Christopher John Wright is a former Head of Manuscripts at the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

and

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of both the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

and the

Society of Antiquaries of London A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...

. During his time at the library he oversaw several acquisitions, and in retirement became involved with the

Friends of the British Library The Friends of the British Library is a registered charitable organisation in the UK with close links to the British Library. It provides funding in the form of grants to the British Library in order to allow the Library to acquire new items and ...

and the

Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA) is a committee of the United Kingdom government, advising the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on the export of cultural property. Some of it ...

British Library

Christopher Wright joined the Department of Manuscripts in 1974. In 2002, as

Curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

of Modern Historical Papers, he found a letter regarding Captain Thomas Howard Goad's death at the

Battle of Balaclava The Battle of Balaclava, fought on 25 October 1854 during the Crimean War, was part of the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–55), an Allied attempt to capture the port and fortress of Sevastopol, Russian Empire, Russia's principal naval base on the Bl ...

in the

Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a failed military action involving the British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. Lord Raglan had intended to se ...

, written by Captain Goad's brother Cornet George Goad. It matched a letter bequeathed to the library in the previous year, written by Captain Soame Jenyns to Capt Goad's other brother, Charles. In 2003 he became Head of Manuscripts, until his retirement in October 2005. During this time, along with colleague Michelle Paull, he was responsible for researching the library's acquisition of the Sir

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

collection and preparing it for exhibition, and received the Anthony Powell papers from Michael Meredith of the

Eton College Collections The Eton College Collections are a collection of items of significant cultural or scientific value kept by Eton College in England. They include College Library, College Archives, Eton College Natural History Museum, Casa Guidi, Eton College ...

. In the

2006 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2006 in some Commonwealth realms were announced (on 31 December 2005) in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Grenada, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, and Saint Christopher and Nevis to cel ...

, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. Speaking of his time as Head of Manuscripts following the award, he said, "I was caring for the national collection of manuscripts and acquiring them. We have had several exciting acquisitions during my time in charge, including the archive of Punch magazines. I think it acknowledges scholarship as worthwhile and it actually shows that work demanding patience and care is still important. One of the most satisfying parts of my job was that I was able to bring the collections to the general public through exhibitions." Following his retirement, he became Deputy Chairman of the

on 6 February 2007, taking over from Dr Don Pritchard.

Fellowships and memberships

He has been a

of the

since 1982, and of

since May 2002. In 2005, he was appointed as a member of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's

. As part of the committee's function, they were responsible for deferring the sale of a translation of the Italian opera ''

Erismena ''Erismena'' is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Francesco Cavalli. First performed in Venice in 1655, it was designated as a ''dramma per musica''. Libretto The Italian libretto was by Aurelio Aureli, the only work by this writer for ...

'', the earliest surviving opera score in the English language, dating from the 1670s.

Bibliography

;Writer * ;Editor * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Christopher Employees of the British Library Living people Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Year of birth missing (living people)