Frederic Mayer Bird
American clergyman
Frederic Mayer Bird (1838–1908) was an American clergyman, educator, and hymnologist born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to famed playwright and novelist Robert Montgomery Bird. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1857 and the Union Theological Seminary in 1860, and from 1860 to 1867 was a Lutheran minister. In 1868 he took orders in the Episcopal Church.
He edited some religious publications, and published The story of our Christianity (1893).
He also wrote A Pessimist; in Theory and Practice (1888) under the pen-name "Robert Timsol".
He also wrote and edited "Heroes and Martyrs of Christianity," published in 1897.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Frederic Mayer Bird” is american clergyman. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Frederic, Mayer and Bird, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “american clergyman” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q5497098. VIAF identifies the subject as 73113516. The Library of Congress control number is n96002423. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1838, 1908, 1857 and 1860.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. 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
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.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Frederic Mayer Bird”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Frederic Mayer Bird primary sources, Frederic Mayer Bird archive and Frederic research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Frederic Mayer Bird”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Frederic Mayer Bird” 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.