Stuk 2-3 - Extracts from letters and diaries of William Whewell, with his MS poem, "On receiving a chain of Hair"

Open original Digitaal object

Identificatie

referentie code

Add. MS a/301/2-3

Titel

Extracts from letters and diaries of William Whewell, with his MS poem, "On receiving a chain of Hair"

Datum(s)

  • 1841, [18--] (Vervaardig)

Beschrijvingsniveau

Stuk

Omvang en medium

1 vol., 1 sheet

Context

Naam van de archiefvormer

(1794-1866)

Biografie

William Whewell was born in Lancaster on 24 May 1794, son of John Whewell, master carpenter. Whewell's talents were spotted by Joseph Rowley, Master of Lancaster Grammar School, who offered to teach him for free. When John Hudson, a Fellow of Trinity College, prophesied that Whewell would be among the top six Wranglers at Cambridge, Whewell moved to Heversham School, which offered an exhibition to Trinity.

Whewell came up to Trinity in 1812 and graduated Second Wrangler in 1817. In the same year he was elected to a Fellowship and the following year was appointed Assistant Tutor, becoming Tutor in 1823.

Whewell was famously a polymath. He wrote on subjects as diverse as mechanics and church architecture, English hexameter and the plurality of worlds. In 1828 he was elected to the Chair of Mineralogy, which prompted an immediate essay on mineralogical classification and experiments in a Cornish mine with George Biddell Airy in an attempt to determine the density of the Earth. However, he resigned the Chair in 1832. In June 1838 he was elected to the Knightbridge Chair of Moral Philosophy, which he held until 1855.

Between 1833 and 1850 he published a number of papers on tides. In 1837 he published his History of the Inductive Sciences and in 1840 the sequel The Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences. In the former year he also published his On the Principles of an English University Education which he was to expand into Of a Liberal Education in General, with particular reference to the leading studies of the University of Cambridge, publishing the first volume (of three) in 1845.

Once he had resigned his tutorship in 1839, Whewell began to tire of college life and considered taking a parish. He married Cordelia Marshall, daughter of the wealthy Leeds flax merchant John Marshall, and Jane his wife, a school friend of Dorothy Wordsworth's. Their marriage took place on October 12, 1841, and on the same day Trinity's Master Christopher Wordsworth announced his intention to retire, safe in the knowledge that the new prime minister Sir Robert Peel would not propose a Whig to replace him. Whewell took formal possession of the Master's Lodge on 16 November.

For much of his tenure as Master, University reform was in the air. In 1844 the College statutes were revised. In 1850 the Royal Commissions on Oxford and Cambridge Universities began their investigations. A reformer in his youth, Whewell was a reactionary as Master and sternly defended the autonomy of the colleges and the type of liberal education he espoused in his 1845 book.

Whewell served as the university's Vice-Chancellor twice: in 1842-43 and 1855-56. Cordelia Whewell died on December 18, 1855. Whewell married Frances Everina Affleck, the widow of Sir Gilbert Affleck on 1 July 1858. Lady Affleck, a name she continued to use after her remarriage, died 1 April 1865. Neither marriage had produced children. On 24 February 1866, Whewell fell from a horse while riding near Cambridge, and died of his injuries on 6 March.

Towards the end of his life, Whewell set about endowing his college and the university. Two courts were built opposite the Great Gate of Trinity with monies provided by Whewell, although only one was completed during his lifetime. He also endowed six university scholarships and a chair of International Law, the latter with the express intention of making war less likely.

Geschiedenis van het archief

Gillian Nunn was the granddaughter of Reginald and Margaret Louisa Marshall, and the great-granddaughter of John Marshall (1797-1836), brother of Cordelia Whewell.

Directe bron van verwerving of overbrenging

Gift of Griselda Barton and Gillian Nunn, 1991.

Inhoud en structuur

Bereik en inhoud

Bound volume of extracts of William Whewell's letters to his family and perhaps his own diaries, dating from 1812-1839 with the bulk of the material dated 1812-1821. The extracts, which form a narrative of Whewell's activities for this period, are written in an unidentified hand and quote letters to his father John Whewell, aunt Alice Lyon, and sisters Elizabeth, Martha, and Ann Whewell. These extracts are continued by short summaries of Whewell's activities in the years from 1821 to 1839, possibly drawn from diaries, but not identified as such. Accompanied by a poem signed W. W., written on his engagement to Cordelia Marshall.

Waardering, vernietiging en slectie

Aanvullingen

Ordeningstelsel

Voorwaarden voor toegang en gebruik

Voorwaarden voor raadpleging

Voorwaarden voor reproductie

Taal van het materiaal

    Schrift van het materiaal

      Taal en schrift aantekeningen

      Fysieke eigenschappen en technische eisen

      Toegangen

      A list of the contents of the extracts volume annotated with the location of originals elsewhere in Trinity College Library collections is attached to this record.

      Verwante materialen

      Bestaan en verblifplaats van originelen

      Over half of the letters from which these extracts are taken appear elsewhere in the collections of Trinity College Library: William Whewell letters to John Whewell, Alice Lyon, and Elizabeth, Martha, and Ann Whewell (Add.MS.c.191), and William Whewell letters to his family (Add.MS.a.273).

      Bestaan en verblijfplaats van kopieën

      Related units of description

      See also the Papers of William Whewell for a description of the papers given as a bequest to Trinity College Library in 1866.

      Aantekeningen

      Aantekening

      Accompanied by copies of letters describing the provenance of the volume and letter.

      Alternative identifier(s)

      Trefwoorden

      Onderwerp trefwoord

      Geografische trefwoorden

      Genre access points

      Identificatie van de beschrijving

      Identificatiecode van de instelling

      Toegepaste regels en/of conventies

      Status

      Niveau van detaillering

      Verwijdering van datering archiefvorming

      Taal (talen)

        Schrift(en)

          Bronnen

          Digitaal object (Master) rights area

          Digitaal object (Referentie) rights area

          Digitaal object (Thumbnail) rights area

          Voorwaarden voor raadpleging en gebruik