Mary Singleton

Article summary

Mary Littlejohn Singleton (September 20, 1926 – December 7, 1980) was a Florida teacher and politician, serving on the Jacksonville, Florida City Council before and after the consolidation in 1968 with Duval County. In 1967 she was one of the first two black women elected to the council. She was re-elected after consolidation and served until 1972. In 1972 Singleton was elected to the state legislature, the first woman and first black elected to that body from North Florida, serving until 1976. She ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor, and was appointed to state office after that, living in Tallahassee.

Key claims

1. date of birth: 1926 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. date of death: 1964 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. date of death: 1980-12-07 — 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 "1926". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the date of death is "1964". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the date of death is "1980-12-07". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
6. 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=1365684040