Mary Dorothy George (1878–1971), ''née'' Gordon, was a British
historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
best known for compiling the last seven volumes of the ''
'', the primary reference work for the study of British satirical prints of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Education
Educated at
Cambridge University
, 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 ...
she graduated in 1899 with a first class degree in History.
During the first World War she worked in British Intelligence for MI5; before returning to academia as a research scholar at the London School of Economics.
Work at British Museum
George's work on the BM Satires, begun in 1930 on the invitation of the Museum Trustees, was a massive work of great scholarship that systematised a large corpus of previously undocumented source material and recorded its complex historical context.
Her work covered over 13,000 prints from the "golden age" of British satirical printmaking and its leading artists such as
Matthew Darly,
James Sayers
James Sayers (or Sayer) (1748 – April 20, 1823) was an English caricaturist . Many of his works are described in the Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires Preserved in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum which ha ...
,
Robert Dighton
Robert Dighton was born c.1752 in London and died there in 1814. An English portrait painter, printmaker and caricaturist, he was the founder of a dynasty of artists who followed in his footsteps.
Life and work
Robert Dighton was the son of t ...
,
James Gillray,
Thomas Rowlandson
Thomas Rowlandson (; 13 July 175721 April 1827) was an English artist and caricaturist of the Georgian Era, noted for his political satire and social observation. A prolific artist and printmaker, Rowlandson produced both individual social an ...
,
Isaac Cruikshank,
Richard Newton.
Charles Williams,
William Heath,
Isaac Robert Cruikshank
Isaac Robert Cruikshank, sometimes known as Robert Cruikshank (27 September 1789 – 13 March 1856), was a caricaturist, illustrator and portrait miniaturist, the less well-known brother of George Cruikshank, both sons of Isaac Cruikshank. Just ...
and
George Cruikshank
George Cruikshank (27 September 1792 – 1 February 1878) was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dickens, and many other authors, reached ...
, and many others. The catalogue entries were scanned as part of the British Museum's ongoing digitalisation project of its collections
and provide the basis for many of the entries on the British Museum on-line catalogue.
Bibliography
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See also
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List of historians
This is a list of historians only for those with a biographical entry in Wikipedia. Major chroniclers and annalists are included. Names are listed by the person's historical period. The entries continue with the specializations, not nationality.
...
References
External links
Portrait photograph of Mary Dorothy George in the National Portrait Gallery, London British Museum online collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:George, M Dorothy
1878 births
1971 deaths
British historians
British women historians
Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge
Alumni of the London School of Economics
People associated with the British Museum
Academics from London
20th-century English people