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George Dubourg

British writer

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 23, 2023
Entity authorityQ5538637 ↗
Source-derived summary

George Dubourg (1799 – 17 April 1882), was an English writer on the violin and a songwriter.

Dubourg was the grandson of violinist Matthew Dubourg. In 1836, George Dubourg published The Violin, being an Account of that leading Instrument and its most eminent Professors, &c., a work that was frequently reprinted. He was also a songwriter; his best known song was John Parry's "Wanted a Governess". During most of his life, Dubourg contributed articles to newspapers, especially in Brighton, England, where he lived for several years.

Dubourg later settled in Maidenhead, Berkshire, where he died on 17 April 1882.

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Dubourg, George". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “George Dubourg” is british writer. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through George, Dubourg and British, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA productive starting point for separating a subject’s documented career from later reputation and commemoration. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1799, 1882, 1836, 1885—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1799-01-01. For this dossier, George, Dubourg and British is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “british writer” 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.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2023. The linked authority identifier is Q5538637. VIAF identifies the subject as 7192793. The Library of Congress control number is no2008028261. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1799, 1882, 1836 and 1885.

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 “George Dubourg”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow George Dubourg primary sources, George Dubourg archive and George 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 “George Dubourg”?
  2. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “George Dubourg” 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.