A New and General Biographical Dictionary: Containing an Historical and Critical Account of the Lives and Writings of the Most Eminent Persons

William Johnston; William Owen

ISBN 10: 0461899728 / ISBN 13: 9780461899726

Published by HardPress, 2021

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 26405840584

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A New and General Biographical Dictionary: Containing an Historical and Critical Account of the Lives and Writings of the Most Eminent Persons
• Publisher: HardPress
• Publication Date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0461899728
• ISBN 13: 9780461899726
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

A New And General Biographical Dictionary: Containing An Historical And Critical Account Of The Lives And Writings Of The Most Eminent Persons by William Johnston and William Owen. This excerpt presents a large, alphabetically arranged collection of biographical notices (obituaries) of prominent 18th?century scholars, clergymen, antiquaries, artists, and patrons who died around 1783–1784. Each entry sketches a person’s birth, education, career, major works or contributions, endowments or libraries, and lasting legacies, with a tone that honors devotion to learning, philanthropy, and public service. A web of connections to universities, courts, churches, libraries, and European scholarly networks recurs throughout, illustrating a culture of learned societies, collection-building, and patronage. Representative figures include Kennicott, Pococke, Milles, Oldys, the Rawlinson family, Sanches, Sharpe, Tallis and Tye, Tooke, Voltaire, Winkelman, and Robinsons and Rogers, among others. The setting spans Britain and cross?European links (France, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Germany, Rome, Dresden). The entries emphasize libraries, editions, travels, church music, education, endowments, and controversies as part of a broader tradition of scholarly life. The work is a comprehensive biographical dictionary profiling European intellectual life, with emphasis on philanthropy, patronage, and the transmission of knowledge.