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Arthur Colefax

British politician (1866-1936)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 11, 2024
Entity authorityQ4798304 ↗
Source-derived summary

Sir Henry Arthur Colefax, KBE, KC (9 July 1866 – 19 February 1936) was a British patent lawyer and Liberal Unionist politician.

Biography

Colefax was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, and was the son of J S Colefax, a woollen merchant. He was initially educated at Bradford Grammar School before studying natural science and chemistry at the University of Strasbourg, and at Merton and Christ Church Colleges at the University of Oxford.

In 1894 he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn, and quickly became an acknowledged expert on patent law. He was made a King's Counsel in 1912.

At the January 1910 general election he was elected as Liberal Unionist Member of Parliament (MP) for Manchester South West, benefiting from a split in anti-Unionist vote between the Social Democratic Federation and Liberal candidates. He held the seat for less than a year, and was defeated at ensuing election in December.

Much of his work was involved in Anglo-German patents, but this was ended by outbreak of the First World War. He became head of the scientific department of the Ministry of Munitions for the duration of the war. He was knighted for his wartime services in 1920.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Arthur Colefax” as british politician (1866-1936). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1866, 1936, 1894, 1912—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1866-01-01. The account is most persuasive where Arthur, Colefax and British can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as british politician (1866-1936). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 11, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q4798304. VIAF identifies the subject as 35915043. The Library of Congress control number is n85351999. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1866, 1936, 1894 and 1912.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Arthur Colefax”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Arthur Colefax primary sources, Arthur Colefax archive and Arthur 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 “Arthur Colefax”?
  2. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Arthur Colefax” 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.