William Cubbon

M.A. 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. Tho ...

(28 May 1865 – 1 January 1955) was a Manx nationalist, antiquarian, author, businessman and librarian who was the first secretary of the

Manx Museum The Manx Museum (Thie Tashtee Vannin) in Douglas, Isle of Man is the national museum of the Isle of Man. It is run by Manx National Heritage. In general, the museum covers 10,000 years the history of the Isle of Man from the Stone Age to the mode ...

, later becoming Director of the Museum.''Isle of Man Examiner Yearbook 1914.''''Isle of Man Times.'' Friday, January 07, 1955; Page: 4

Biography

Early life

Cubbon was born in the small

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of Croit-e-Caley in the parish of

Rushen Rushen ( ; gv, Rosien), formally Kirk Christ Rushen, is one of the seventeen historic parishes of the Isle of Man. It is located in the south of the island (part of the traditional ''South Side'' division) in the sheading of the same name. A ...

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

, on 28 May 1865. His father, James Cubbon, was a

Master Mariner A master mariner is a licensed mariner who holds the highest grade of seafarer qualification; namely, an unlimited master's license. Such a license is labelled ''unlimited'' because it has no limits on the tonnage, power, or geographic location o ...

who hailed from Port St Mary.

Business

After leaving school, Cubbon took employment with the ''Isle of Man Examiner'' as a compositor and in 1900, together with Horace Lightfoot, Cubbon acquired the ''Manx Sun'' newspaper. Under the ownership of Cubbon and Lightfoot, the editorial standpoint of the ''Manx Sun'' became

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

in orientation, and in addition to his newspaper proprietorship Cubbon also became heavily involved in the promotion of Manx history and culture. The ''Manx Sun'' and its business were taken over by the ''Isle of Man Examiner'' in 1906, with Cubbon rejoining the title in the capacity of manager of the stationery business. Leaving the ''Examiner'' in 1912, Cubbon became Borough Librarian of

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

; in this period he published ''A Manx Book of Poetry (1913)'', which was particularly aimed at young people with a view to getting them involved in the culture of the Isle of Man. He also published a set of maps illustrating the ancient treens (divisions of parishes) and land divisions in the island's six sheadings, along with the names of the principal early land owners. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Cubbon became manager of the

Labour Exchange An employment agency is an organization which matches employers to employees. In developed countries, there are multiple private businesses which act as employment agencies and a publicly-funded employment agency. Public employment agencies One ...

Manx Museum

In 1922 the

was established on the former site of Noble's Hospital in

. Philip Kermode was appointed the museum's director, with Cubbon appointed as secretary. Following Kermode's death in 1932 Cubbon succeeded him as director, a post he held until his retirement in 1940, when he was replaced by

Basil Megaw Basil Richardson Stanley Megaw (1913-2002) was a British archaeologist. He was the first Director of the School of Scottish Studies at Edinburgh. Life He was born on 22 June 1913 in Belfast the son of Arthur S. Megaw and his wife, Helen Bertha S ...

FRSE. One of the first undertakings by Cubbon in his role as secretary was the compilation of the indexes and several other appendixes to the Rev. Theophilus Talbot's English translation of the ''Manorial Roll'', referred to as the ''Manx Doomsday Book'', which was published in 1924. William Cubbon

Said to have been passionately patriotic with regard to the

, his appointment as Director of the Manx Museum was said to have been Cubbon's great ambition. In 1899 he had helped in the formation of the Manx Language Society ''(Yn Çheshaght Ghailckagh)'', and served the society as secretary and president. This in turn led to him becoming an energetic figure in the Natural History and Antiquarian Society, again serving in the role of president. During his time at the Manx Museum, Cubbon compiled the ''Bibliography of the Literature of the Isle of Man'', published in two editions in 1933 and 1939; he also conducted numerous explorations for the Antiquarian Society and gave lecture on various subjects. Cubbon celebrated the centenary of the publication of Archibald Cregeen's dictionary in Peel in 1938 stating that "we students would be poor without his precious book". At the age of 85 Cubbon began work on his ''Island Heritage'', which was published in 1952.

Honours and awards

In recognition of his achievements William Cubbon received the degree of

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 ...

from

Liverpool University , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

. The Government of Norway conferred on him the

Knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

of the

Order of St Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

Death

William Cubbon died at the home of his son, at Brentwood, Essex on New Year's Day, 1955.

References

External Links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cubbon, William 1865 births 1955 deaths Manx historians Manx culture Manx writers Manx language