Wikipedia's first sentence called it “jewish philanthropist”. Today it says “british philanthropist of portuguese jewish origins”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “WWI tank man Sir”. It now reads “British Jewish philanthropist Sir”.
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 2005 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 2005
Basil Henriques Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques ( 1890 - 1961 ) was a Jewish philanthropist, concentrating his work in the East End of London during the first half of the 20th century .1From a prominent Jewish family, Henriques was educated at Harrow School and University College, Oxford .2After serving with distinction in the Tank Regiment during the World war I , he married in 1917 Rose Loewe, she was to assist him in his work throughout their marriage.3In addition to writing reforms to religious Jewish ceremonies, Henriques set up boy's clubs for deprived Jewish children, where the members received, education, vocational training and holidays in the country. His attitude to the care of less fortunate children was one of understanding through love and kindness, which was not always the case at that time. In this way he was a forerunner of today's attitude to the social welfare of children. He later became a magistrate , and was knighted in 1948 . From 1923 until 1950 he would frequently send deprived, sick or merely tired children to his country home at Linslade in Buckinghamshire for rest and recuperation. During her widowhood in 1966 , Lady Henriques published "50 Years in Stepney " a biography of her husband. Basil Henriques was the author of several books, mostly concerned with the care of youth, these included: (1945) What is Judaism. (1950) The indiscretions of a magistrate. (1951) Fratres : club boys in uniform, an anthology. (1955) The home-menders : the prevention of unhappiness in children.4
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 17459102.
The opening as it stood in 2010 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Sir Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques (1890–1961) was a Jewish philanthropist, concentrating his work in the East End of London during the first half of the 20th century. Sir Basil Henriques From a prominent Jewish family, Henriques was educated at Harrow School and University College, Oxford . After serving with distinction in the Tank Corps during World War I , he married in 1916 Rose Loewe, and they worked together throughout their marriage.In addition to writing reforms to religious Jewish ceremonies, Henriques set up boys clubs for deprived Jewish children, where the members received education, vocational training, recreation and holidays in the country. His attitude to the care of less fortunate children was one of understanding through love and kindness, which was not always the case at that time. In this way he was a forerunner of today's attitude to the social welfare of children. He later became a magistrate , and was knighted in 1955. From 1923 until 1950, he would frequently send deprived, sick or merely tired children to his country home at Linslade in Buckinghamshire for rest and recuperation. During her widowhood in 1966, Lady Henriques published Years in Stepney , a biography of her husband. Basil Henriques was the author of several books, mostly concerned with the care of youth, these included: (1945) What is Judaism . (1950) The indiscretions of a magistrate . (1951) Fratres: club boys in uniform, an anthology . (1955) The home-menders: the prevention of unhappiness in children . He also wrote the Foreword to Enid Blyton 's novel The Six Bad Boys (1951), which relates the bad consequences of family breakdown for six boys, culminating in their appearing in a children's court for theft.The book relates the courtroom scene in detail, and Basil Henriques, in his Foreword, praises Blyton for her treatment of this subject, and stresses the negative effects of broken homes on children.The former Berner Street in Whitechapel was renamed Henriques Street in his honour.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 363117988.
The opening as it stood in 2015
Sir Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques (1890–1961) was a Jewish philanthropist of Portuguese origins , concentrating his work in the East End of London during the first half of the 20th century. Sir Basil Henriques From a prominent Jewish family, Henriques was educated at Harrow School and University College, Oxford . Henriques served with distinction in the Tank Corps during World War I , taking part in the Battle of Flers where his tank, C22, was ordered to clear the Quadrilateral to the north east of Ginchy.During this operation his tank mistakenly engaged soldiers from The Norfolk Regiment , resulting in several fatalities.He married Rose Loewe in 1916, and they worked together throughout their marriage. In addition to writing reforms to religious Jewish ceremonies, Henriques set up boys' clubs for deprived Jewish children. The boys received education, vocational training, recreation and holidays in the country. Henrinques's attitude to the care of less fortunate children was one of understanding through love and kindness. In this way he anticipated today's attitude to the social welfare of children. From 1923 until 1950, he would frequently send deprived, sick or merely tired children to his country home at Linslade in Buckinghamshire for rest and recuperation. Basil Henriques was the author of several books, mostly concerned with the care of youth, including: (1945) What is Judaism . (1950) The indiscretions of a magistrate . (1951) Fratres: club boys in uniform, an anthology . (1955) The home-menders: the prevention of unhappiness in children . He later became a magistrate , and was knighted in 1955. During her widowhood in 1966, Lady Henriques published Years in Stepney , a biography of her husband. In his role as a children's court magistrate, he also wrote the Foreword to Enid Blyton 's novel The Six Bad Boys (1951), which relates the bad consequences of family breakdown for six boys, culminating in their appearing in a children's court for theft. Henriques, in his Foreword, praises Blyton for her treatment of this subject, and stresses the negative effects of broken homes on children - one of the major themes of this novel. The former Berner Street in Whitechapel was renamed Henriques Street in his honour.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 660462459.
The opening as it stood in 2020 18 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Sir Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques CBE JP (17 October 1890 – 2 December 1961) was a British philanthropist of Portuguese Jewish origins , concentrating his work in the East End of London during the first half of the 20th century.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 947275006.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Sir Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques CBE JP (17 October 1890 – 2 December 1961) was a British philanthropist of Portuguese Jewish origins , concentrating his work in the East End of London during the first half of the 20th century. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1163700882.
The opening as it stood in 2025
WWI tank man Sir Basil Lucas Quixano Henriques CBE JP (17 October 1890 – 2 December 1961) was a British philanthropist of Portuguese Jewish origins , concentrating his work in the East End of London during the first half of the 20th century. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1296386131. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “jewish philanthropist”. Today it says “british philanthropist of portuguese jewish origins”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “WWI tank man Sir”. It now reads “British Jewish philanthropist Sir”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
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 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
jewish philanthropist
Now
british philanthropist of portuguese jewish origins
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.