A fact from T. J. Southard appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 2 December 2012 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:
Did you know... that it was said of Richmond, Maine, shipbuilder T. J. Southard that there was scarcely an "institution in town he hasn't a corner in"?
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Latest comment: 11 years ago5 comments2 people in discussion
If this article is primarily about the person, should it not be named "Thomas Jefferson Southard" rather than T.J. Southard (which is the name of the company he founded?) Socrates2008 (Talk)10:58, 19 November 2012 (UTC)Reply
Articles are named per WP:COMMONNAME. T. J. is almost invariably referred to as just that, therefore the name of the article follows suit. The company name, BTW, was "T. J. Southard & Co.". Regards, Gatoclass (talk) 14:32, 19 November 2012 (UTC)Reply
I've seen him referred to by both by his initials and full name. Also, I read somewhere that the company name changed to "T.J. Southard & Son" when his son joined the business. Socrates2008 (Talk)11:05, 20 November 2012 (UTC)Reply
Having read dozens of sources on this guy, I am confident that T. J. is the correct appellation - in fact, I initially found it difficult to discover his full name, since he is referred to in so many sources as simply "T. J." But if you want sources that specifically address the issue, rather than a simple google count, here is one which states: Thomas Jefferson Southard is a compelling appellation. Perhaps it accounts for the courage and determination of the man who bore it. "TJ," whose home was pictured on the January MHN cover, was a man of parts ..., and here is another which says: The life span of Thomas Jefferson Southard, known as T. J. and often described as "the redoubtable", embraced ...". Gatoclass (talk) 12:51, 21 November 2012 (UTC)Reply
