John Wordsworth (1 July 1805 – 31 December 1839) was an English classical scholar.

Life

He was born at

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

on 1 July 1805, the son of

Christopher Wordsworth Christopher Wordsworth (30 October 180720 March 1885) was an English intellectual and a bishop of the Anglican Church. Life Wordsworth was born in London, the youngest son of Christopher Wordsworth, Master of Trinity, who was the youngest b ...

and nephew of

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ' ...

. He was educated at a school at

Woodford, Essex Woodford is a town in East London, within the London Borough of Redbridge. It is located north-east of Charing Cross. Woodford historically formed an ancient parish in the county of Essex. It contained a string of agrarian villages and was pa ...

, kept by Dr. Holt Okes (1816−20), and at

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 ...

(1820−4). In October 1824 he entered

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 ...

. His university career was distinguished. In 1825 he obtained the Bell scholarship, in 1826 a scholarship at his own college, and was second for the

Porson prize The Porson Prize is an award for Greek verse composition at the University of Cambridge. It was founded in honor of classical scholar Richard Porson and was first awarded in 1817. Winners are known as "Porson prizemen". Winners of the Porson Priz ...

; in 1827 he obtained it. In 1828 he proceeded to the B.A. degree, but was disqualified for classical honours through distaste for mathematics. In 1830 he was elected fellow of his college. He resided at Cambridge till 1833, occupying himself with literary pursuits. During this period he contributed to the first number of the ‘Philological Museum’ a review of

James Scholefield James Scholefield (15 November 1789 – 4 April 1853), England, English classical scholar, was born at Henley-on-Thames. He was educated at Christ's Hospital and Trinity College, Cambridge, and was in 1825 appointed professor of Greek in the unive ...

's ''Æschylus''. In 1833 he visited France, Switzerland, and Italy. At Florence he collated the Medicean manuscript of Æschylus, with a view to a new edition. Some use was made of his material by

John Conington John Conington (10 August 1825 – 23 October 1869) was an English classical scholar. In 1866 he published his best-known work, the translation of the ''Aeneid'' of Virgil into the octosyllabic metre of Walter Scott. He was Corpus Professor ...

in his edition of the ''

Choephoroi The ''Oresteia'' ( grc, Ὀρέστεια) is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BCE, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end of th ...

''. In 1834 he was appointed a classical lecturer in Trinity College, and undertook to edit

Richard Bentley Richard Bentley FRS (; 27 January 1662 – 14 July 1742) was an English classical scholar, critic, and theologian. Considered the "founder of historical philology", Bentley is widely credited with establishing the English school of Hellen ...

's ''Correspondence'' (afterwards completed by his brother

, bishop of Lincoln). He also made large collections for a classical dictionary. In 1837 he was ordained deacon, and priest shortly afterwards. At about the same time his health began to fail; he resigned his lectureship, and looked for easier work. From this step he was dissuaded, and he remained at Cambridge till his death on 31 December 1839. He was buried in the antechapel of the college, where a monument to him was placed by subscription. The bust was executed by

Henry Weekes Henry Weekes (14 January 1807 – 28 May 1877) was an English sculptor, best known for his portraiture. He was among the most successful British sculptors of the mid- Victorian period. Personal life Weekes was born at Canterbury, Kent, to Capo ...

, under

Francis Leggatt Chantrey Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (7 April 1781 – 25 November 1841) was an English sculptor. He became the leading portrait sculptor in Regency era Britain, producing busts and statues of many notable figures of the time. Chantrey's most notable w ...

's supervision. Most of his collections came into the possession of his nephew

John Wordsworth John Wordsworth (1843–1911) was an English Anglican bishop and classical scholar. He was Oriel Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford from 1883 to 1885, and Bishop of Salisbury from 1885 to 1911. Life H ...

, the bishop of Salisbury.

References

;Attribution * 1805 births 1838 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English classical scholars

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

19th-century English Anglican priests Classical scholars of the University of Cambridge English male writers {{UK-academic-bio-stub