Charles Burney (scholar)
Encyclopedia
Charles Burney, Junior FRS
, DD (born at Lynn Regis
, Norfolk
December 4, 1757, died at Deptford
, then in Kent
, on December 28, 1817) was an English classical scholar, schoolmaster and clergyman.
, the music historian, and his first wife Esther Sleepe. He was a brother of the novelist and diarist Fanny Burney
and of the explorer James Burney
, and a half-brother of the novelist Sarah Burney
.
He was educated at Charterhouse School
, London, and then at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. However, he was accused of stealing books from the university library, probably to pay debts, and sent down in 1778. He obtained an LLD degree from King's College, Aberdeen in 1781. Ironically, Burney later amassed legally a collection of 13,000 rare books and manuscripts that was ultimately bought by the nation for the British Museum
in 1817 for the sum of £13,500.
run by Dr. William Rose, a translator of Sallust
. He married Rose's daughter Sarah (1759–1821) in 1783. When Rose died in 1786, Burney took over the school, moving it to nearby Hammersmith
and thence to Greenwich
in 1793.
Many eminent naval and military officers were educated there, but he seems to have been such a strong disciplinarian that he provoked a rebellion of about 50 boys at some time in the early years of the new century. One boy described it in an undated letter to his mother. The boys took food, chessboards, cards and weapons, and barricaded themselves in: "Then Burney came and told them to open the door but they said it was not shut to be opened. He then got a ladder & got at the top of the door where he could see them all... till at last as the door was going to be cut open they unfastened it, when Burney rushed in. At first they hit him with their sticks but he knocked them about till at last they were quiet & Burney very generously gave them the choice of being expelled or forgiven; above 40 were forgiven and 2 expelled."
Burney transferred the school to his only child Charles Parr Burney (1785–1864), who ran it from 1813 to 1833.
Burney gained a strong reputation as a Greek scholar with several publications to his name. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society
in 1802. He made his peace with Cambridge University, which awarded him an MA in 1808 on his ordination as an Anglican priest. He advanced rapidly in the church, becoming rector of the rich living of Cliffe, Kent
, and of St. Paul's, Deptford, as well as serving as a royal chaplain and a prebendary
of Lincoln Cathedral
. He died of apoplexy.
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, DD (born at Lynn Regis
King's Lynn
King's Lynn is a sea port and market town in the ceremonial county of Norfolk in the East of England. It is situated north of London and west of Norwich. The population of the town is 42,800....
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
December 4, 1757, died at Deptford
Deptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
, then in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, on December 28, 1817) was an English classical scholar, schoolmaster and clergyman.
Family and education
A native of London, he was the son of Charles BurneyCharles Burney
Charles Burney FRS was an English music historian and father of authors Frances Burney and Sarah Burney.-Life and career:...
, the music historian, and his first wife Esther Sleepe. He was a brother of the novelist and diarist Fanny Burney
Fanny Burney
Frances Burney , also known as Fanny Burney and, after her marriage, as Madame d’Arblay, was an English novelist, diarist and playwright. She was born in Lynn Regis, now King’s Lynn, England, on 13 June 1752, to musical historian Dr Charles Burney and Mrs Esther Sleepe Burney...
and of the explorer James Burney
James Burney
James Burney was an English rear-admiral, who accompanied Captain Cook on his last two voyages.-Family:Burney was born in London, the son of the composer and music scholar Charles Burney and his wife Esther Sleepe...
, and a half-brother of the novelist Sarah Burney
Sarah Burney
Sarah Harriet Burney was an English novelist, the daughter of musicologist and composer Charles Burney, and half-sister of the novelist and diarist Frances Burney .- Life :Sarah Burney's mother, Elizabeth Allen, was the second wife of...
.
He was educated at Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School
Charterhouse School, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse or House, is an English collegiate independent boarding school situated at Godalming in Surrey.Founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian...
, London, and then at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. However, he was accused of stealing books from the university library, probably to pay debts, and sent down in 1778. He obtained an LLD degree from King's College, Aberdeen in 1781. Ironically, Burney later amassed legally a collection of 13,000 rare books and manuscripts that was ultimately bought by the nation for the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
in 1817 for the sum of £13,500.
Usher, scholar and parson
In 1782, Burney became a master at a private school in ChiswickChiswick
Chiswick is a large suburb of west London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located on a meander of the River Thames, west of Charing Cross and is one of 35 major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, with...
run by Dr. William Rose, a translator of Sallust
Sallust
Gaius Sallustius Crispus, generally known simply as Sallust , a Roman historian, belonged to a well-known plebeian family, and was born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines...
. He married Rose's daughter Sarah (1759–1821) in 1783. When Rose died in 1786, Burney took over the school, moving it to nearby Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
and thence to Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
in 1793.
Many eminent naval and military officers were educated there, but he seems to have been such a strong disciplinarian that he provoked a rebellion of about 50 boys at some time in the early years of the new century. One boy described it in an undated letter to his mother. The boys took food, chessboards, cards and weapons, and barricaded themselves in: "Then Burney came and told them to open the door but they said it was not shut to be opened. He then got a ladder & got at the top of the door where he could see them all... till at last as the door was going to be cut open they unfastened it, when Burney rushed in. At first they hit him with their sticks but he knocked them about till at last they were quiet & Burney very generously gave them the choice of being expelled or forgiven; above 40 were forgiven and 2 expelled."
Burney transferred the school to his only child Charles Parr Burney (1785–1864), who ran it from 1813 to 1833.
Burney gained a strong reputation as a Greek scholar with several publications to his name. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
in 1802. He made his peace with Cambridge University, which awarded him an MA in 1808 on his ordination as an Anglican priest. He advanced rapidly in the church, becoming rector of the rich living of Cliffe, Kent
Cliffe, Kent
Cliffe is a village on the Hoo peninsula in Kent, England, reached from the Medway Towns by a three-mile journey along the B2000. Situated upon a low chalk escarpment overlooking the Thames marshes, Cliffe offers the adventurous rambler views of Southend-on-Sea and London...
, and of St. Paul's, Deptford, as well as serving as a royal chaplain and a prebendary
Prebendary
A prebendary is a post connected to an Anglican or Catholic cathedral or collegiate church and is a type of canon. Prebendaries have a role in the administration of the cathedral...
of Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral
Lincoln Cathedral is a historic Anglican cathedral in Lincoln in England and seat of the Bishop of Lincoln in the Church of England. It was reputedly the tallest building in the world for 249 years . The central spire collapsed in 1549 and was not rebuilt...
. He died of apoplexy.
Partial bibliography
- Appendix ad lexicon Graeco-Latinum a Joan. Scapula constructum (1789)
- Remarks on the Greek Verses of Milton (1790)
- Richardi Bentleii et doctorum virorum epistolae (1807)
- Tentamen de metris ab Aeschylo in choricis cantibus adhibitis (1809)
- Philemonos lexikon technologikon (1812)