Oxford men and their colleges - The Warden of Merton

The Honourable George Charles Brodrick (5 May 1831 – 8 November 1903) was an

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

historian and author who became

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

.'Brodrick, George Charles', ''

The Concise Dictionary of National Biography ''The Concise Dictionary of National Biography: From Earliest Times to 1985'' is a dictionary of biographies of people from the United Kingdom. It was published in three volumes by Oxford University Press in 1992.. The dictionary provides summa ...

'', Volume I: A–F.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1992.

Life

He was the son of

William Brodrick, 7th Viscount Midleton William John Brodrick, 7th Viscount Midleton (8 July 1798 – 29 August 1870) was an Irish peer and Anglican clergyman, styled Hon. William John Brodrick from 1849 to 1863. Brodrick was the second son of Charles Brodrick, Archbishop of Cashel. Lor ...

and younger brother of

William Brodrick, 8th Viscount Midleton William Brodrick, 8th Viscount Midleton (6 January 1830 – 18 April 1907), was an Irish peer, landowner and Conservative politician in both Houses of Parliament, entering first the Commons for two years. Early life Midleton was born on 6 Januar ...

. He was educated at

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, C ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

, where he attained a

first class degree The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...

in classics (1853) and in law and history (1854). He was President of the

Oxford Union The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford England, whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford. Founded in 1823, it is one of Britain's oldest ...

during 1854–55. He gained his B.A, degree in 1854, and was M.A. in 1856, and D.C.L. in 1886. Brodrick was elected to be a Fellow of Merton College in 1855 and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1859. He joined the staff of ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' in 1860. He tried unsuccessfully to enter parliament as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

and was opposed to

William Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

's policy on

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He was a member of the

London School Board The School Board for London, commonly known as the London School Board (LSB), was an institution of local government and the first directly elected body covering the whole of London. The Elementary Education Act 1870 was the first to provide for ...

from 1877 to 1879 and Warden of Merton from 1881 until his death in 1903.

Books

Brodrick wrote a number of books, including:George Charles Brodrick books

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

. * ''English Land and English Landlords: An Enquiry into the Origin and Characters of the English Land System, with Proposals for its Reform'' (1881) * ''Essays on Reform'' (1867) * ''The History of England: From Addington's Administration to the Close of William IV's Reign, 1801–1837'' (with John Knight Fotheringham) * ''A History of the University of Oxford'' (1886) * ''Literary Fragments'' * ''Memorials of Merton College; With Biographical Notices of the Wardens and Fellows'' (1885) * ''Memories and Impressions, 1831–1900'' (1900) * ''Political Studies'' (1879) * ''The Reform of the English Land System''

References

External links

* * 1831 births 1903 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Fellows of Merton College, Oxford Wardens of Merton College, Oxford The Times people 19th-century English historians English male journalists Members of the London School Board Younger sons of viscounts Members of Lincoln's Inn Presidents of the Oxford Union 19th-century English lawyers {{UK-historian-stub