Wikipedia's first sentence called it “prominent american lawyer”. Today it says “american lawyer who became prominent as a member of the anglo-american committee of inquiry”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “20th-century American lawyer and writer”. It now reads “American lawyer and writer”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2015 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2015
Bartley Cavanaugh Crum (1900-December 9, 1959) was a prominent American lawyer , who became prominent as an author and for defending targets of the House Un-American Activities Committee . A Roman Catholic , Crum was a member of the Anglo-American Commission of Inquiry on Palestine in 1945 that advised President Harry Truman to support the opening of the British Mandate of Palestine to unrestricted Jewish immigration, and to allow the creation of a Jewish state . His book, Behind the Silken Curtain a Personal Account of Anglo-American Diplomacy in Palestine and the Middle East was published by Simon & Schuster in 1947. He was publisher of the New York Star newspaper until its closure in January 1947. Crum was the attorney for some of the so-called " Hollywood Ten " who were subpoenaed to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1949. Crum answered Paul Robeson in his "crusade call" and endorsed the American Crusade Against Lynching (ACAL) organization. The ACAL had been accused of socialist and communist motives; which led to the organization, including Crum, coming under close watch by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The FBI tapped Crum's phones, opened his mail, and shadowed him constantly. Labeled as subversive, he ended up losing most of his clients and, unable to cope with stress from the harassment, committed suicide in 1959 by washing down an entire bottle of Seconal with whisky . His son, Bartley Crum, Jr., had committed suicide in 1953 by shooting himself with his grandfather's gun in his freshman year at Reed College . Crum's daughter, Patricia Bosworth , is a successful writer and former actress. In 1997 she wrote a family memoir, Anything Your Little Heart Desires , reminiscing about her father. Paul Robeson: A Life of Activism and Art .1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 660418405.
The opening as it stood in 2010
Bartley Cavanaugh Crum (1900- December 9, 1959 ) was a prominent American lawyer . A Roman Catholic , Crum was a member of the Anglo-American Commission of Inquiry on Palestine in 1945 that advised President Harry Truman to support the opening of the British Mandate of Palestine to unrestricted Jewish immigration, and to allow the creation of a Jewish state . His book, Behind the Silken Curtain a Personal Account of Anglo-American Diplomacy in Palestine and the Middle East was published by Simon & Schuster in 1947. He was publisher of the New York Star newspaper until its close in January 1947. Crum was the attorney for some of the so-called " Hollywood Ten " who were subpoenaed to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1949. The FBI tapped Crum's phones, opened his mail, and shadowed him constantly. Labeled as subversive , he ended up losing most of his clients and, unable to cope with stress from the harassment, committed suicide in 1959 by washing down an entire bottle of Seconal with whisky . His son, Bartley Crum, Jr., had committed suicide in 1953 by shooting himself with his grandfather's gun in his freshman year at Reed College . Crum's daughter, Patricia Bosworth , is a successful writer.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 332526538.
The opening as it stood in 2020 13 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Crum (1900 – 1959), was a mid-20th-century American lawyer, who became prominent as a member of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry , his book on that experience, and for defending targets of HUAC , particularly the Hollywood Ten and Paul Robeson .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 956300416.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
American lawyer and writer Bartley Crum (November 28, 1900 – December 9, 1959) was an American lawyer who became prominent as a member of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry , his book on that experience, and for defending targets of HUAC , particularly the Hollywood Ten and Paul Robeson .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1173814377.
The opening as it stood in 2025
American lawyer and writer Bartley Crum (November 28, 1900 – December 9, 1959) was an American lawyer who became prominent as a member of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry , for his book on that experience, and for defending targets of HUAC , particularly the Hollywood Ten and Paul Robeson .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1288492551. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “prominent american lawyer”. Today it says “american lawyer who became prominent as a member of the anglo-american committee of inquiry”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “20th-century American lawyer and writer”. It now reads “American lawyer and writer”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
prominent american lawyer
Now
american lawyer who became prominent as a member of the anglo-american committee of inquiry
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
