John Swinton (1703–1777) was a British writer, academic, Fellow of the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
, Church of England clergyman and orientalist. In 1731 he was a fellow of
Wadham College, Oxford
Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road.
Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...
, but migrated to
Christ Church in 1745. He contributed to
George Sale's ''
Universal History
A universal history is a work aiming at the presentation of a history of all of mankind as a whole, coherent unit. A universal chronicle or world chronicle typically traces history from the beginning of written information about the past up to t ...
.'' Swinton also contributed articles on the transcription of the 'Ruins of
Palmyra
Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early secon ...
'. Beginning in 1749, Swinton donated a number of Roman coins to the collection at Christ Church. From 1767 until the year of his death he was
Keeper of the Archives at
Oxford University
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 th ...
.
[''Notes & Records of the Royal Society'', Volume 53, Number 3/September 22, 1999, pages 295-304](_blank)
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Oxford University Archives
Life
The son of John Swinton of
Bexton in
Cheshire, he was born in the county. He entered Wadham College, Oxford as a servitor, matriculating on 10 October 1719, and on 30 June 1723 he was elected a scholar. He graduated B.A. on 1 December 1723, and proceeded M.A. on 1 December 1726.
Swinton was ordained deacon on 30 May 1725 and priest on 28 May 1727; and in February 1728 he was instituted into the rectory of
St Peter-le-Bailey, Oxford. On 16 October 1728 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and on 30 June 1729 was chosen a probationer-fellow of Wadham. He then accepted the position of chaplain to the English factory at
Livorno, went to
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
in 1733, and returned to England after visiting
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
,
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
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, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, and
Pressburg. He then took up his abode in Oxford, where he resided till 1743, when he was appointed a prebendary of
St. Asaph Cathedral on 11 October, resigning his fellowship at the same time.
[
In July 1745 Swinton migrated to Christ Church and in 1759 proceeded B.D. He was elected keeper of the archives of the university in 1767, and, dying on 4 April 1777, was buried in the antechapel of Wadham. He was married, but left no children. His wife, who died in 1784, was also buried in Wadham chapel.][
]
Works
Swinton published:[
* ''De Linguæ Etruriæ Regalis Vernacula Dissertatio'', Oxford, 1738.
* ''A Critical Essay concerning the Words Δαιμων and Δαιμονιον'', London, 1739.
* ''De priscis Romanorum literis Dissertatio'', Oxford, 1746.
* ''Inscriptiones Citieæ'', Oxford, 1750.
* ''De nummis quibusdam Samaritanis et Phœniciis'', 1750.
* ''Metilia'', Oxford, 1750.
Swinton also contributed dissertations to the '']Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the first journa ...
'' (1761–74);[ "An Explication of All the Inscriptions in the Palmyrene Language and Character Hitherto Publish'd. In Five Letters from the Reverend Mr. John Swinton, M. A. of Christ-Church, Oxford, and F. R. S. to the Reverend Thomas Birch, D. D. Secret. R. S." had been communicated to ''Philosophical Transactions'' in 1753. He was the author of portions of George Sale's ''Universal History''.][ "The Travels of three English Gentlemen, from Venice to Hamburgh" appeared in ''The Harleian Miscellany'', Oxford, 1734.]
References
;Attribution
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swinton, John
1703 births
1777 deaths
18th-century English Anglican priests
Fellows of Wadham College, Oxford
Fellows of the Royal Society
Keepers of the Archives of the University of Oxford