John Eyton Bickersteth Mayor (28 January 1825 – 1 December 1910) was an English classical scholar, writer and vegetarianism activist.

Life

Mayor was born at Baddegama, British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) the son of Rev. John Major and Charlotte Bickersteth. His mother came from the prominent Bickersteth family and was the sister of

Henry Bickersteth, 1st Baron Langdale Henry Bickersteth, 1st Baron Langdale, PC (18 June 1783 – 18 April 1851), a member of the prominent Bickersteth family, was an English physician, law reformer, and Master of the Rolls. Early life and education Langdale was born on 18 June 1 ...

and Rev. Edward Bickersteth. He was sent to England to be educated 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 ...

and St John's College, Cambridge.

Joseph Bickersteth Mayor Rev. Joseph Bickersteth Mayor (24 October 1828 – 29 November 1916) was an English professor, classical scholar, and Anglican clergyman. Early life and education Mayor was born in Cape Colony''1911 England Census'' while his parents returne ...

was his younger brother. From 1863 to 1867, Mayor was librarian of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, and in 1872 succeeded H. A. J. Munro in the

professorship Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

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 ...

, which he held for 28 years. His best-known work, an edition of the thirteen

Satires of Juvenal The ''Satires'' () are a collection of satirical poems by the Latin author Juvenal written between the end of the first and the early second centuries A.D. Juvenal is credited with sixteen known poems divided among five books; all are in the ...

, is notable for an extraordinary wealth of illustrative quotations. His ''Bibliographical Clue to Latin Literature'' (1875), based on

Emil Hübner Ernst Willibald Emil Hübner (7 July 183421 February 1901) was a German classical scholar. He was born at Düsseldorf, the son of the historical painter Julius Hübner (1806–1882). After studying at Berlin and Bonn, he traveled extensively wi ...

's ''Grundriss zu Vorlesungen über die römische Litteraturgeschichte'', was a valuable aid to the student, and his edition of

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

's ''Second Philippic'' became widely used. He also edited the English works of

John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic bishop, cardinal, and theologian. Fisher was also an academic and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He was canonized by Pope Pius XI. Fisher was executed by o ...

, Bishop of Rochester (1876); Thomas Baker's ''History of St John's College, Cambridge'' (1869);

Richard of Cirencester Richard of Cirencester ( la, Ricardus de Cirencestria; before 1340–1400) was a cleric and minor historian of the Benedictine abbey at Westminster. He was highly famed in the 18th and 19th century as the author of '' The Description of Britain'' b ...

's ''Speculum historiale de gestis regum Angliae 447–1066'' (1863–69);

Roger Ascham Roger Ascham (; c. 151530 December 1568)"Ascham, Roger" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 617. was an English scholar and didactic writer, famous for his prose style, h ...

's ''Schoolmaster'' (new ed., 1883); the ''Latin Heptateuch'' (1889); and the '' Journal of Philology''. According to the ''

Enciklopedio de Esperanto {{Esperanto sidebar , expanded=Services Encyclopedias in Esperanto ( eo, Enciklopedioj de Esperanto) are Esperanto-language encyclopedias. There have been several different attempts of creating an encyclopedia of all Esperanto topics. History I ...

'', Mayor learned Esperanto in 1907, and gave a historic speech against Esperanto reformists at the World Congress of Esperanto held at Cambridge. His life and work are idiosyncratically and somewhat unsympathetically described in ''

Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of the collection of satirical poems known as the '' Satires''. The details of Juvenal's life ...

's Mayor: The Professor Who Lived on 2d. a Day'' by J. G. W. Henderson. He is buried in the Parish of the Ascension Burial Ground in Cambridge.

Vegetarianism

Mayor succeeded Francis William Newman as President of the

Vegetarian Society The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom is a British registered charity which was established on 30 September 1847 to promote vegetarianism. History In the 19th century a number of groups in Britain actively promoted and followed meat ...

in 1883. Mayor was a strict vegetarian and teetotaller but it was noted that "he never sought to impose his rule of abstinence on others." Mayor authored '' What is Vegetarianism?'', in 1886. His vegetarian writings were published in the book, ''Plain Living and High Thinking'' in 1897.

Selected publications

''Nicholas Ferrar: Two Lives''
(1855)
''Early statutes of the College of St. John at Cambridge in the University of Cambridge''
(1859)
''History of the College of St. John the Evangelist, Cambridge''
(with Thomas Baker, 1869)
''Bibliographical Clue to Latin Literature''
(1875)
''Modicus Cibi Medicus Sibi, Or, Nature Her Own Physician''
(1880) *'' What is Vegetarianism?'' (1886)
''The Church and the Life of the Poor''
(1889)
''The Latin Heptateuch''
(1889)
''Thirteen Satires of Juvenal''
(1889) *''Plain Living and High Thinking'' (1897)
''Mercy, Not Curiosity, the Mother of Medicine''
(1898)
''Cambridge Under Queen Anne''
(1911)
''Twelve Cambridge Sermons''
(1911)

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayor, John Eyton Bickersteth 1825 births 1910 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Bickersteth family British vegetarianism activists Cambridge University Librarians Kennedy Professors of Latin English classical scholars English Esperantists English male writers English temperance activists Fellows of the British Academy People associated with the Vegetarian Society People educated at Shrewsbury School Scholars of Latin literature