Lesson plan

Randolph Fields

Randolph Fields (29 December 1952 in Santa Monica, California – 24 February 1997 in Jersey, Channel Islands ) was an Anglo-American lawyer who founded British Atlantic Airways, which later became Virgin Atlantic. After differences with Richard Branson, Fields sold his share of Virgin Atlantic in 1985, becoming a sterling millionaire. He subsequently invested much of his fortune in the short-lived Highland Express Airways, which flew from New York to Prestwick, Scotland. Fields was born in California, and moved to London aged 9. He qualified as a lawyer, and was a member of the English Bar and California Bar. Known in insurance circles as an expert on asbestos and environmental hazards coverage, his work involved weekly trans-Atlantic commuting where he took advantage of lifetime complimentary first class travel on Virgin Atlantic, long after being bought out. Fields was also a well-known poker player on both sides of the Atlantic. Principally known as a "cash" player, Fields won a European Poker Title and was a fixture at the major poker tournaments in Las Vegas, including the World Series of Poker. Fields was an early financial backer of Phil Hellmuth. In The Independent David Spanier wrote this assessment : "Randolph Fields lit up any poker game he played in. Some players thought he was good value because he threw his chips into the pot with such abandon.…

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Article summary

Randolph Fields (29 December 1952 in Santa Monica, California – 24 February 1997 in Jersey, Channel Islands ) was an Anglo-American lawyer who founded British Atlantic Airways, which later became Virgin Atlantic. After differences with Richard Branson, Fields sold his share of Virgin Atlantic in 1985, becoming a sterling millionaire. He subsequently invested much of his fortune in the short-lived Highland Express Airways, which flew from New York to Prestwick, Scotland. Fields was born in California, and moved to London aged 9. He qualified as a lawyer, and was a member of the English Bar and California Bar. Known in insurance circles as an expert on asbestos and environmental hazards coverage, his work involved weekly trans-Atlantic commuting where he took advantage of lifetime complimentary first class travel on Virgin Atlantic, long after being bought out. Fields was also a well-known poker player on both sides of the Atlantic. Principally known as a "cash" player, Fields won a European Poker Title and was a fixture at the major poker tournaments in Las Vegas, including the World Series of Poker. Fields was an early financial backer of Phil Hellmuth. In The Independent David Spanier wrote this assessment : "Randolph Fields lit up any poker game he played in. Some players thought he was good value because he threw his chips into the pot with such abandon.…

Key claims

  1. date of death: 1997 — 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 "1997". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  4. 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=1360781274

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.