John Frederick Stanford (1815–1880) was an English barrister, literary scholar and politician.

Life

He was the youngest son of Major Francis William Stanford of the

1st Life Guards The 1st Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 1st Troop of Horse Guards and 1st Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamated w ...

, from

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

, and his second wife Mary, daughter of William Gorton. He was half-brother to Sir Robert Stanford (1806–1877). 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 was admitted a pensioner of

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

in 1832. He did not reside there, and was admitted to Christ's College in 1834, matriculating in 1834, and graduating B.A. in 1838, M.A. in 1842. Stanford was admitted to

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1841, 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 1844, and that year became a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

. He was elected Member of Parliament for

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

in 1849, serving until 1852. He belonged to the s.

Legacy

Stanford left £5,000 to the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

which went to support the creation of a dictionary of anglicised words which was finally published as Charles Fennell's ''Stanford Dictionary of Anglicised Words and Phrases''. The project was intended to complete his own ''Etymological Dictionary'' dealing with words and phrases from other languages adopted in English, a work that had consumed Stanford in the final years of his life. Stanford had struggled to find a home for the project: it had been rejected by the

Philological Society The Philological Society, or London Philological Society, is the oldest learned society in Great Britain dedicated to the study of language as well as a registered Charitable organization, charity. The current Society was established in 1842 to ...

in the 1870s and, when it was offered to Cambridge,

Edward Byles Cowell Edward Byles Cowell, (23 January 1826 – 9 February 1903) was a noted translator of Persian poetry and the first professor of Sanskrit at Cambridge University. Cowell was born in Ipswich, the son of Charles Cowell and Marianne Byles. Elizabeth ...

Walter Skeat Walter William Skeat, (21 November 18356 October 1912) was a British philologist and Anglican deacon. The pre-eminent British philologist of his time, he was instrumental in developing the English language as a higher education subject in t ...

and Aldis Wright all considered that the bequest should be rejected, but they were not in the majority when it came to a vote. He also left £25,000 to St Mary's Hospital in Paddington and £5,000 to the

Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

, for a boat named after his mother Mary. There have been two such boats,

RNLB Mary Stanford (ON 661) RNLB ''Mary Stanford'' (ON 661) was a Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) Liverpool-class pulling and sailing type lifeboat stationed in Rye Harbour. On 15 November 1928 the ''Mary Stanford'' capsized, drowning the entire crew of 17. T ...

and

RNLB Mary Stanford (ON 733) RNLB ''Mary Stanford'' (ON 733) was the Ballycotton Lifeboat from 1930 to 1959. Ballycotton is on Ireland's southern coast, a trade route to the Americas. There are many dangerous rocks and shallows with on-shore prevailing winds. Ballycotton has ...

Works

Stanford wrote pamphlets on

political economy Political economy is the study of how Macroeconomics, economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and Economy, national economies) and Politics, political systems (e.g. law, Institution, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied ph ...

. His works included: *''Outlines of a Plan of National Education'' (1839) *''Rambles and Researches in Thuringian Saxony'' (1842) *''On the Suppression of Mendicancy in the Metropolis'' (1847), speech *''The Patriots of Italy: an Appeal in Their Behalf'' (1847)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanford, John Frederick 1815 births 1880 deaths People educated at Eton College Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Reading Fellows of the Royal Society Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1847–1852 English barristers