Talk:James Bowdoin

About the name

Technically, by modern usage, James was a James Bowdoin, Jr. but I find no record that he ever used the name. I did find one letter from Thomas Jefferson to James Bowdoin, Jr. But, Jefferson apparetly intended it for James Bowdoin, III and he corrected the mistake in later correspondence.

Results of 2nd Continental Congress election - Bowdoin vs. Hancock

John Hancock was the Prez. of the 2nd Continental Congress, but apparently during elections, James Bowdoin garnered 2nd place. I didn't see this specific information in the article.

Source: http://www.masshist.org/cabinet/november2002/november2002.htm

Actually, the election mentioned there is the 1st Massachusetts governor's race, when Hancock defeated Bowdoin. Bowdoin was not a candidate for the president of the Continental Congress, as he did not attend due to illness. (His position was taken in the Congress, incidentally, by Hancock.) —Kevin Myers 14:08, 22 September 2008 (UTC)

Discrepancy in Date of Birth

This article cites two different dates as James Bowdoin's date of birth, in two different years. I've found websites with both dates referenced, and I'm no scholar on James Bowdoin. So, someone who is might want to correct this problem. --Elnok (talk) 18:14, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

The article now cites one date: August 7, 1726, which is the date given by Bowdoin's modern biographer Gordon E. Kershaw in the American National Biography. Presumably this is the old-style date. The birthdate of August 8, 1727, appears in some 19th century sources that have found their way onto the Internet. Kershaw perhaps sorts this out in a footnote in his biography. —Kevin Myers 01:08, 23 September 2008 (UTC)