John Edward Fletcher
Encyclopedia
John Edward Fletcher was a British
-Australian scholar best known for his research
and publications on Athanasius Kircher
as well as several other Germans
who had lived in and/or influenced Australia
.
city of Bradford
in Yorkshire
to a printer
/soldier
father and a millworker
mother. There he attended Thornton Grammar School of which in his final year he became Dux
and School Captain
.
He went on as a scholarship holder to read for his BA
degree at Queen Mary College
, University of London, where he studied under such famous scholars of German
as the Medievalist A.T. Hatto and the Renaissance
and Baroque
specialist Leonard Forster, later Schroeder Professor of German at Cambridge.
On graduating he moved on to the University of Durham
to obtain Diploma of Education
and then back to the Queen Mary College on a postgraduate scholarship intending to do his PhD
under Dr Claus Viktor Bock on the 17th century German polymath
and polyglot
Father Athanasius Kircher
. His first task was to come to grip with Kircher's vast body of writings on most branches of learning of his age, for example: mathematics
, astronomy
, music
, oriental languages - including Egyptian
hieroglyphics, which Kircher was certain he had deciphered, but of course hadn't. The second task he and Dr. Bock set was to edit the immense correspondence from and to Kircher. Fletcher succeeded by 1966 in producing an extremely erudite thesis
of over 900 pages - somewhere around the size of many of Kircher's own publications.
and took up the position of Senior Teaching fellow in the Department of German at Monash University
. Almost immediately he began to indulge his lifelong passion for books and bibliography.
In 1968 he took up the first full lectureship in German Baroque Literature in the Department of German at Sydney University and was promoted to Senior Lecturer a few years later. He was to spend the rest of his life at Sydney University where he continued his research on Kircher.
His study leave was spent often in the British Museum
Library
, but more often in the Duke Augustus Library in the charming little north German town of Wolfenbuettel with its magnificent collection of 16th and 17th century books. Much of his research here was funded by the highly prestigious post-doctoral Alexander von Humboldt
scholarship, which Fletcher had been awarded. He was also invited to organise the Library's International conference on Kircher and to edit the resulting book.
, John Fletcher worked particularly hard on books that threw light on all sorts of Australian-German contacts, especially of the 19th century. Amongst other things this led him to take part in the setting up of the Christopher Brennan
Society, a literary society devoted to researching and publishing on the life and times of that brilliant but tragic figure in this University's history who had studied in Berlin
around 1890, was famed as a poet in his own rights and who, as Associate Professor of Comparative Literature
, lectured on several ancient, medieval and modern languages and literatures until he was sacked by the Senate
for adultery
and/or drunkenness
in 1925.
Later in his life he had begun publishing studies of Germans in 19th century Australia and published one also on the Tasmanian Frederick Sefton Delmer who was a university teacher in Germany at the turn of the century. Fletcher collected all the poetry publications other than anthologies that had appeared in New South Wales
between 1950 and 1980 and he published a comprehensive catalogue of these in the process. He also created a collection of poetry books that is the envy of public and university librarians throughout the country because, as the Fisher Librarian
Dr. Neil Radford has said, no library can possibly have certain of these books, since they never went on sale anywhere.
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...
-Australian scholar best known for his research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
and publications on Athanasius Kircher
Athanasius Kircher
Athanasius Kircher was a 17th century German Jesuit scholar who published around 40 works, most notably in the fields of oriental studies, geology, and medicine...
as well as several other Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
who had lived in and/or influenced Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Education
John Edward Fletcher was born in the industrialIndustry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
city of Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
to a printer
Printer
Printer may refer to:* Printer , a person or a company* Printer , a hardware device* Optical printer for motion picture films* The Moscow subway station Pechatniki, whose name means "Printers"...
/soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
father and a millworker
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
mother. There he attended Thornton Grammar School of which in his final year he became Dux
Dux
Dux is Latin for leader and later for Duke and its variant forms ....
and School Captain
School Captain
School Captain is a student appointed or elected to represent the school.This student, usually in the senior year, in their final year of attending that school...
.
He went on as a scholarship holder to read for his BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree at Queen Mary College
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, University of London, where he studied under such famous scholars of German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
as the Medievalist A.T. Hatto and the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
and Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
specialist Leonard Forster, later Schroeder Professor of German at Cambridge.
