John Beames

Article summary

John William Beames (21 June 1837 – 24 May 1902) was a civil servant and author in British India. He served in the Punjab from March 1859 to late 1861, and in Bengal from December 1861 until the conclusion of his service in 1893. He was also a scholar of Indian history, literature and linguistics. His great work was a comparative grammar of Indo-Aryan languages, published in three volumes in 1872–1879. When he retired from the Indian Civil Service in March 1893, he had gained extensive knowledge of Indian life, and in 1896 wrote an account of his career, first published in 1961 as Memoirs of a Bengal Civilian.

Key claims

1. date of death: 1902-05-24 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. publication date: 1872 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. publication date: 1961 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. publication date: 1961 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
5. publication date: 2004 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of death is "1902-05-24". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the publication date is "1872". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the publication date is "1961". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the publication date is "1961". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. The record states that the publication date is "2004". What evidence would count against this claim?
7. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
8. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1378912952