Edward Owen (1728 or 1729 – April 1807) was a Welsh

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest, headmaster and translator.

Life

Owen was born in 1728 or 1729 (since he was noted to be 17 years old when he matriculated at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...

in March 1746). His father was from

Llangurig Llangurig is both a village and a community in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales. The population was 723 in the 2011 UK Census. The community includes the hamlet of Cwmbelan. The River Wye, the A470 and the A44 trunk roads pass through Llangurig, ...

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire, also known as ''Maldwyn'' ( cy, Sir Drefaldwyn meaning "the Shire of Baldwin's town"), is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after its county tow ...

, Wales. After obtaining his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1749 and his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in 1752, Owen became headmaster of

Warrington grammar school Sir Thomas Boteler Church of England High School is a coeducational Church of England secondary school located in the Latchford area of Warrington in the English county of Cheshire. History Grammar school The school was founded in 1526 by Si ...

in 1757 and

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Warrington in 1767. He remained rector until his death in 1807 and was held in high regard in the area, both as schoolmaster and priest. The scholar

Gilbert Wakefield Gilbert Wakefield (1756–1801) was an English scholar and controversialist. He moved from being a cleric and academic, into tutoring at dissenting academies, and finally became a professional writer and publicist. In a celebrated state trial ...

described him as "a man of most elegant learning, unimpeachable veracity, and peculiar benevolance of heart." Owen's main work was a translation of

Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of the collection of satirical poems known as the ''Satires''. The details of Juvenal's life ...

's ''

Satires Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

'', "cleared of all the most exceptionable passages" (1785, reprinted in 1786 with a translation of works by the Roman poet

Persius Aulus Persius Flaccus (; 4 December 3424 November 62 AD) was a Ancient Rome, Roman poet and satirist of Etruscan civilization, Etruscan origin. In his works, poems and satires, he shows a Stoicism, Stoic wisdom and a strong criticism for what he ...

). The work was not successful. He also published textbooks on Latin grammar and metre.

References

1720s births 1807 deaths 18th-century Welsh Anglican priests Welsh schoolteachers Welsh translators Latin–English translators Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Heads of schools in England 18th-century British translators {{UK-translator-stub