Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1831-1848 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
1 box
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Alexander Chisholm Gooden was born on 4 April 1818, the son of James Gooden and his wife Mary, née Chisholm. He was first taught at home by his father and then attended private school before enrolling in London University School, but at the age of 15 he left school and was coached privately in mathematics by Augustus de Morgan and in classics by George Long. He was admitted to Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1836 on the tutorial side of Thomas Thorp, intending to study classics, though the nature of the mid-century Cambridge education required him to take honours in mathematics first. In March 1840 he graduated as joint-Senior Classic and in the same year gained the 1st Chancellor's Medal. He then set himself to reading in order to compete for a College Fellowship, but while studying at Bonn he succumbed to a bout of peritonitis, dying on 22 August 1841.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Purchase from Sotheby's
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Letters of Alexander Chisholm Gooden to his parents and close friends with some from his teachers/tutors to his parents with some letters of condolence after his death.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
This material is open for research unless otherwise stated.
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
This collection-level description was produced by Jonathan Smith.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Publication note
Published in 'Cambridge in the 1830s : the letters of Alexander Chisholm Gooden, 1831-1841' edited by Jonathan Smith and Christopher Stray. Woodbridge : Boydell Press in association with Cambridge University Library, 2003