John Ringling

Article summary

John Nicholas Ringling (May 31, 1866 – December 2, 1936) was an American entrepreneur who is the best known of the seven Ringling brothers, five of whom merged the Barnum & Bailey Circus with their own Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows to create a virtual monopoly of traveling circuses and helped shape the modern circus. In addition to owning and managing many of the largest circuses in the United States, he was also a rancher, a real estate developer and art collector. He was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 1987.

Key claims

1. date of death: 1911 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. date of death: 1918 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. date of death: 1926 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. date of death: 1930-06-19 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
5. date of death: 1936-12-02 — 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 "1911". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the date of death is "1918". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the date of death is "1926". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the date of death is "1930-06-19". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. The record states that the date of death is "1936-12-02". 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=1375835041