Charles Henry Cooper (20 March 1808 – 21 March 1866) was an English
antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...
.
Life
Born at
Marlow, Buckinghamshire, he was descended from a family formerly of
Bray in
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
. He was privately educated in
Reading. In 1826 he settled in
Cambridge, and in 1836 was elected coroner of the
borough. Four years later he qualified as a solicitor, and in time acquired an extensive practice, but he began to devote almost the whole of his time to antiquarian research — especially on the history of the
University of Cambridge.
In 1849 he resigned as borough
coroner
A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
when he was elected to the post of town clerk, which he retained till his death.
[
He is buried in the Mill Road cemetery, Cambridge.
]
Works
His earliest work, ''A New Guide to the University and Town of Cambridge'', was published anonymously in 1831. The ''Annals of Cambridge'' followed (1842–1853), being a chronological history of the University and town from the earliest period to 1853. His most important work, the ''Athenæ Cantabrigienses'' (1858, 1861), a companion work to the famous ''Athenæ Oxonienses'' by Anthony Wood, contains biographical memoirs of the authors and other men of eminence who were educated at the University of Cambridge from 1500 to 1609.[
Cooper's other works are ''The Memorials of Cambridge'', (1858–1866) and a ''Memoir of Margaret, Countess of Richmond and Derby'' (1874). He was a frequent contributor to '' Notes and Queries'', '' The Gentleman's Magazine'', and other antiquarian publications, and left an immense collection of manuscript materials for a biographical history of Great Britain and Ireland.][ His eldest son, Thompson Cooper (1837-1904), was a journalist and '']Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'' contributor.
References
* Cooper, Charles Henry. (1842-1853). ''Annals of Cambridge''. Warwick and Co. (reissued by Cambridge University Press, 2009; )
* Cooper, Charles Henry. (1858-1913).
Athenae Cantabrigienses
'. Deighton & Bell (reissued by Cambridge University Press, 2009; )
External links
*
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1808 births
1866 deaths
English antiquarians
English solicitors
English politicians
English biographers
People from Bray, Berkshire
People from Marlow, Buckinghamshire
People associated with the University of Cambridge
British coroners
19th-century British historians
19th-century English lawyers
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