Wikipedia's first sentence called it “british soldier and civil servant”. Today it says “british soldier and colonial administrator”.
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.
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The opening as it read in 2005
Matthew Nathan ( 1862 - 1939 ) was a British soldier and civil servant.1He was born on 3 January 1862 at Paddington , England . He was edcuated at Royal Military College, Sandhurst and Royal Engineers' School, Chatham in 1880 - 1884 when he was gazetted to Royal Engineers in 1880 . He was sent to military expedition to Sudan (1884-1885) and to Lushai (1889-1894). He was promoted to the position of Captain in 1889 . He became the secretary to the Colonial Defence Committee in 1896-1898 and he was promoted to Major in 1898 . He was appointed governor of Sierra Leone (acting, 1899-1900), Gold Coast (1900-1903), Hong Kong (1903-1907), and Natal (1907-1909). He was raise to a higher rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1907 . He returned to England in 1907 and and took up an appointment of secretary to the General Post Office (1909-1911). He served as under-secretary for Ireland in 1914-1916 and secretary to the Ministry of Pension in 1916-1919. He was appointed governor of Queensland from 3 December 1920 to 17 September 1925 . During his five years in that position he promoted British migration to Queensland . He left Queensland in 1925 for years of semi-retirement in Somerset , England. He died there in 1939 . Nathan never married, but it was said that he had affairs with a number of women. He was maded a K.C.M.G. in 1902 and a G.C.M.G. in 1908. Nathan Road , the main commercial artery in Kowloon , Hong Kong (otherwise known as the Golden Mile), was named after him, who served as governor at the time the road was renovated.2
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16570944.
The opening as it stood in 2010 16 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Matthew Nathan , GCMG ( Chinese name: 彌敦) (3 January 1862 – 18 April 1939) was a British soldier and civil servant, who variously served as the Governor of Sierra Leone , Gold Coast , Hong Kong , Natal and Queensland .He was Under-Secretary for Ireland from 1914 to 1916, and was responsible, with the Chief Secretary , Augustine Birrell , for co-ordinating the British response to the Easter Rising in Ireland .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 366257783.
The opening as it stood in 2015
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Matthew Nathan GCMG , PC (3 January 1862 – 18 April 1939) was a British soldier and colonial administrator, who variously served as the Governor of Sierra Leone , Gold Coast , Hong Kong , Natal and Queensland .He was Under-Secretary for Ireland from 1914 to 1916, and was responsible, with the Chief Secretary , Augustine Birrell , for the administration of Ireland in the years immediately preceding the Easter Rising .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 667020786.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Matthew Nathan , GCMG , PC (Ire) (3 January 1862 – 18 April 1939) was a British soldier and colonial administrator, who variously served as the Governor of Sierra Leone , Gold Coast , Hong Kong , Natal and Queensland . He was Under-Secretary for Ireland from 1914 to 1916, and was responsible, with the Chief Secretary , Augustine Birrell , for the administration of Ireland in the years immediately preceding the Easter Rising .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 952484449.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
British soldier and colonial administrator (1862-1939) For the U.S. Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Matthew Nathan GCMG PC (Ire) (3 January 1862 – 18 April 1939) was a British soldier and colonial administrator, who variously served as the Governor of Sierra Leone , Gold Coast , Hong Kong , Natal and Queensland . He was Under-Secretary for Ireland from 1914 to 1916, and was responsible, with the Chief Secretary , Augustine Birrell , for the administration of Ireland in the years immediately preceding the Easter Rising .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1171420312. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “british soldier and civil servant”. Today it says “british soldier and colonial administrator”. 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
british soldier and civil servant
Now
british soldier and colonial administrator
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.
