called John Doe IV.
• ad infinitum...

So he should be called "William H. Gates Jr.", if he was the Second of that name, or "William H. Gates III" if he was the third of his name. In this case his son (microsoft-bill) should be "William H. Gates IV"....-- ExpImp^talkcon 17:15, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

The January 2006 article version [1] states: "Gates, Sr. was born William Henry Gates, Jr. since his father was also named William Henry Gates. In fact his grandfather also had this name, so the man now known as William H. Gates Sr. is the third in succession by this name, and his son who became famous as William H. Gates III is the fourth. However, only two are living, and the elder of them is known as Sr. to differentiate him from his more famous son."-- ExpImp^talkcon 17:17, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Gazpacho corrected and posted a source for Bill Gates, Sr. being the III. I have updated the citation, but, not having access to that book, do not know the how accurate that information is. If they are both William Henry Gates III, the article should without any ambiguity mention that fact. Anyone else able to verify this info?
—Asatruer 19:14, 26 October 2006 (UTC)

The following sources also support this. [2] [3] ok, granted it is a wikipedia mirror and a comedy website. so, no I CAN'T locate the book either, my university does not carry it.-- ExpImp^talkcon 00:49, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

UPDATE: I can confirm the source: go to [4] and enter "William Henry Gates III" as a search query. You will get 3 hits. Page 1: "When his son, William Henry Gates III, was born in 1925, ..." Page 2: "Billy Gates dropped the diminutive-and the III-from his name before he entered the army to serve in World War II." But on this page it is also said, that he legally changed his name to "William Henry Gates Jr.". The book also says: "On the otherwise unremarkable day of May 22, 1990, William Henry Gates- often called III, in actuality IV, was about to transform the computer industry one more time."-- ExpImp^talkcon 15:57, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Opening Sentence

I wonder if the opening sentence couldn't be presented a little more clearly. As it stands, it seems quite easy to make the mistake of assuming that William H. Gates, Sr., is the founder of Microsoft and the wealthiest man in the world. Reecesel 09:45, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

You know, I just read the 1st paragraph and I had to read it again because it was so confusing. It definitely needs to be rewritten! --J@red ^[T]/_[+] 03:03, 18 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Edited Opening

I edited the opening because William Henry Gates II (Sr) is not the wealthiest person in the world, nither is he the co-founder of Microsoft. Also, he's not the CEO of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Bill and Melinda Gates Fact Sheet: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/MediaCenter/FactSheet/

Also cleared up the confusing part about his name.

Pavithran 10:56, 14 April 2006 (UTC)