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Michael Harrington (Canadian writer)

Canadian writer and academic

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 30, 2026
Entity authorityQ6830960 ↗
Source-derived summary

Michael Harrington (1916–1999) was a Newfoundland and Labrador educator, writer, historian and broadcaster. He served as editor-in-chief at The Telegram for the period 1959–1982.

Harrington was born in St. John's, Newfoundland. He attended Memorial University College, where he founded the first student newspaper. He became the first graduate of Memorial University (B.A., 1951) after its elevation to a degree-granting institution.

In addition to working variously in publishing, writing and broadcasting, Harrington briefly entered politics. He was elected to the 1946 Newfoundland National Convention, and then ran for the Conservatives in the first general election held after confederation. Although he was not elected, he continued to be active in public life throughout his career, volunteering with many heritage and educational organizations in Newfoundland.

Harrington was honoured with many awards, including the Order of Canada, and an honorary doctorate from Memorial University.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Michael Harrington (Canadian writer)” as canadian writer and academic. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Michael, Harrington and Canadian.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1916, 1999, 1959, 1982—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1916-01-01. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Michael, Harrington and Canadian providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Michael Harrington (Canadian writer)”, the useful work is to connect “canadian writer and academic” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

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 Apr 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6830960. VIAF identifies the subject as 28576180. The Library of Congress control number is n86868145. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1916, 1999, 1959 and 1982.

Critical limits

Later biographies can compress uncertainty and repeat inherited reputations, so apparently settled claims may still require comparison. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. 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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  2. Expand the search: follow Michael Harrington (Canadian writer) primary sources, Michael Harrington (Canadian writer) archive and Michael 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 “Michael Harrington (Canadian writer)” 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.