On graduating he moved on to the University of Durham
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
to obtain Diploma of Education
Diploma of Education
The Diploma of Education, often abbreviated to DipEd or GradDipEd, is a postgraduate qualification offered in many Commonwealth countries including Australia, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom...
and then back to the Queen Mary College on a postgraduate scholarship intending to do his PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
under Dr Claus Viktor Bock on the 17th century German polymath
Polymath
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
and polyglot
Polyglot (person)
A polyglot is someone with a high degree of proficiency in several languages. A bilingual person can speak two languages fluently, whereas a trilingual three; above that the term multilingual may be used.-Hyperpolyglot:...
Father Athanasius Kircher
Athanasius Kircher
Athanasius Kircher was a 17th century German Jesuit scholar who published around 40 works, most notably in the fields of oriental studies, geology, and medicine...
. His first task was to come to grip with Kircher's vast body of writings on most branches of learning of his age, for example: mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, oriental languages - including Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
hieroglyphics, which Kircher was certain he had deciphered, but of course hadn't. The second task he and Dr. Bock set was to edit the immense correspondence from and to Kircher. Fletcher succeeded by 1966 in producing an extremely erudite thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
of over 900 pages - somewhere around the size of many of Kircher's own publications.
Instruction
Fletcher then emigrated to AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and took up the position of Senior Teaching fellow in the Department of German at Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
. Almost immediately he began to indulge his lifelong passion for books and bibliography.
In 1968 he took up the first full lectureship in German Baroque Literature in the Department of German at Sydney University and was promoted to Senior Lecturer a few years later. He was to spend the rest of his life at Sydney University where he continued his research on Kircher.
His study leave was spent often in 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...
Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
, but more often in the Duke Augustus Library in the charming little north German town of Wolfenbuettel with its magnificent collection of 16th and 17th century books. Much of his research here was funded by the highly prestigious post-doctoral Alexander von Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...
scholarship, which Fletcher had been awarded. He was also invited to organise the Library's International conference on Kircher and to edit the resulting book.
Publications
Back in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, John Fletcher worked particularly hard on books that threw light on all sorts of Australian-German contacts, especially of the 19th century. Amongst other things this led him to take part in the setting up of the Christopher Brennan
Christopher Brennan
Christopher John Brennan was an Australian poet and scholar.-Biography:Brennan was born in Sydney, to Christopher Brennan , a brewer, and his wife Mary Ann , née Carroll, both Irish immigrants....
Society, a literary society devoted to researching and publishing on the life and times of that brilliant but tragic figure in this University's history who had studied in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
around 1890, was famed as a poet in his own rights and who, as Associate Professor of Comparative Literature
Comparative literature
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups...
, lectured on several ancient, medieval and modern languages and literatures until he was sacked by the Senate
Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
for adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
and/or drunkenness
Drunkenness
Alcohol intoxication is a physiological state that occurs when a person has a high level of ethanol in his or her blood....
in 1925.
Later in his life he had begun publishing studies of Germans in 19th century Australia and published one also on the Tasmanian Frederick Sefton Delmer who was a university teacher in Germany at the turn of the century. Fletcher collected all the poetry publications other than anthologies that had appeared in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
between 1950 and 1980 and he published a comprehensive catalogue of these in the process. He also created a collection of poetry books that is the envy of public and university librarians throughout the country because, as the Fisher Librarian
University of Sydney Library
The University of Sydney Library is the library system of the University of Sydney. According to its publications, it is the largest academic library in the southern hemisphere, with a print collection of over 5.1 million items . It is composed of twelve libraries across eight campuses of the...
Dr. Neil Radford has said, no library can possibly have certain of these books, since they never went on sale anywhere.
Late life
Soon after his arrival in Sydney, John Fletcher joined the Friends of the University Library and as a committee member, its Treasurer, Secretary and, at the time of his death, President. He was long a member of the Book Collectors' Society of Australia and was at his death its President and Publications Editor, having produced his own last book in their series of Studies in Australian Bibliography.Kircher
- Fletcher, John E.: A brief survey of the unpublished correspondence of Athanasius Kircher S J. (1602-80), in: ManuscriptaManuscriptaManuscripta is a biannual academic journal published by the Knights of Columbus' Vatican Film Library. It was established in 1957 and covers topics related to the study of medieval and renaissance manuscripts. The journal is printed and distributed by Brepols Publishers....
