John Whitaker (historian)

John Whitaker (historian)

John Whitaker was a historian, son of James Whitaker, innkeeper, was born in Manchester on 27 April 1735. In 1771, he published the first volume of The History of Manchester. A copy of Whitaker's manuscript of the continuation to the fifteenth century is in Chetham's Library, Manchester.

Whitaker's views on early British society were idiosyncratic: in his "History of Manchester", he argued that the ancient Britons had already established a feudal system, and under the Romans had been entirely converted to Christianity. "The Life of St Neots", published posthumously in 1809, was similarly intended to challenge traditional orthodoxies in the form of the extant saint's lives.

He also published a number of sermons, poems, and articles for Richard Polwhele's "History of Cornwall". He was a prolific reviewer for the English Review, British Critic, and Anti-Jacobin Review, finding this an important means of supplementing his income and paying for the books necessary for his studies. In addition to his published works he had planned or contemplated a number of other projects: a parochial history of Cornwall, a military history of the Romans in Britain, a history of Oxford, one of London, notes on Shakespeare, and illustrations to the Bible. He was a man of fiery temperament and extreme views, and a fervent belief in all the tenets of ‘orthodox’ Christianity. He was able to inspire considerable friendship and loyalty from those who knew him best. His close friend Richard Polwhele described him as being of a tall, muscular frame, dark featured, and with light greenish eyes. He reputedly had a squint and wore false teeth made of ebony. He died at his rectory on 30 October 1808 and was buried in Ruan Lanihorne in Cornwall ; his widow, who had long suffered ill health, lived on until 30 December 1828.

He studied the decline of the Cornish language and concluded in his work "the Ancient Cathedral of Cornwall"... [Fred W.P. Jago, The Ancient Language and the Dialect of Cornwall, AMS Press, NY, 1983, (originally published 1882, Netherton and Worth, Truro), pp.4ff.

]

"The English Liturgy, was not desired by the Cornish, but forced upon them by the tyranny of England, at a time when the English language was yet unknown in Cornwall. This act of tyranny was at once gross barbarity to the Cornish people, and a death blow to the Cornish language"

Works

*The Life of Saint Neot, the Oldest of all the Brothers to King Alfred for John Joseph Stockdale, London, 1809

* "Ancient Cathedral of Cornwall Historically Surveyed in 2 Volumes" Printed for John Stockdale, 1804.
* "The real origin of government". Printed for John Stockdale, 1795.
* "The Origin of Arianism Disclosed"
* "Mary Queen of Scots Vindicated" (In three volumes)
* "The Course of Hannibal Over the Alps Ascertained"

External links

* http://www.mancuniensis.info/Chronology/Chronology1808FPX.htm

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • John Whitaker — is the name of:* John Whitaker (equestrian) (born 1955), British showjumper * John Whitaker (gymnast) (1886 ), British gymnast * John Whitaker (Iowa politician), American politician from Iowa * John A. Whitaker (1901 1951), American politician… …   Wikipedia

  • John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton — The Right Honourable The Lord Acton KCVO, DL Member of Parliament for Bridgnorth In off …   Wikipedia

  • John Maynard Keynes — Keynes redirects here. For other uses, see Keynes (disambiguation). John Maynard Keynes Keynesian economics John Maynard Keynes Born …   Wikipedia

  • Robert Whitaker (photographer) — Robert Whitaker (born 1939) is a renowned British photographer, best known internationally for his many photographs of The Beatles, taken between 1964 and 1966, and for his photographs of the rock group Cream, which were used in the Martin Sharp… …   Wikipedia

  • Mamucium — Mamucium …   Wikipedia

  • George Chalmers — For the Major League Baseball player, see George Chalmers George Chalmers (1742 ndash; May 31, 1825), was a Scottish antiquarian and political writer.BiographyChalmers was born at Fochabers, Moray, in 1742. His father, James Chalmers, was a… …   Wikipedia

  • St Clement Eastcheap — Infobox church name = St. Clement Eastcheap fullname = color = imagesize = caption = Photo of St. Clement Eastcheap, April 2006 landscape = denomination = Anglican, earlier Roman Catholic diocese = parish = division = subdivision = founded date …   Wikipedia

  • List of Dartmouth College alumni — This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries. The Dartmouth College class of 1920, posing in the Bema …   Wikipedia

  • Genocides in history — Genocide is the mass killing of a group of people, as defined by Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG) as any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a… …   Wikipedia

  • encyclopaedia — Reference work that contains information on all branches of knowledge or that treats a particular branch of knowledge comprehensively. It is self contained and explains subjects in greater detail than a dictionary. It differs from an almanac in… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”