Hensleigh Wedgwood
Encyclopedia
Hensleigh Wedgwood was a British
etymologist, philologist and barrister
, author of A Dictionary of English Etymology. Wedgwood was the fourth son of Josiah Wedgwood II
and Elizabeth Allen. He was a cousin of Charles Darwin
-- whom his sister Emma
married in 1839.
Wedgwood did well in maths but finished bottom in the classical
tripos
at Cambridge
in 1824, for which he was awarded the first "wooden wedge", equivalent to the wooden spoon
, and jokingly named for him.
He was also interested in Spiritualism, holding seance
s and sending a hoax
photograph of himself in the presence of "spirit
s" to T.H. Huxley.
He married Frances Emma Elizabeth Mackintosh (Fanny) (1800-1889) in 1832, his first cousin, the daughter of Sir James Mackintosh
and his second wife Catherine (Kitty) Allen. It was an open family secret that Hensleigh's cousin Erasmus Alvey Darwin
was carrying on with Fanny. They had the children:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
etymologist, philologist and barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
, author of A Dictionary of English Etymology. Wedgwood was the fourth son of Josiah Wedgwood II
Josiah Wedgwood II
Josiah Wedgwood II , the son of the English potter Josiah Wedgwood, continued his father's firm and was Member of Parliament for Stoke-upon-Trent from 1832 to 1835...
and Elizabeth Allen. He was a cousin of Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
-- whom his sister Emma
Emma Darwin
Emma Darwin was the wife and first cousin of Charles Darwin, the English naturalist, scientist and author of On the Origin of Species...
married in 1839.
Wedgwood did well in maths but finished bottom in the classical
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
tripos
Tripos
The University of Cambridge, England, divides the different kinds of honours bachelor's degree by Tripos , plural Triposes. The word has an obscure etymology, but may be traced to the three-legged stool candidates once used to sit on when taking oral examinations...
at Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in 1824, for which he was awarded the first "wooden wedge", equivalent to the wooden spoon
Wooden spoon (award)
A wooden spoon is a mock or real award, usually given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition, but sometimes also to runners-up. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous events...
, and jokingly named for him.
He was also interested in Spiritualism, holding seance
Séance
A séance is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word "séance" comes from the French word for "seat," "session" or "sitting," from the Old French "seoir," "to sit." In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, speak of "une séance de cinéma"...
s and sending a hoax
Hoax
A hoax is a deliberately fabricated falsehood made to masquerade as truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment, or rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences or April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes.-Definition:The British...
photograph of himself in the presence of "spirit
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
s" to T.H. Huxley.
He married Frances Emma Elizabeth Mackintosh (Fanny) (1800-1889) in 1832, his first cousin, the daughter of Sir James Mackintosh
James Mackintosh
Sir James Mackintosh was a Scottish jurist, politician and historian. His studies and sympathies embraced many interests. He was trained as a doctor and barrister, and worked also as a journalist, judge, administrator, professor, philosopher and politician.-Early life:Mackintosh was born at...
and his second wife Catherine (Kitty) Allen. It was an open family secret that Hensleigh's cousin Erasmus Alvey Darwin
Erasmus Alvey Darwin
Erasmus Alvey Darwin , nicknamed Eras or Ras, was the older brother of Charles Darwin, born five years earlier, and also brought up at the family home, The Mount House, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England...
was carrying on with Fanny. They had the children:
- Frances Julia WedgwoodFrances Julia WedgwoodFrances Julia "Snow" Wedgwood was an English feminist novelist, biographer, historian and literary critic. She was "a young woman of extreme passions and fastidious principles" Frances Julia "Snow" Wedgwood (9 July 1833-26 November 1913) was an English feminist novelist, biographer, historian and...
(1833-1913), feminist philosopher and writer known as "Snow". - James Mackintosh Wedgwood (1834-1874)
- Ernest Hensleigh Wedgwood (1837-1898)
- Katherine Euphemia Wedgwood (1839-1934), married Thomas Farrer, 1st Baron FarrerThomas Farrer, 1st Baron FarrerThomas Henry Farrer, 1st Baron Farrer was an English civil servant and statistician.Farrer was the son of Thomas Farrer, a solicitor in Lincoln's Inn Fields. Born in London, he was educated at Eton College and Balliol College, Oxford, where he graduated in 1840...
. - Alfred Allen Wedgwood (1842-1892), father of J. I. Wedgwood.
- Hope Elizabeth (1844-1935) married her cousin Godfrey WedgwoodGodfrey WedgwoodGodfrey Wedgwood was a partner in the Wedgwood pottery firm from 1859 to 1891.Wedgwood was born in Etruria Hall, the son of Francis Wedgwood and his wife Frances Mosley. He was taken into partnership by his father in 1859, and was later joined by his younger brothers Clement and Laurence...
.
Partial list of works
- On the Development of Understanding, 1848.
- On the Origin of Language, 1866.
- A Dictionary of English Etymology, Second Edition, 1872.
- Contested Etymologies in the Dictionary of Rev. W. W. Skeat, 1882.
External links
- http://darwin.lib.cam.ac.uk/perl/nav?class=name;term=Wedgwood%2C%20Hensleigh
- http://wardsbookofdays.com/2june.htm Hensleigh Wedgwood and The Wooden Spoon @ Ward's Book of Days