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Edward Clodd (1 July 1840 – 16 March 1930) was an English banker, writer and anthropologist. He had a great variety of literary and scientific friends, who periodically met at
Whitsun Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the ...
day (a springtime holiday) gatherings at his home at
Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the international Alde ...
in Suffolk.


Biography

Although born in
Margate Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook. The town has been a significan ...
, where his father was captain of a trading brig, the family moved soon afterward to Aldeburgh, his father's ancestors deriving from Parham and
Framlingham Framlingham is a market town and civil parish in Suffolk, England. Of Anglo-Saxon origin, it appears in the 1086 Domesday Book. The parish had a population of 3,342 at the 2011 Census and an estimated 4,016 in 2019. Nearby villages include Ea ...
in Suffolk. Born to a
Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
family, his parents wished him to become a minister, but he instead began a career in accountancy and banking, relocating to London in 1855. He was the only surviving child of seven.Joseph McCabe, ''Edward Clodd: A memoir'', John Lane The Bodley Head, 1932, p.1. Edward first worked unpaid for six months at an accountant's office in Cornhill in London when he was 14 years of age. He worked for the London Joint Stock Bank from 1872 to 1915, and had residences both in London and Suffolk. He married his first wife Eliza Garman, a doctor's daughter in 1862. He had eight children with Eliza, though two died when they were young. In his old age, he married his secretary, Phyllis Maud Rope (born 1887), who survived him by 27 years. Clodd was an early devotee of the work of
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended ...
and had personal acquaintance with
Thomas Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stor ...
and
Herbert Spencer Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English philosopher, psychologist, biologist, anthropologist, and sociologist famous for his hypothesis of social Darwinism. Spencer originated the expression " survival of the fi ...
. He wrote biographies of all three men, and worked to popularise
evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
with books like ''The Childhood of the World'' and ''The Story of Creation: A Plain Account of Evolution''. Clodd was an agnostic and wrote that the Genesis creation narrative of the Bible is similar to other religious myths and should not be read as a literal account. He wrote many popular books on evolutionary science. He wrote a biography of
Thomas Henry Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stori ...
and was a lecturer and populariser of anthropology and evolution. He was also a keen folklorist, joining the
Folklore Society The Folklore Society (FLS) is a national association in the United Kingdom for the study of folklore. It was founded in London in 1878 to study traditional vernacular culture, including traditional music, song, dance and drama, narrative, arts an ...
from 1878, and later becoming its president. He was a Suffolk Secretary of the
Prehistoric Society The Prehistoric Society is an international learned society devoted to the study of the human past from the earliest times until the emergence of written history. Now based at University College London in the United Kingdom, it was founded by V. ...
of East Anglia from 1914 to 1916. He was a prominent member and officer of the Omar Khayyam Club or 'O.K. Club', and organised the planting of the rose from
Omar Khayyam Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīsābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131), commonly known as Omar Khayyam ( fa, عمر خیّام), was a polymath, known for his contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, an ...
's tomb on to the grave of Edward Fitzgerald at
Boulge Boulge is a hamlet and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is about north of Woodbridge. The population remained only minimal at the 2011 Census and was included in the civil parish of Debach. The place-name is ...
, Suffolk, at the Centenary gathering. Clodd had a talent for friendship, and liked to entertain his friends at literary gatherings in Aldeburgh at his seafront home there, Strafford House, during Whitsuntides. Prominent among his literary friends and correspondents were
Grant Allen Charles Grant Blairfindie Allen (February 24, 1848 – October 25, 1899) was a Canadian science writer and novelist, educated in England. He was a public promoter of evolution in the second half of the nineteenth century. Biography Early life a ...
,
George Meredith George Meredith (12 February 1828 – 18 May 1909) was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era. At first his focus was poetry, influenced by John Keats among others, but he gradually established a reputation as a novelist. '' The Ord ...
, Thomas Hardy,
George Gissing George Robert Gissing (; 22 November 1857 – 28 December 1903) was an English novelist, who published 23 novels between 1880 and 1903. His best-known works have reappeared in modern editions. They include '' The Nether World'' (1889), '' New Gr ...
, Edward Fitzgerald,
Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University o ...
,
Cotter Morison James Augustus Cotter Morison (20 April 1832 – 26 February 1888), was an English essayist and historian, born in London. Early years His father, who had made a large fortune as the inventor and proprietor of "Morison's Pills", settled in Pari ...
, Samuel Butler,
Mary Kingsley Mary Henrietta Kingsley (13 October 1862 – 3 June 1900) was an English ethnographer, scientific writer, and explorer whose travels throughout West Africa and resulting work helped shape European perceptions of both African cultures and ...
and Mrs
Lynn Linton Eliza Lynn Linton (10 February 1822 – 14 July 1898) was the first female salaried journalist in Britain and the author of over 20 novels. Despite her path-breaking role as an independent woman, many of her essays took a strong antifeminism, an ...
; he also knew Sir Henry Thompson, Sir
William Huggins Sir William Huggins (7 February 1824 – 12 May 1910) was an English astronomer best known for his pioneering work in astronomical spectroscopy together with his wife, Margaret. Biography William Huggins was born at Cornhill, Middlesex, in ...
, Sir
Laurence Gomme Sir George Laurence Gomme, FSA (18 December 1853 – 23 February 1916) was a public servant and leading British folklorist. He helped found both the Victoria County History and the Folklore Society. He also had an interest in old buildings a ...
, Sir
John Rhys John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...
,
Paul Du Chaillu Paul Belloni Du Chaillu (July 31, 1831 (disputed)April 29, 1903) was a French-American traveler, zoologist, and anthropologist. He became famous in the 1860s as the first modern European outsider to confirm the existence of gorillas, and later t ...
,
Edward Whymper Edward Whymper FRSE (27 April 184016 September 1911) was an English mountaineer, explorer, illustrator, and author best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. Four members of his climbing party were killed during the descent. W ...
,
Alfred Comyn Lyall Sir Alfred Comyn Lyall (4 January 1835 – 10 April 1911) was a British civil servant, literary historian and poet. Early life He was born at Coulsdon in Surrey, the second son of Alfred Lyall and Mary Drummond Broadwood, daughter of James S ...
, York Powell,
William Holman Hunt William Holman Hunt (2 April 1827 – 7 September 1910) was an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His paintings were notable for their great attention to detail, vivid colour, and elaborate symbolis ...
, Sir E. Ray Lankester, H.G. Wells and many others as acquaintances. His hospitality and friendship was an important part of the development of their social relations. George Gissing's close friendship with Clodd began when he accepted an invitation to a Whitsuntide gathering in Aldeburgh in 1895.


