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Harry Duncan

American businessman known for Little Tavern hamburger shops (1899–1992)

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionDec 29, 2025
Entity authorityQ5668488
Source-derived summary

Harry F. Duncan (February 19, 1899 – April 17, 1992) was an American businessman known for founding Little Tavern shops. Duncan opened his first store in 1928 in Washington, DC. By 1939, the chain had grown to almost 50 stores. Their motto was "Buy 'em by the bag."

Duncan donated to numerous organizations and charities via the Harry F. Duncan Foundation. located in Towson, Maryland. Some of his beneficiaries include the Andrew County Museum, Boy Scouts of America, Habitat for Humanity, and American Red Cross. He sat on the Board of Trustees for George Washington University

and received an honorary doctorate for public service from the university in 1983.

Duncan was survived by his wife, Anneliese H. Duncan, who served as president of the Harry F. Duncan Foundation.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Harry Duncan” as american businessman known for Little Tavern hamburger shops (1899–1992). 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—1899, 1992, 1928, 1939—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1899-02-19. The account is most persuasive where Harry, Duncan and American 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 businessman known for Little Tavern hamburger shops (1899–1992). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 29, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q5668488. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1899, 1992, 1928 and 1939.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. 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.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

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