Edward Hertslet on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Sir Edward Hertslet (3 February 1824 – 4 August 1902) was an English librarian of the Foreign Office, known as an author of reference works.
Hertslet continued a number of publications which his father had begun; the main ones were:
* The ''Foreign Office List'','of which he was joint-editor from its third year (1865), and sole editor and proprietor from 1864 to his death.
* Vols. xii.-xvi. with the index to the whole series and with the help of his eldest son, Sir Cecil Hertslet, vols. xvii.-xix. of the collection of treaties and conventions known as ''Hertslet's Commercial Treaties'' (1871-1895).
* ''British and Foreign State Papers'', of which he was responsible for vols. 27-82; his name appears only on later volumes. These state papers then became government publications.
Hertslet also compiled ''The Map of Europe by Treaty'', vols, i.-iii. 1875; vol. iv. 1896, as well as ''The Map of Africa by Treaty'', 2 vols. 1894. He was author of ''Recollections of the Old Foreign Office'' (1901).
Life
Born at 16 College Street,Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
, on 3 February 1824, he was youngest son of Lewis Hertslet
Lewis Hertslet (1787–1870) was an English librarian and editor of state papers.
Life
He was the eldest son of Jean Louis Pierre Hertslett (or Hiertzelet), a Swiss king's messenger who had migrated to Great Britain, born in November 1787. He ente ...
, from a Swiss background, by his first wife, Hannah Harriet Jemima Cooke. Educated privately near Hounslow
Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in ...
, he was on 23 March 1840 temporarily attached to the library of the Foreign Office under his father, who was then librarian. On 8 January 1842 he received a permanent appointment, on 28 August 1844 became second clerk, and a little later the senior clerk. On 1 April 1855 he became sub-librarian, and on 19 November 1857 librarian.
Hertslet was involved in Foreign Office work through memoranda by him matching history, geography, or international law with major public questions which came before the government. With the post of librarian he combined, up to 1870, the agency for members of the diplomatic and consular services. After 1873, when John Brodribb Bergne
John Brodribb Bergne (1800–1873) was an English official, numismatist and antiquary.
Life
Bergne was born at Kensington, and entered the Foreign Office in January 1817. He was attached as clerk to the treaty department, of which he became super ...
died, Hertslet took his place as adviser on treaty matters. He was attached to the mission of Lord Beaconsfield
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a centr ...
to the Congress of Berlin
The Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878) was a diplomatic conference to reorganise the states in the Balkan Peninsula after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, which had been won by Russia against the Ottoman Empire. Represented at th ...
in 1878, and was knighted for his services. He was also one of the delegates for the examination of the boundary between British and Dutch territory in Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...
in June 1889.
Hertslet was retained at the Foreign Office after the normal retiring age of 65, to 2 February 1896. He was made C.B. on 21 February 1874, and K.C.B. on 20 August 1892. He died at his residence, Bellevue, Richmond after an operation, on 4 August 1902. He had resided at Richmond since 1852 and was active in local affairs.
Works
Hertslet continued a number of publications which his father had begun; the main ones were:
* The ''Foreign Office List'','of which he was joint-editor from its third year (1865), and sole editor and proprietor from 1864 to his death.
* Vols. xii.-xvi. with the index to the whole series and with the help of his eldest son, Sir Cecil Hertslet, vols. xvii.-xix. of the collection of treaties and conventions known as ''Hertslet's Commercial Treaties'' (1871-1895).
* ''British and Foreign State Papers'', of which he was responsible for vols. 27-82; his name appears only on later volumes. These state papers then became government publications.
Hertslet also compiled ''The Map of Europe by Treaty'', vols, i.-iii. 1875; vol. iv. 1896, as well as ''The Map of Africa by Treaty'', 2 vols. 1894. He was author of ''Recollections of the Old Foreign Office'' (1901).
Family
Hertslet married Eden (died 1899), daughter of John Bull, clerk of the journals of the House of Commons. Of his nine sons and three daughters, six sons and a daughter survived him. His third son, Godfrey L. P. Hertslet, in the library of the Foreign Office, succeeded him as editor of the ''Foreign Office List'' and was also assistant editor of ''Hertslet's Commercial Treaties''.Notes
;AttributionExternal links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hertslet, Edward 1824 births 1902 deaths English librarians Civil servants from London English writers