Edward Craven Hawtrey (7 May 178927 January 1862) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

educationalist Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...

, headmaster and later provost of

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

Life

He was born at Burnham, Bucks, the son of the vicar of the parish. He was educated at

and

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

, and in 1814 was appointed assistant master at Eton under John Keate. In 1834 he became headmaster of Eton, which role he performed until 1853, when he was elected Provost of Eton following the death of Francis Hodgson. While he was headmaster and Hodgson was Provost, new buildings were erected, including the school library and the sanatorium, the college chapel was restored, the Old Christopher Inn was closed, and the custom of Montem, the collection by street begging of funds for the university expenses of the captain of the school, was suppressed. Hawtrey is supposed to have suggested the modern language prizes given by Prince Albert, and himself founded the prize for English

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

. In 1852 he became

provost of Eton Provost may refer to: People * Provost (name), a surname Officials Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent of a mayor in Scotland * Lord provost, the equivalent of a lord mayor in Scotland Milita ...

, and in 1854 vicar of

Mapledurham Mapledurham is a small village, civil parish and country estate beside the River Thames in southern Oxfordshire. The large parish borders Caversham, the most affluent major district of Reading, Berkshire. Historic buildings in the area include ...

. He was buried in the Eton College chapel. On account of his command of languages, he was known in London as "the English Mezzofanti", and he was a book collector of the finest taste. Among his own books are some translations from the English into Italian, German and Greek. He had a considerable reputation as a writer of English

hexameter Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek and Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It w ...

s and as a judge of

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

ic translation: his translation of a brief passage from the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Odys ...

'' was described by

Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the celebrated headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, lit ...

, in ''

On Translating Homer ''On Translating Homer'', published in January 1861, was a printed version of the series of public lectures given by Matthew Arnold as Professor of Poetry at Oxford from 3 November 1860 to 18 December 1860. Arnold's purpose was to discuss how h ...

'', as "the most successful attempt hitherto made at rendering Homer into English".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawtrey, Edward Craven 1789 births 1862 deaths Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Head Masters of Eton College People educated at Eton College Provosts of Eton College