Talk:Jackie Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher

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Hi:

It doesn't really touch on the two factors of Fisher's career that make him a figure of interest. First are his many reforms, often shoved through against the resistance from the powers that be, in munitions, operations and training methods. Second, was this flamethrower personality.

There's quite a lot that can be added. Here in no particular order, is stuff that comes to mind: The current article goes from 1898 to 1902 without mentioning the entente cordialle; Fisher's work habits (his "I have nothing to do" sign"); the period of technical innovation from sail to steam; the innovation of the submarine threat and the torpedo threat; the Naval acts of both England and Germany (ie the general context -- Kaiser' William's idiotic foreign policy).

To psychologists the most fascinating aspect of Fisher's life/career is its illustration of how much personality counts for in human affairs. Fisher had the energy and personality of a speed addict before there was speed (or its accompanying tooth loss), and utter devotion to his work and to Great Britian. As a result he rose from a nothing son of a nothing born on the fringes of the British empire to becoming not only one of the dozen or so most significant people in the world by 1900, but also perhaps the only person in the world who could, at the very hight of the empire's power, shake his fist in the face of King Edward the VII without reproach (yet be considered one of the King's good friends before, and after), be invitied to dine with Kaiser Whilhelm and with Tirpitz, and dance with the Grand Duchessess of Russia. Fisher was truly a remarkable man, and if he were in an American school today, without doubt he would be put on Ritilan and would never be heard from again. A true human volcano!

From the "Last modified on" date of this page, as of this writing, the above unsigned entry dates from March 15, 2006. It is possible that all the suggestions have been addressed by now.--?? Zaslav 03:38, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

In the section "Early reform efforts" is the phrase "during which he split it off as Vernon." I ask anyone who can understand this to rewrite it. What does "it" refer to? What does "which" refer to? What does "split off" mean in this sentence? What is Vernon? Could the intended meaning be "During this time, he established something as a separate something under the name of Vernon"? Zaslav 03:43, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

The original HMS Vernon was a frigate operational from 1832 to 1848; she was laid up until 1867 as a floating coaling jetty, then in 1872 she became a hulk anchored to HMS Excellent as a tender. In 1876 the hulk of Vernon together with ex-frigate Ariadne and the lighter Florence Nightingale were commissioned as HMS Vernon, the Royal Navy's Torpedo Branch, separate from HMS Excellent, the Torpedo and Mining Training school. Over the next 30 years or so the various hulks were renamed, and moved about, and finally in 1923 the organisation moved ashore with the original ship names being applied to various buildings. This site may better explain the rather complex history. -- Arwel (talk) 18:03, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

I have reworded that bit in the article to make it clearer. Jll 14:06, 6 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Quote

The following quote is currently credited to Fisher in this article:

The moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now. Never contradict. Never explain. Never apologise.

However, I've found that the bolded part of the text above is often credited to Goethe, who died nearly 9 years before Fisher was born. Of course, Fisher may have been quoting Goethe, but if so, this should be noted. Or maybe the Goethe credit isn't correct. (Internet quote sites are almost universally devoid of any proper sourcing, and even Wikiquote's Goethe article is currently lacking a source.) Does anyone have a source for this quote? Thanks. ~ Jeff Q (talk) 21:57, 28 April 2006 (UTC)

http://www.goethesociety.org/pages/quotescom.html

http://german.about.com/library/blgermyth12.htm

Whoever it was, it wasn't Fisher. I've removed that whole section. — ciphergoth 13:40, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the links! I've updated wikiquote:Johann Wolfgang von Goethe to reflect this as well. ~ Jeff Q (talk) 17:29, 29 April 2006 (UTC)