, XIII, St. Louis, 1969, pp. 150-60. - Fletcher, John E.: Johann Marcus Marci writes to Athanasius Kircher. Janus, Leyden, LIX (1972), pp. 97-118
- Fletcher, John E.: Athanasius Kircher und seine Beziehungen zum gelehrten Europa seiner Zeit Wolfenbütteler Arbeiten zur Barockforschung, Band 17, 1988. -
- Fletcher, John E. "Johann Marcus Marci writes to Athanasius Kircher", Janus, 59 (1972), pp 95-118.
- Fletcher, John E. Athanasius Kircher : A Man Under Pressure. 1988
- Fletcher, John E. Athanasius Kircher And Duke August Of Brunswick-Lüneberg : A Chronicle Of Friendship. 1988
- Fletcher, John E. Athanasius Kircher And His Correspondence. 1988
- Fletcher, John E. A Study of the Life and Works of Athanasius Kircher, ‘Germanus Incredibilis’. Edited by Elizabeth Fletcher. Brill Publications, Amsterdam, 2011.
Other
- Between Two Worlds : "Loss Of Faith" And Late Nineteenth Century Australian Literature / essays By Vincent Buckley ... [Et Al.] ; Editors: Axel Clark, John Fletcher And Robin Marsden. 1979
- For Personal Pleasure : Gerald Lyn Fischer And The Pump Press, With A Bibliography / by Geoffrey Farmer. 1993
- Frederick Sefton Delmer : From Herman Grimm And Arthur Streeton To Ezra Pound / John Fletcher. 1991
- Friends Of The University Of Sydney Library 1961-1984. 1984
- Georg Philipp Harsdoerfer, Nuernberg, Und Athanasius Kircher. 1972
- German Books, 1501-1800, In Australian Libraries; A Survey 1969
- German Language Books : In The Libraries Of Canberra, Melbourne And New South Wales / ed. By John Fletcher And Marlene NorstMarlene NorstMarlene Johanna Norst was an Australian linguist, pedagogue and philanthropist of Austrian heritage. Main areas of work: German language and literature studies, linguistics, language pedagogy, English as a second language, socio-linguistics, children’s literature.She was the daughter of the lawyer...
. 1972 - German Manuscripts (1538-1864) In The Libraries Of Sydney : A Descriptive Catalogue / John Fletcher. 1988
- Hermann Lau And His Sojourns (1854-1859) In Sydney, Goulburn, Braidwood, Araluen, Moruya And Shoalha / John Fletcher. 1991
- The Jane Windeyer Bookplate Collection In The University Of Sydney Library : A Catalogue / John Fletcher. 1990
- John Degotardi : Printer, Publisher And Photographer / John Fletcher. 1984
- New Beginnings : Germans In New South Wales And Queensland : A Commemorative Volume / edited By Johannes H. Voigt, Assisted By John Fletcher And John A. Moses = Neuanfänge : Deutsche In 1983
- Poetry Books And Poetry Broadsheets Published From 1950 To 1980 In New South Wales : A Catalogue / John Fletcher. 1989
- A Short-Title Catalogue Of Sixteenth Century Printed Books Held In Libraries And Private Collections / compiled By John Fletcher And Rose Smith. 1979
- St. James' Church, Forest Lodge : A Chronicle Of Parish Life (1877-1977) / compiled By John Fletcher. 1977
- Story of William Pratt 1847-1933 and the Poems that Weren't Published in 1917 Studies in Australian Bibliography Fletcher, John Studies in Australian Bibliography Book Collectors Society of Australia PB 86
- Frederick Sefton Delmer From Herman Grimm and Arthur Streeton to Ezra Pound Studies in Australian Bibliography Fletcher, J Studies in Australian Bibliography Book Collectors Society of Australia PB 62
- W Kirsop 'Review of John Fletcher, The story of William Nathaniel Pratt (1847-1933) and the poems that weren't published in 1917 , Sydney, Book Collectors' Society of Australia, 1990 in Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand bulletin , 18, 2-3, p...' Book review 1994
- W Kirsop 'John Fletcher, or the achieving power of individual energy and determination' (article in scholarly refereed journal) Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand Bulletin 18:2-3, 67-80, 1994
- W Kirsop 'Review of John Fletcher, Hermann Lau and his sojourns (1854-1859) in Sydney, Goulburn, Braidwood, Araluen, Moruya and Shoalhaven, Sydney, Book Collectors' Society of Australia, 1991 in Bibliographical Society of Australia and New Zealand bulletin , ...' Book review 1994 Vol 71, pt 3 (December 1985) JRAHS John Fletcher, 'Karl Scherzer and the visit of the Novara to Sydney, 1858'