William George Clark (March 18216 November 1878) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

classical and

Shakespearean William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

scholar.

Life

He was born at Barford Hall,

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...

. He was educated at

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, in North West England. It comprises a junior school for children aged 4 to 13 and the main school for 13 to 18 year olds. It w ...

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into the ...

, and

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 ...

, where he graduated in

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

and won a Browne medal and was subsequently elected Fellow. In 1857 he was appointed Public Orator. He travelled much during the long vacations, visiting Spain,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. In 1853 Clark had taken orders, but left the Church after the passing of the Clerical Disabilities Act 1870, of which he was one of the promoters. He also resigned the public oratorship in the same year, and in consequence of illness left Cambridge in 1873. He died at

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

on 6 November 1878. He bequeathed a sum of money to his old college for the foundation of a lectureship in English literature.

Works

Clark established the ''Cambridge Journal of Philology'', and cooperated with

Benjamin Hall Kennedy Benjamin Hall Kennedy (6 November 1804 – 6 April 1889) was an English scholar and schoolmaster, known for his work in the teaching of the Latin language. He was an active supporter of Newnham College and Girton College as Cambridge University ...

and James Riddell in the production of the ''Sabrinae Corolla''. He published little as a classical scholar. A contemplated edition of the works of

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...

was never published. He visited

in 1868 to examine the Ravenna manuscript of Aristophanes and other manuscripts, and on his return began the notes to the ''

Acharnians ''The Acharnians'' or ''Acharnians'' (Ancient Greek: ''Akharneîs''; Attic: ) is the third play — and the earliest of the eleven surviving plays — by the Athenian playwright Aristophanes. It was produced in 425 BC on behalf of the young drama ...

'', but they were left incomplete. The work by which he is best known is the ''Cambridge Shakespeare'' (1863–6), containing a collation of early editions and selected emendations, edited by him at first with John Glover and later with

William Aldis Wright William Aldis Wright (1 August 183119 May 1914), was an England, English writer and editor. Wright was son of George Wright, a Baptist minister in Beccles, Suffolk. He was educated at Beccles Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where ...

. ''Gazpacho'' (1853) gives an account of his tour in Spain; his ''Peloponnesus'' (1858) was a contribution to the knowledge of Greece. His visits to Italy at the time of

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

's insurrection, and to Poland during the insurrection of 1863, are described in ''Vacation Tourists'', ed.

Francis Galton Sir Francis Galton, FRS FRAI (; 16 February 1822 – 17 January 1911), was an English Victorian era polymath: a statistician, sociologist, psychologist, anthropologist, tropical explorer, geographer, inventor, meteorologist, proto- ...

, i and iii.

Hugh Andrew Johnstone Munro Hugh Andrew Johnstone Munro (29 October 1819 – 30 March 1885) was a British classical scholar. Biography Munro was born at Elgin, Moray, Scotland, the illegitimate son of Hugh Andrew Johnstone Munro of Novar by Penelope Forbes, and educated ...

in ''Journal of Philology'' (viii. 1879) described Clark as "the most accomplished and versatile man he ever met".

References

Attribution: *

External links

* *
"Gazpacho: or, Summer months in Spain" (1850)

"Peloponnesus: notes of study and travel" (1858)

"The Present Dangers of the Church of England" (1870)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, William George 1821 births 1878 deaths Cambridge University Orators People educated at Shrewsbury School People educated at Sedbergh School Shakespearean scholars Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English classical scholars People from Darlington Classical scholars of the University of Cambridge

Life

Works

See also

References

External links