William Anthony Hails or Hailes (1766-1845) was an English miscellaneous writer.
Life
The son of a
shipwright
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...
, he was born at
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
on 24 May 1766. An accident in his childhood prevented him from attending school until his eleventh year. He learnt the alphabet from an old church prayer-book, and his father taught him writing and arithmetic. He remained at school only three years, after which he worked as a shipwright for sixteen years.
He acquired a good knowledge of
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and
Greek, and also studied Hebrew, together with some other oriental languages. He wrote several papers for the ''
Classical Journal
''The Classical Journal'' (CJ) is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal of classical studies published by the Classical Association of the Middle West and South.
Print edition
The journal currently has about 2300 subscribers, including app ...
'' and contributed to the ''
Gentleman's Magazine'' and ''
Monthly Magazine''. Hails ultimately became a schoolmaster at Newcastle, but had only moderate success. He was a
Wesleyan Methodist, and preached occasionally in the chapel of his sect at Newcastle. He died at Newcastle on 30 August 1845.
Bibliography
Works by the author
#''Nugae Poeticae'' Newcastle upon Tyne (?), 1806;
#''An Enquiry concerning the Invention of the
Life Boat, '' claiming
William Wouldhave
William Wouldhave (1751–1821) is a rival of Lionel Lukin for recognition as inventor of the lifeboat. His tombstone (erected thirteen years before Lukin’s) describes him as:
::::::‘''Inventor of that invaluable blessing to mankind the Lifeb ...
of
South Shields
South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...
to be the inventor, Newcastle, 1806;
#''A Voice from the Ocean, '' Newcastle (?), 1807;
#''Tract No. 6,'' published by the Society for the Propagation of Christianity among the Jews, 1809;
#''The Pre-existence and Deity of the Messiah defended on the indubitable evidence of the Prophets and Apostles''.
#''
Socinianism
Socinianism () is a nontrinitarian belief system deemed heretical by the Catholic Church and other Christian traditions. Named after the Italian theologians Lelio Sozzini (Latin: Laelius Socinus) and Fausto Sozzini (Latin: Faustus Socinus), uncle ...
unscriptural. Being an examination of Mr. Campbell's attempt to explode the Scripture Doctrine of human depravity, the Atonement, &c.,'' two pamphlets on the Socinian controversy, both published at Newcastle in 1813;
#''The Scorner reproved'', Newcastle, 1817.
#''A letter to the Rev. W. Turner. Occasioned by the publication of Two Discourses preached by him at the 6th Annual Meeting of the Association of Scottish Unitarian Christians,'' Newcastle,. 1818. A second 'Letter' was published in the following year;
#''Remarks on Volney's "Ruins", or a Survey of the Revolutions of Empires'' 1825;
#''The First Commandment: a Discourse.'' Newcastle, 1827;
#''A Letter to C. Larkin, in reply to his Letter to W. Chapman on Transubstantiation.'' Newcastle, 1831.
Many of Hails's writings evoked published replies.
Works about the author
*E. Mackenzie, ''History of Newcastle,'' i. 403-4
*John Latimer, ''Local Records of Northumberland and Durham'' (Newcastle, 1857), p. 204.1
References
*
;Attribution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hails, William
1766 births
1845 deaths
19th-century English writers