Skepticism

Clodd was Chairman of the
Rationalist Press Association The Rationalist Association, originally the Rationalist Press Association, is an organization in the United Kingdom, founded in 1885 by a group of freethinkers who were unhappy with the increasingly political and decreasingly intellectual tenor ...
from 1906 to 1913. He was skeptical about claims of the
paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...
and
psychical research Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry) and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near- ...
, which he wrote were the result of superstition and the outcome of ignorance. He criticised the spiritualist writings of
Oliver Lodge Sir Oliver Joseph Lodge, (12 June 1851 – 22 August 1940) was a British physicist and writer involved in the development of, and holder of key patents for, radio. He identified electromagnetic radiation independent of Hertz's proof and at his ...
as non-scientific. His book ''Question: A Brief History and Examination of Modern Spiritualism'' (1917) exposed fraudulent mediumship and the irrational belief in
spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and Mind-body dualism, dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (w ...
and
Theosophy Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion ...
.''Edward Clodd Clouts the Spiritualists''. '' The Sun''. Sunday, March 10, 1918.


Works

The following list is incomplete. Biographies of Darwin, Wallace, Bates and Spencer exist. * 1872: ''The Childhood of the World'' * 1875: ''The Birth and Growth of Myth and its Survival in Folk-Lore, Legend, and Dogma''. Thomas Scott, London * 1880: ''Jesus of Nazareth''. Kegan Paul, London. * 1882: ''Nature Studies''. (with Grant Allen, Andrew Wilson, Thomas Foster and
Richard Proctor Richard Anthony Proctor (23 March 1837 – 12 September 1888) was an English astronomer. He is best remembered for having produced one of the earliest maps of Mars in 1867 from 27 drawings by the English observer William Rutter Dawes. His map w ...
) Wyman, London. * 1888
''The Story of Creation: A Plain Account of Evolution''
* 1891: ''Myths and Dreams''. Chatto & Windus, London. * 1893: ''The Story of Human Origins'' (with S. Laing). Chapman & Hall, London. * 1895
''A Primer of Evolution''
Longmans, Green, New York. * 1895: ''The Story of "Primitive" Man''. Newnes, London; Appleton, New York. * 1896: ''The Childhood of Religions''. Kegan Paul, London. * 1897
''Pioneers of Evolution from Thales to Huxley''
Grant Richards, London. * 1898: ''Tom Tit Tot: An essay on savage philosophy in folk-tale''. * 1900: ''The story of the Alphabet''. Newnes, London. * 1900: ''Grant Allen: A Memoir''. * 1902: ''Thomas Henry Huxley''. Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh & London. * 1905
''Animism: the seed of religion''
Constable, London. * 1916
''Memories''
Chapman & Hall, London. * 1917
''The Question: If a Man Die, Shall He Live Again?''
E. J. Clode, New York. * 1920: ''Magic in Names & Other Things''. Chapman & Hall, London. * 1922
''Occultism''
The Hibbert Journal. * 1922
''Occultism: Two Lectures''
Watts & Co, London. * 1923: ''The Ultimate Guide to Brighton, England''. McStewart & Earnshaw, London.


Gallery

Image:Edward_Clodd_with_associates.jpg, A group photo outside his Aldeburgh home: Thomas Hardy in the centre Image:Edward_Clodd_and_Phyllis_née_Rope.jpg, EC with his second wife, Phyllis née Rope


References

*'' Dictionary of National Biography'' article by
E. S. P. Haynes Edmund Sidney Pollock Haynes (26 September 1877 – 5 January 1949), best known as E. S. P. Haynes was a British lawyer and writer. Biography The son of a London solicitor, Haynes was a King's Scholar at Eton College and a winner of a Bracke ...
; revised for the ''
Oxford 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 ...
'' by J. F. M. Clark. *
Joseph McCabe Joseph Martin McCabe (12 November 1867 – 10 January 1955) was an English writer and speaker on freethought, after having been a Roman Catholic priest earlier in his life. He was "one of the great mouthpieces of freethought in England". Becomin ...
. (1932)
''Edward Clodd: A Memoir''
John Lane.


External links

* * * Archival material at {{DEFAULTSORT:Clodd, Edward 1840 births 1930 deaths Critics of parapsychology Critics of Spiritualism Critics of Theosophy English agnostics English anthropologists English male non-fiction writers English non-fiction writers English sceptics People from Margate Presidents of the Folklore Society Rationalists