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 Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. In 1826 he settled in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, and in 1836 was elected coroner of the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

. 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 , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. 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 ''Notes and Queries'', also styled ''Notes & Queries'', is a long-running quarterly scholarly journal that publishes short articles related to " English language and literature, lexicography, history, and scholarly antiquarianism".From the inne ...

'', ''

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''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 Thompson Cooper (8 January 1837, Cambridge – 5 March 1904, London) was an English journalist, man of letters, and compiler of reference works. He became a specialist in biographical information, and is noted as the most prolific contributor to t ...

(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 Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

, 2009; ) * Cooper, Charles Henry. (1858-1913).
Athenae Cantabrigienses
'. Deighton & Bell (reissued by

, 2009; )

External links

* * 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 {{England-writer-stub