John Price (1735–1813) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time ...

and Anglican

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

, who was in charge of the Bodleian Library 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 ...

for 45 years.

Life

Price was born on 1 March 1735 in

Llandegla Llandegla or Llandegla-yn-Iâl is a village and community in the county of Denbighshire in Wales. In the 2011 census, the community had a population of 567. Name The village's name is Welsh for the "Parish of Saint Tecla", which honours th ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

, Wales, where his father was the

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 ...

. He was educated in

Llangollen Llangollen () is a town and community, situated on the River Dee, in Denbighshire, Wales. Its riverside location forms the edge of the Berwyn range, and the Dee Valley section of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Bea ...

(his father having become the

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

there in 1737) and 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 S ...

, where he

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

in 1754, obtained a

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 year ...

degree in 1757 and a

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. Th ...

degree in 1760, the year in which he was ordained. He was initially appointed janitor of the Bodleian Library by

Humphrey Owen Humphrey Owen (1702 – 26 March 1768) was the Principal of Jesus College, Oxford, from 1763 to his death. Owen studied at Jesus College from 1718 to 1722 and was elected as a Fellow in 1725. He was Rector of Tredington 1744–63. In 17 ...

in 1757, becoming sub-librarian in 1761. He was acting librarian from 1765 to 1767 when Owen was Principal of Jesus College, succeeding as librarian upon Owen's death in 1768 after an election (in which he defeated

William Cleaver William Cleaver (1742–1815) was an English churchman and academic, Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford, and bishop of three sees. Life He was the eldest son of the Rev. William Cleaver, who wa ...

, who later became Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford and

Bishop of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York. The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the ...

). He remained librarian until his death in the night of 11 to 12 August 1813, a period of 45 years, but was criticised during this period for neglecting his duty and the manner in which he organised the library. He also held various appointments as a parish priest in England and in Wales, and wrote some works such as a ''Short Account of Holyhead in the Isle of Anglesea'' (1783). His collection of books, manuscripts, maps and prints took five days to sell after his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Price, John (librarian) 1735 births 1813 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Bodley's Librarians Welsh librarians 18th-century Welsh Anglican priests People from Denbighshire

Life

See also

References