Talk:Melvyn Bragg

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Melvyn Bragg article.
This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject.

Put new text under old text. Click here to start a new topic.
New to Wikipedia? Welcome! Learn to edit; get help.

Article policies

Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL

This article must adhere to the biographies of living persons (BLP) policy, even if it is not a biography, because it contains material about living persons. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libellous. If such material is repeatedly inserted, or if you have other concerns, please report the issue to this noticeboard.

If you are a subject of this article, or acting on behalf of one, and you need help, please see this help page.

Biography: Arts and Entertainment / Peerage and Baronetage

	Biography portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation.BiographyWikipedia:WikiProject BiographyTemplate:WikiProject Biographybiography articles
	This article is supported by the arts and entertainment work group.
	This article is supported by WikiProject Peerage and Baronetage (assessed as Low-importance).

Lancashire and Cumbria Low‑importance

	North West England portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Lancashire and Cumbria, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Lancashire and Cumbria on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Lancashire and CumbriaWikipedia:WikiProject Lancashire and CumbriaTemplate:WikiProject Lancashire and CumbriaLancashire and Cumbria articles
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the importance scale.

University of Oxford Low‑importance

	University of Oxford portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject University of Oxford, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of the University of Oxford on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.University of OxfordWikipedia:WikiProject University of OxfordTemplate:WikiProject University of OxfordUniversity of Oxford articles
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.

Politics of the United Kingdom Low‑importance

	This article is within the scope of WikiProject Politics of the United Kingdom, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Politics of the United Kingdom on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Politics of the United KingdomWikipedia:WikiProject Politics of the United KingdomTemplate:WikiProject Politics of the United KingdomPolitics of the United Kingdom articles
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.

Journalism Low‑importance

	Journalism portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Journalism, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of journalism on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.JournalismWikipedia:WikiProject JournalismTemplate:WikiProject JournalismJournalism articles
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.

Television Low‑importance

	Television portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Television, a collaborative effort to develop and improve Wikipedia articles about television programs. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page where you can join the discussion. To improve this article, please refer to the style guidelines for the type of work.TelevisionWikipedia:WikiProject TelevisionTemplate:WikiProject Televisiontelevision articles
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.

Links

both the "Credo" link and the "Laurence Olivier" links are links for those objects instead to the books that Melvyn Bragg wrote. Is this correct?

Nope. I've changed them. Proteus (Talk) 17:19, 6 May 2004 (UTC)[reply]

Degree

Are you sure he has a BA? I don't mean to be strange, but if he went to Oxford I believe his BA would officially disappear when he upgraded it to an MA, no? Possibly a full listing of his credentials would be useful (i.e. (Oxon) after the oxford degrees, an (Honorary) or something to that effect after which (if any) of his degrees are honorary.

Peerage

When did he become Baron Bragg and not Lord Bragg??

What the fuck are you talking about? People address him as Lord Bragg because he's a baron. 86.138.17.141 23:19, 7 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Please don't use wods like that. Millbanks 22:48, 24 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The tital LORD Only exists for The LORD God and thus isn't part of the British Peerage system (Morcus (talk) 16:04, 9 April 2008 (UTC))[reply]

There is some rubbish talked here :). In the British peerage there are a variety of titles (Baron being one) which entitle one to be called "Lord". So - Baron Bragg is the same as Lord Bragg although in practice he would never be called Baron Bragg. User 86. etc you really don't need to use that sort of language to correct a misunderstanding. However Morcus, we do have the House of Lords, so Lord is quite acceptable as a title within the English peerage. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.104.45.142 (talk) 20:15, 12 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Wadham

Are you sure it was Wadham? His newsleter said about his remembrance of his days at Christ Church when he skipped services..

Pretty sure it's Wadham.--ukexpat 04:17, 6 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Computing cluster

A Computing Cluster (group of computers set aside for general use by students) is named after Lord Bragg at the University of Leeds. It is called the "Bragg Cluster".

