Charles Dilly (1739–1807) was an English publisher and bookseller.

Life

He was born 22 May 1739 at

Southill, Bedfordshire Southill is a rural village and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of the county of Bedfordshire, England; about south-east of the county town of Bedford. The 2011 census showed the population for the civil parish as 1,192. The ...

, in a

yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...

family. After making a short trip to America, he returned to London, his elder brother Edward, took him into partnership, and the business was carried on under their joint names. The brothers published

James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 ( N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of his friend and older contemporary the English writer ...

's ''

Life of Johnson Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy tran ...

'' (first three editions), '' Tour to the Hebrides'', and ''

An Account of Corsica ''An Account of Corsica'' is the earliest piece of writing related to the Grand Tour literature that was written by the Scottish author James Boswell. Its first and second editions were published in 1768, with a third edition within twelve month ...

'',

Lord Chesterfield Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, (22 September 169424 March 1773) was a British statesman, diplomat, and man of letters, and an acclaimed wit of his time. Early life He was born in London to Philip Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Ches ...

's ''Miscellaneous Works'', and other standard books. They were also hospitable at The Poultry, and gave dinners described in the memoirs of the period. Samuel Johnson was frequently their guest, and had his famous meeting with

John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he f ...

at their table, 15 May 1776; with whom he dined a second time with them, 8 May 1781. Other frequent guests were

Richard Cumberland Richard Cumberland may refer to: * Richard Cumberland (philosopher) (1631–1718), bishop, philosopher * Richard Cumberland (dramatist) (1732–1811), civil servant, dramatist * Richard Cumberland (priest) (1710–1737), Archdeacon of Northa ...

, Oliver Goldsmith,

John Hoole John Hoole (December 1727 – 2 August 1803) was an English translator, the son of Samuel Hoole (born 1692), a mechanic, and Sarah Drury (c. 1700 – c. 1793), the daughter of a Clerkenwell clockmaker. He became a personal friend of Samuel Johnso ...

Vicesimus Knox Vicesimus Knox (1752–1821) was an English essayist, headmaster and Anglican priest. Life Knox was born 8 December 1752, at Newington Green, Middlesex, the son of Vicesimus Knox (1729–1780), a cleric and schoolmaster, and his wife Ann Wall, da ...

Samuel Parr Samuel Parr (26 January 1747 – 6 March 1825), was an English schoolmaster, writer, minister and Doctor of Law. He was known in his time for political writing, and (flatteringly) as "the Whig Johnson", though his reputation has lasted less well ...

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...

, Isaac Reed,

Samuel Rogers Samuel Rogers (30 July 1763 – 18 December 1855) was an English poet, during his lifetime one of the most celebrated, although his fame has long since been eclipsed by his Romantic colleagues and friends Wordsworth, Coleridge and Byron. ...

, Sutton Sharpe and James Thomson were among the frequent dinner guests. On the death of his brother Edward in 1779, Charles Dilly continued the business alone, and kept up the social life for which the two had been famous. He was invited to become an

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

for the ward of

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in 1782, but retired in favour of Boydell. A plea of nonconformity excused him from the office of

sheriff of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ju ...

. In 1803 he was master of the

Stationers' Company The Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers (until 1937 the Worshipful Company of Stationers), usually known as the Stationers' Company, is one of the livery companies of the City of London. The Stationers' Company was formed in ...

Last years

After a prosperous career of more than 40 years, Dilly retired in favour of Joseph Mawman, who had been in business in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. He continued literary dinner-parties at his new house in Brunswick Row, Queen Square, and lived there a few years before his death, which took place at Ramsgate, while on a visit to Richard Cumberland, on 4 May 1807. He was buried 12 May, in the cemetery of St. George the Martyr, Queen Square. He left a fortune of nearly £60,000.

Politics

Edward and Charles Dilly were seen as radical publishers. Charles Dilly, a dissenter, belonged to the

Club of Honest Whigs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

circle, and was a member of the

Society for Constitutional Information The Society for Constitutional Information was a British activist group founded in 1780 by Major John Cartwright, to promote parliamentary reform. It was an organisation of social reformers, many of whom were drawn from the rational dissenting c ...

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Dilly, Charles 1739 births 1837 deaths Publishers (people) from London English Dissenters People from Southill, Bedfordshire