Edward Gryffydh Peacock (30 July 1825 – 4 January 1867) was an English official of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

, publisher, writer and rower who won the

Wingfield Sculls The Wingfield Sculls is a rowing race held annually on the River Thames in London, England, on the Championship Course from Putney to Mortlake. The race is between single scullers and is usually on the Saturday three to four weeks before the S ...

and

Diamond Challenge Sculls The Diamond Challenge Sculls is a rowing event for men's single sculls at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. First run in 1844, it is open to male scullers from all eligible rowing clubs.

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the thre ...

. Peacock was the son of the poet

Thomas Love Peacock Thomas Love Peacock (18 October 1785 – 23 January 1866) was an English novelist, poet, and official of the East India Company. He was a close friend of Percy Bysshe Shelley and they influenced each other's work. Peacock wrote satirical novels, ...

and his wife Jane Gryffydh.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography - Thomas Love Peacock In 1841 he was appointed midshipman in the Indian Navy. He arrived in India in October 1841 but returned to England for medical reasons in April 1842. In 1844 he became a clerk in the examiners office at East India House.Stewart Marsh Ellis ''George Meredith: his life and friends in relation to his work''
/ref> He collaborated with

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 ...

in publishing a privately circulated literary magazine, the ''Monthly Observer''. Poetry Foundation -- George Meredith
/ref> Peacock was a member of

Thames Club The Thames Club was an English rowing club based on the Tideway of the River Thames that competed in the middle of the 19th century. The Thames Club was active in the 1840s and 1850s and its first major success was winning the Grand Challenge Cu ...

and in 1845 was runner up in the Silver Wherries at

partnering Henry Chapman. In 1849 he won the Silver Wherries partnering

Francis Playford Francis Playford (1825 – 01 January 1896) was a British rower who won the Wingfield Sculls in 1849 and the pairs oars at Henley Royal Regatta. Early life Playford was born at South Lambeth, London and was part of a rowing family which incl ...

. He won the

at Henley in 1851 defeating Edward Macnaghten in the final. In 1852 positions were reversed and Peacock came second to MacNaughton. Peacock won the

in 1852. Meredith is said to have based his character Edward Blancove in ''Rhoda Fleming'' on Peacock. Like Blancove, Peacock studied as a barrister and was a keen boxer. In 1865 Peacock qualified as a solicitor. However he died two years later at the age of 42. His poem ''The Vicar of Southbury's story: a Christmas poem'' was published posthumously in 1867. Peacock married Mary Hall in 1849, apparently to the disapproval of his father. They had a son Thomas Love Peacock. The name of most male heirs is either Edward or Thomas and associated with gentlemen. The Peacock name lives in both England and Canada, today. She remarried in 1869.East Suffolk Gazette And Beccles And Bungay Weekly News 11 May 1869
/ref> Peacock's widowed sister Mary Ellen Nicolls married

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peacock, Edward Gryffydh 1825 births 1867 deaths English male rowers English publishers (people) Indian Navy personnel Clerks British barristers British solicitors English male poets 19th-century English poets 19th-century English businesspeople