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Research dossier · General Reference

Tom Alley

American racing driver (1889–1953)

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 2, 2026
Entity authorityQ7814768 ↗
Source-derived summary

Thomas Wilkenson Alley (May 21, 1889 – March 26, 1953) was an American racing driver. Alley was also a riding mechanic, most notably during the 1914 Vanderbilt Cup with Ralph DePalma.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Tom Alley” as american racing driver (1889–1953). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1889, 1953, 1914—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1889-05-21. The account is most persuasive where Alley, American and racing can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as american racing driver (1889–1953). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7814768. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1889, 1953 and 1914.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Tom Alley”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Tom Alley primary sources, Tom Alley archive and Alley research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Tom Alley”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Tom Alley” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.