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Thomas M. Dougherty

American politician

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 24, 2026
Entity authorityQ111399119
Source-derived summary

Thomas M. Dougherty (February 2, 1910 – September 5, 1996) was an American politician and farmer.

Dougherty was born on an Eddyville, Iowa, farm on February 2, 1910, to parents John H. and Jennie Dougherty. He graduated from St. Patrick's High School in unincorporated Georgetown in 1928 and continued working on the family farm. Dougherty was a member of several agricultural associations. He was seated in the Iowa House of Representatives on February 18, 1964, as a Democratic legislator representing District 17. Dougherty subsequently won two full terms for District 16, and served his third and final full term representing District 94. Dougherty died on September 5, 1996, in Albia.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Thomas M. Dougherty” as american politician. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Thomas, Dougherty and American.

Editorial reviewStrongest as a route into the people, institutions and dated events that shaped the subject’s public record. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1910, 1996, 1928, 1964—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1910-01-01. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Thomas, Dougherty and American providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Thomas M. Dougherty”, the useful work is to connect “american politician” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q111399119. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1910, 1996, 1928 and 1964.

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
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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 “Thomas M. Dougherty”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Thomas M. Dougherty primary sources, Thomas M. Dougherty archive and Thomas 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 “Thomas M. Dougherty”?
  2. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
  3. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Thomas M. Dougherty” 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.