Henry Furneaux (26 June 1829 – 7 January 1900) was a British classical scholar at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, specialising in the writings of the Roman historian

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...

Biography

Furneaux was born in 1829 in

St Germans, Cornwall St Germans ( kw, Lannaled) is a village and civil parish in east Cornwall, England. It stands on the River Tiddy, just upstream of where that river joins the River Lynher; the water way from St Germans to the Hamoaze is also known as St German ...

, England, where his father, Rev. Tobias Furneaux, was vicar for almost fifty years. During his education in

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

he was noted for his excellent memory, and from there he gained a scholarship to

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12th ...

, where he read Classics and was awarded a first class in 1851. He went on to become Fellow and tutor of Corpus Christi College, and was ordained and became moderator in 1856, then became

proctor Proctor (a variant of ''procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: * In law, a proctor is a historical class of lawye ...

in 1865, and was examiner in Literae Humaniores from 1871 to 1876. From 1868 to 1893 he was

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 ...

Lower Heyford Lower Heyford is a village and civil parish beside the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, about west of Bicester. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 492. The parish measures about east–west and about north–south. It is bou ...

in Oxfordshire, and after resigning in 1893 he lived in Oxford. On 25 May 1870 he married Eleanor Elizabeth Severn, the youngest daughter of the artist

Joseph Severn Joseph Severn (7 December 1793 – 3 August 1879) was an English portrait and subject painter and a personal friend of the famous English poet John Keats. He exhibited portraits, Italian genre, literary and biblical subjects, and a selec ...

, and twin of artist Arthur Severn. They had two sons and three daughters, including Margaret Eleanor Furneaux who married

F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead Frederick Edwin Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead, (12 July 1872 – 30 September 1930), known as F. E. Smith, was a British Conservative politician and barrister who attained high office in the early 20th century, in particular as Lord High Chan ...

in 1901. His grandchildren were

Frederick Smith, 2nd Earl of Birkenhead Frederick Winston Furneaux Smith, 2nd Earl of Birkenhead (7 December 1907 – 10 June 1975) was a British biographer and Member of the House of Lords. He is best known for writing a biography of Rudyard Kipling that was suppressed by the Kipli ...

, and

Lady Eleanor Smith Lady Eleanor Furneaux Smith (7 August 1902 – 20 October 1945) was an English writer and active member of the Bright Young Things. Life Born in Birkenhead, England in 1902, Smith was the eldest child of the politician F. E. Smith's three ...

and

Lady Pamela Smith Pamela Margaret Elizabeth Berry, Baroness Hartwell (''née'' Smith; 16 May 1914 – 7 January 1982), was an English socialite, known for her political salon. She was part of the Bright Young Things crowd, and Cecil Beaton wrote an entry about he ...

, members of the

Bright Young Things __NOTOC__ The Bright Young Things, or Bright Young People, was a nickname given by the tabloid press to a group of Bohemianism, Bohemian young Aristocracy (class), aristocrats and socialites in 1920s London. They threw flamboyant costume party, f ...

. Furneaux died from "failure of action of the heart" on 7 January 1900.

Works

Furneaux is best known for his special study of the writings of the Roman historian

, and his editions of the ''

Annals Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between ann ...

'', the ''

Germania Germania ( ; ), also called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a large historical region in north- ...

'' and the ''

Agricola Agricola, the Latin word for farmer, may also refer to: People Cognomen or given name :''In chronological order'' * Gnaeus Julius Agricola (40–93), Roman governor of Britannia (AD 77–85) * Sextus Calpurnius Agricola, Roman governor of the mid ...

'' remained unsurpassed for many years. His works include: * * *

Personal

His obituary in ''

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 ...

'' concludes, "His cheerful, kindly company, his sound scholarship, his unostentatious but profoundly appreciated virtues, will be for long sorely missed in the life of the University."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furneaux, Henry English classical scholars Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Oxford Tacitus People from St Germans, Cornwall 1829 births 1900 deaths People educated at Winchester College