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Thomas Creevey

English politician and writer (1768–1838)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionNov 28, 2024
Entity authorityQ7788693
Source-derived summary

Thomas Creevey (March 1768 – 5 February 1838) was an English politician. He is best known for his insight into social conditions as revealed by his writings, which were published in 1903.

Life

Creevey was the son of William Creevey, a Liverpool merchant, and was born in that city.

He went to Queens' College, Cambridge, and graduated as seventh Wrangler in 1789. The same year he became a student at the Inner Temple, and was called to the bar in 1794. In 1802 he entered Parliament through the Duke of Norfolk's nomination as member for Thetford, and married a widow with six children, Mrs Ord, who had a life interest in a comfortable income.

Creevey was a Whig and a follower of Charles James Fox, and his active intellect and social qualities procured him a considerable intimacy with the leaders of this political circle. In 1806, when the brief "All the Talents" ministry was formed, he was given the office of secretary to the Board of Control; in 1830, when next his party came into power, Creevey, who had lost his seat in parliament, was appointed by Lord Grey Treasurer of the Ordnance; and subsequently Lord Melbourne made him treasurer of Greenwich Hospital. Creevey is also known for being the first civilian to interview the Duke of Wellington after the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815. He and his wife, who was ill at the time, were vacationing in Brussels when Napoleon was defeated by British and Prussian forces near the Belgian border.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Thomas Creevey” as english politician and writer (1768–1838). 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—1768, 1838, 1903, 1789—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1768-03-01. The account is most persuasive where Thomas, Creevey and English can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as english politician and writer (1768–1838). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 28, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q7788693. VIAF identifies the subject as 7079680. The Library of Congress control number is no2003054188. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1768, 1838, 1903 and 1789.

Critical limits

Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. 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
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Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

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  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Thomas Creevey”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Thomas Creevey primary sources, Thomas Creevey archive and Thomas 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

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Thomas Creevey” 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.