Lesson plan

Shearson

Shearson was the name of a series of investment banking and retail brokerage firms from 1902 until 1994, named for Edward Shearson and the firm he founded, Shearson Hammill & Co. Among Shearson's most notable incarnations were Shearson / American Express, Shearson Lehman / American Express, Shearson Lehman Brothers, Shearson Lehman Hutton and finally Smith Barney Shearson. For its first eight decades, the firm operated independently and merged with several Wall Street securities firms including Hayden Stone & Co. and Loeb Rhoades & Co. In 1981, Shearson was acquired by American Express and operated as a subsidiary of the financial services company before being merged with Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb in 1984 and E.F. Hutton & Co. in 1988. In 1993, Shearson was sold to Primerica, a predecessor of Citigroup, and merged with its retail brokerage business, Smith Barney, to create Smith Barney Shearson. The Shearson name was discontinued in 1994.

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Article summary

Shearson was the name of a series of investment banking and retail brokerage firms from 1902 until 1994, named for Edward Shearson and the firm he founded, Shearson Hammill & Co. Among Shearson's most notable incarnations were Shearson / American Express, Shearson Lehman / American Express, Shearson Lehman Brothers, Shearson Lehman Hutton and finally Smith Barney Shearson. For its first eight decades, the firm operated independently and merged with several Wall Street securities firms including Hayden Stone & Co. and Loeb Rhoades & Co. In 1981, Shearson was acquired by American Express and operated as a subsidiary of the financial services company before being merged with Lehman Brothers Kuhn Loeb in 1984 and E.F. Hutton & Co. in 1988. In 1993, Shearson was sold to Primerica, a predecessor of Citigroup, and merged with its retail brokerage business, Smith Barney, to create Smith Barney Shearson. The Shearson name was discontinued in 1994.

Key claims

  1. date of birth: 1956 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  2. date of formation: 1984 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  3. date of formation: 1993 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  4. date of foundation: 1902 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  5. date of foundation: 1904 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  6. date of foundation: 1974 — 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 "1956". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. The record states that the date of formation is "1984". What evidence would count against this claim?
  4. The record states that the date of formation is "1993". What evidence would count against this claim?
  5. The record states that the date of foundation is "1902". What evidence would count against this claim?
  6. The record states that the date of foundation is "1904". What evidence would count against this claim?
  7. The record states that the date of foundation is "1974". What evidence would count against this claim?
  8. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  9. 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=1359481769

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