I always thought the Bragg Cluster was named after William Henry Bragg and William Lawrence Bragg.

Yes, it won't be for Melvyn Bragg. See photo for evidence to corroborate Leeds's commemoration of William Henry Bragg. 79.64.227.68 (talk) 16:04, 29 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Prat

I was mildly surprised to hear on the radio the other day that the first cited use of the word "prat" was by Melvyn Bragg. Can anyone with access to the OED confirm this and find out the year and the context? 86.138.17.141 11:29, 7 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Bragg is quoted in the OED for a 1973 work, however there are earlier references for the usage given 192.122.171.25 (talk) 06:06, 23 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

It seems he had previously been the first person known to have used it in print in the sense of 'fool' (other meanings go back much further), but two earlier examples are now cited in the OED. Bragg being the earliest was asserted in the article until I just removed it, and the source was an article in the Independent about the OED looking for earlier uses of certain words. The OED now has before Bragg's 1968 use of the word: "1955 E. TREVOR Big Pick-up iv. 62 Come dahn aht of it [sc. a tree], Milly, you stupid prat! 1964 J. ORTON Entertaining Mr Sloane I. 10 Go on, you superannuated old prat!" 79.64.227.68 (talk) 15:57, 29 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Same guy?

Is this the same guy made fun of here?--Editor510 ^{drop us a line, mate} 19:37, 2 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Yep, that's him! We also have an article TV Offal, the programme in which he was mocked. 79.64.227.68 (talk) 15:44, 29 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

14-08-2013 This article is semi-characature. The Alma Matter is appropriate only for Americans and should be changed to an English term. The title The Lord Bragg is annoyingly jocular (it could be made worse by adding on Almighty) and should be changed to The Right Hon. Lord Bragg of (Area). The article contains buffoonary i.e. He coined Intelligentsia - no he did not it is (or was) a Russian word, and in the UK the term is Intellectual and it does not need replacing. A book plug for his second wife and name dropping of former PM Blair as a friend, hmm... I would question why he has been elected to the House of Lords. Is this who we as a British democratic nation want to make decisions about the governance of the UK? I suggest a total rewrite based on substantiated facts with publication and dates referenced as evidence if Wikipedia is an encyclopedia. This article has content like a magazine/comic as such a joke with no credibility. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.100.54.203 (talk) 08:53, 14 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Alma Matter ? Do you mean Alma Mater? Or the wife of Gustave Mahler? 2001:44B8:3102:BB00:69CB:1E2B:3B63:E1B9 (talk) 22:49, 22 September 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Time for a photo update?

The vanity of public figures seems to make it acceptable for them to rely on images that are obviously from years earlier so the current photo, dated "1990's" may be from 40 years ago, but even 20 seems outdated. Is there nothing more recent available?--174.7.56.10 (talk) 21:32, 10 December 2014 (UTC)[reply]

You can say that again. Bragg is appropriately named. 2A00:23C6:BA13:4801:F181:5819:1475:C641 (talk) 04:50, 23 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Marie-Elisabeth Roche's age

Is the comparative age of Marie-Elisabeth Roche relevant? I'm not really interested in setting any wagers, on how a different hypothetical age might be viewed. But to me it's just a fact and I see no good reason to exclude it (although I must admit the source on which it seems to be based could be much improved). Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 17:59, 16 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Would one have even noted the age difference if she were the younger party? Are there many Wikipedia articles that point out that a man's wife is five years younger than he? If the answer to either or both of these questions is "no," I can see no good reason why it should be noteworthy the other way around. PaulCHebert (talk) 18:35, 16 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

80th birthday?.

As Bragg is 80 today, how come the automatic software still shows his age to be 79?

I write from the UK, btw, which is where he lives, just in case people think this is something to do with the international date line. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.148.31.147 (talk) 14:29, 6 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Punch

Bragg also wrote regularly for Punch, mostly during the 1970s, chiefly about the arts, and especially about the difficulties of authors.