Claim: On 28th February 2020 the Wikipedia page for the Humanitarian League was revised to state that Ernest Bell was a founding member of the Humanitarian League.
Explainer: There is no doubt that after Henry Salt the most important figure in the history of the Humanitarian League was Ernest Bell. His commitment as treasurer and chairman for over twenty years speaks for itself, and that was only the start of his contributation.
The Wikipedia contributator Throughthemind cited Ernest Bell, President of the Vegetarian Society, published in the The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review, October 1933, as the source for the claim. The article states, “He [Ernest Bell] was closely associated with Mr. H. S. Salt in the Humanitarian League (a society which in its time did immense service to all humanitarian movements) being its Chairman of Committee, and Treasurer for over twenty years.” At no point does the article state that Ernest Bell was a founding member.
In Reminiscences of Ernest Bell Henry Salt states, “My memory is bad, and I cannot recall the date or the occasion of our first meeting… I find him mentioned as present at a committee meeting of the Humanitarian League in 1892.” Regardless of his bad memory, it’s likely Salt would have remembered if Ernest Bell was at the launch meeting in 1891.
Writing about the Humanitarian League in 1916 Salt does not list Ernest Bell at the launch meeting. It’s possible that not everyone present was listed, but Salt goes on to state that, “The Committee was gradually strengthened by the inclusion of such experienced workers as … Mr. Ernest Bell.”
The obituary of Ernest Bell in the Animal World, November 1933, states “He [Ernest Bell] was… a prominent member of the Humanitarian League, which he joined within a few months of its formation…”.
Ernest Bell was not a founding member of the Humanitarian League but this does nothing to diminished his contribution to the society.
The strength of Wikipedia is that contributors with vast knowledge of their subject can share this with a wider community, but by the same token anyone can vandalise pages with their misinformation.
Wikipedia is not a reliable source for information for acedamic research on Henry Salt, Ernest Bell and the Humanitarian League.
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