John By

Article summary

Lieutenant-Colonel John By (7 August 1779 – 1 February 1836) was an English military engineer. He is best known for having supervised the construction of the Rideau Canal and for having founded Bytown in the process. It developed and was designated as the Canadian capital, Ottawa.

Key claims

1. date of birth: 1821-03-14 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. date of birth: 1819-02-18 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. date of birth: 1779 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. date of birth: 1802 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
5. date of death: 1836 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
6. date of death: 1814 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
7. date of death: 1842-10-02 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
8. date of death: 1848-02-06 — 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 birth is "1821-03-14". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the date of birth is "1819-02-18". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the date of birth is "1779". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the date of birth is "1802". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. The record states that the date of death is "1836". What evidence would count against this claim?
7. The record states that the date of death is "1814". What evidence would count against this claim?
8. The record states that the date of death is "1842-10-02". What evidence would count against this claim?
9. The record states that the date of death is "1848-02-06". What evidence would count against this claim?
10. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
11. 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=1376422901