Edward Ellis Morris
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Edward Ellis Morris (25 December 1843 – 1 January 1902) was an English educationist and miscellaneous writer and latterly in colonial Australia.


Biography

Morris was born in
Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
,
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
, fourteenth child of John Carnac Morris, accountant-general of the
British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
at Madras, and his wife Rosanna Curtis. Morris was educated at
Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...
and
Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the ...
, where he graduated B.A. in 1866, with final honours in classics, law and modern history and M.A. 1869. He was an assistant master at St Peter's College, Radley, and at Haileybury, and in 1871 became headmaster of the
Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...
middle class public school. From 1875 to 1883 he was headmaster of the
Melbourne Church of England grammar school Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian Independent school, independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Day school, day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and seni ...
which made progress under his direction. During his period he established the prefect system in 1876, and started the first school journal and the first school library in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
. Morris resigned from Melbourne Grammar in March 1882 after financial difficulties hit the school; pupil numbers were in decline, partly due to the economic environment and partly to Morris's disciplinary measures. In November 1882 Morris was appointed
Hughes Hughes may refer to: People * Hughes (surname) * Hughes (given name) Places Antarctica * Hughes Range (Antarctica), Ross Dependency * Mount Hughes, Oates Land * Hughes Basin, Oates Land * Hughes Bay, Graham Land * Hughes Bluff, Victoria La ...
professor of
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 ...
at the
University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
. In 1883 Morris accepted an offer from the
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
for the position of professor of modern languages and literatures. Morris introduced courses in English, French and
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
languages and literature. Morris took a prominent part in the management of the university; for several years he was president of the professorial board, and he was also in 1876 elected to the council of
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
. He had also many outside interests and it was at his suggestion that a branch of the
Charity Organization Society The Charity Organisation Societies were founded in England in 1869 following the ' Goschen Minute' that sought to severely restrict outdoor relief distributed by the Poor Law Guardians. In the early 1870s a handful of local societies were formed w ...
, of which he was the first president, was founded in Melbourne in 1887. The
Melbourne Shakespeare Society The Melbourne Shakespeare Society was founded in Melbourne, Australia, in 1884 at the suggestion of Edward Ellis Morris who was president from 1884 to 1888. Other original members included: William Ievers, James Smith, James Edward Neild (presi ...
, for many years the most flourishing literary society in
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
, was also founded on his suggestion and was its inaugural president 1884–1888. Morris took the greatest interest in the Melbourne public library of which he was appointed a trustee in 1879. He became vice-president of the trustees in 1896. His "''Memoirs of George Higinbotham''" was published in 1895, and his most important work, his painstaking and valuable ''Austral English: A Dictionary Of Australasian Words, Phrases And Usages'' was published in 1898. For this, he was awarded a Litt. D. degree by the University of Melbourne. ''Austral English'' has been praised for its basis on "historic" (
OED The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...
) principles, citing examples of use for each entry through time. It suffered, however, in ignoring street vocabulary, even highly current, inoffensive words such as "pub".John Currey, in "A note on the author", ''Dictionary of Australian Words'' (a reprint of ''Austral English'') pub. Currey O'Neill Ross Pty (1982)


Personal life

Morris married the eldest daughter (died 1896) of George Higinbotham in 1879. Morris died while on a visit to Europe on 1 January 1902. He was survived by a son and three daughters. Morris also wrote two small volumes for the "Epochs of Modern History" series, ''The Age of Anne'' (1877), and ''The Early Hanovarians'' (1886). Morris edited the four volumes of Cassell's ''Picturesque Australasia'' (1887–89) and some of his lectures were also published separately. He had completed a work, ''Cook and his Companions'', before his death, which has not been published. He also edited a book titled ''Australia's First Century, 1788 - 1888'' from Cassell's ''Picturesque Australasia''.


References

*Olive Wykes,
Morris, Edward Ellis (1843 - 1902)
, ''
Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...
'', Volume 5, MUP, 1974, pp 293–294. Retrieved 2009-10-17 *


External links

* * *
''Austral English – A Dictionary Of Australasian Words Phrases And Usages'' By Edward E. Morris
at Google Books * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Edward Ellis 1843 births 1902 deaths British lexicographers Australian lexicographers Australian headmasters Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford British emigrants to Australia British people in colonial India 19th-century lexicographers Melbourne Grammar School