Historical Figures Codexery

Edward Gibbon

Historian of Rome's Decline

Born on 27 April 1737 according to the old style Julian calendar, Edward Gibbon was a British writer, politician, and historian.[1] This history is celebrated for its prose style and irony, its reliance on original documents, and its contentious critique of organized religion.[2]

Quick Facts

Born
8 May 1737
Died
16 January 1794
Birthplace
Putney, Surrey, England
Place of death
London, England
Party
Whig
Occupation
Politician
Profession
Essayist, historian
Education
Magdalen College, Oxford

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Gibbon was born at Lime Grove in Putney, Surrey, the son of Edward and Judith Gibbon.[3] At age nine, Gibbon was sent to Dr. Woddeson's school at Kingston upon Thames, shortly after which his mother died.[3] In 1752, at age 15, Gibbon was sent by his father to Magdalen College, Oxford, as a gentleman-commoner.[4] He converted to Roman Catholicism on 8 June 1753 and was removed from Oxford and sent to Lausanne, Switzerland.[5][4]

The South Sea Bubble's 1720 crash caused his paternal grandfather, also named Edward, to forfeit his fortune, though he later recovered a large portion of it.[3] His debut publication, Essai sur l'Étude de la Littérature, appeared in 1761.[6] During the Seven Years' War, on 12 June 1759, he received a commission as a Captain in the South Hampshire Militia.[7]

What the cited sources add

The "Local Luminaries" account states Gibbon's grandfather bought the Manor of Buriton in 1719, shortly before the South Sea Bubble burst.[8] The same source records that Gibbon's father had been elected MP for Petersfield in 1734 as a Tory and High Churchman.[8] The "Local Luminaries" account notes Gibbon served on the Board of Trade from 1779 to 1782.[8] Henry Edwards Davis published an examination of the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters of Gibbon's History in 1778.[9]

The autobiography and correspondence of Gibbon was published by Alex. Murray in 1869.[10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Edward Gibbon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: O.S. 27 April. Gibbon's birthday is 27 April 1737 of the old style (O.S.) Julian calendar; England adopted the new style (N.S.) Gregorian calendar in 1752, and (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Edward Gibbon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: The most recent and also the first critical edition, in three volumes, is that of David Womersley. For commentary on Gibbon's irony and insistence on primary so (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Edward Gibbon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: D. M. Low, Edward Gibbon. 1737–1794 (London: Chatto & Windus, 1937), p. 7.; Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 106th edition, vol. 1, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1999, p. 28 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Edward Gibbon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pocock, Enlightenments of Edward Gibbon. for Middleton, see pp. 45–47; for Bossuet, p. 47; for the Mallets, p. 23; Robert Parsons [or Persons], A Christian dire (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Edward Gibbon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: John Murray (ed.). The Autobiographies of Edward Gibbon. (London: John Murray, 1896), p. 137. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Edward Gibbon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: In the Essai, the 24-year-old boldly braved the reigning philosoph[e]ic fashion to uphold the studious values and practices of the érudits (antiquarian scholars (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Edward Gibbon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Murray, p. 190.; Lloyd-Verney, pp. 144, 151, 164–74.; Womersley, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, pp. 11, 12. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. "Local Luminaries". facts only, no text reused. buriton.org.uk
  9. Henry Edwards Davis, An Examination of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Chapters of Mr. Gibbon's History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (London: J. Dods. facts only, no text reused. archive.org
  10. "The Autobiography and Correspondence of Edward Gibbon, the Historian", Alex. Murray, 1869, p. 345. facts only, no text reused. archive.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Edward Gibbon (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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