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Philip Hoffman (British politician)

British trade unionist and Labour Party politician (1878-1959)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionFeb 5, 2025
Entity authorityQ7183747
Source-derived summary

Philip Christopher Hoffman (26 June 1878 – 20 April 1959) was a British trade unionist and Labour Party politician.

Born in London, Hoffman studied at the Coopers' Company and Coborn School in Stepney (now in Upminster), then the Warehousemen, Clerks and Drapers School at Purley. He became a draper and an active trade unionist, and was soon working for the Shop Assistants Union. In 1908, he was the union's South Wales Organiser.

Hoffman stood as the Labour Party candidate for South East Essex in 1922, and was elected at the 1923 general election. He lost the seat in 1924, and in 1929 was instead elected for Sheffield Central. He lost this seat in 1931 and narrowly failed to regain it in 1935.

After the Second World War, he authored 'They Also Serve,' a history of the Shop Assistants Union.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Philip Hoffman (British politician)” as british trade unionist and Labour Party politician (1878-1959). 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—1878, 1959, 1908, 1922—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1878-06-26. The account is most persuasive where Philip, Hoffman and British can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as british trade unionist and Labour Party politician (1878-1959). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

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 Feb 5, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q7183747. VIAF identifies the subject as 92815665. The Library of Congress control number is no2014018881. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1878, 1959, 1908 and 1922.

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
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 “Philip Hoffman (British politician)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Philip Hoffman (British politician) primary sources, Philip Hoffman (British politician) archive and Philip 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 “Philip Hoffman (British politician)”?
  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 Philip Hoffman (British politician)” 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.