William Gilson Humphry (1815–1886) was an English clergyman and academic.

Life

Humphry was born at

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

, Suffolk, on 30 January 1815, son of William Wood Humphry, barrister-at-law, and brother of

George Murray Humphry Sir George Murray Humphry, FRS (18 July 1820 – 24 September 1896) was a professor of physiology and anatomy at Cambridge, surgeon, gerontologist and medical writer. Life He was born at Sudbury in Suffolk on 18 July 1820, the third son of Will ...

. Humphry was educated at Carmalt's school,

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

, and then at

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 ...

, under Dr. Samuel Butler, becoming captain of the school. In 1833 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 ...

, and in 1835 gained the Pitt scholarship. Two years later he graduated as senior classic, second chancellor's medallist, and twenty-seventh wrangler, and in 1839 he was elected a Fellow of his college. Humphry was intended for the legal profession, but in 1842 he took holy orders. For some years he worked at Cambridge, acting as steward and assistant tutor of Trinity, and he was proctor of the university in 1845–6. From 1847 to 1855 he was examining chaplain to Charles Blomfield,

bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. In 1852 Humphry became rector of

Northolt, Middlesex Northolt is a town in West London, England, spread across both sides of the A40 trunk road. It is west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the seven major towns that make up the London Borough of Ealing. It had a population of 30,304 a ...

. From 1855 until his death in 1886 he was vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, London. He was appointed

Hulsean lecturer The Hulsean Lectures were established from an endowment made by John Hulse to the University of Cambridge in 1790. At present, they consist of a series of four to eight lectures given by a university graduate on some branch of Christian theology. ...

for 1849 and 1850, and

Boyle lecturer The Boyle Lectures are named after Robert Boyle, a prominent natural philosopher of the 17th century and son of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork. Under the terms of his Will, Robert Boyle endowed a series of lectures or sermons (originally eight e ...

for 1857 and 1858, was a member of the royal commission on clerical subscription in 1865, and of the ritual commission in 1869, and was one of the company appointed by

Convocation A convocation (from the Latin ''wikt:convocare, convocare'' meaning "to call/come together", a translation of the Ancient Greek, Greek wikt:ἐκκλησία, ἐκκλησία ''ekklēsia'') is a group of people formally assembled for a speci ...

in 1870 for the revision of the authorised version of the New Testament. He was one of the treasurers of the

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) is a UK-based Christian charity. Founded in 1698 by Thomas Bray, it has worked for over 300 years to increase awareness of the Christian faith in the UK and across the world. The SPCK is th ...

, at a difficult period for the Society. He gave special attention to the educational institutions of his parish. He died on 10 January 1886, and was buried in

Brompton cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Estab ...

Family

In 1852 he married Caroline Maria, only daughter of

George D'Oyly George D'Oyly (1778–1846) was an English cleric and academic, theologian and biographer. Life The fourth son of Matthias D'Oyly, archdeacon of Lewes and rector of Buxted, Sussex, he was born 31 October 1778; of his brothers the eldest was Thom ...

, D.D., rector of Lambeth. On 6 April 1875 their daughter Mary Caroline married the scholar

Arthur John Butler Arthur John Butler (21 June 1844 – 26 February 1910), was an English scholar, editor, and mountaineer, professor of Italian language and literature at University College London. Apart from his work on Dante and other Italian poets, Butler trans ...

(1844–1910). A. T. Quiller-Couch, revised by Nilanjana Banerji, ' Butler, Arthur John (1844–1910)', in ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' (OUP, 2007)

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Humphry, William Gilson 1815 births 1886 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge