John Wesley Hales was a British scholar and man of letters.

Life

John Wesley Hales was educated at Louth grammar school, Glasgow High School

High School of Glasgow

The High School of Glasgow is an independent, co-educational day school in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded as the Choir School of Glasgow Cathedral in around 1124, it is the oldest school in Scotland, and the twelfth oldest in the United Kingdom. It remained part of the Church as the city's grammar...

, Durham grammar school, Glasgow University and Christ's College, Cambridge

Christ's College, Cambridge

Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...

, which elected him to a fellowship. He was for some time an assistant master at Marlborough College

Marlborough College

Marlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...

 under George Granville Bradley

George Granville Bradley

George Granville Bradley was an English divine, scholar, and schoolteacher.-Life:George Bradley's father, Charles Bradley, was vicar of Glasbury, Brecon....

, as well as examiner at King's College London

King's College London

King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...

, and the universities of Wales

University of Wales

The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...

, New Zealan

University of New Zealand

The University of New Zealand was the New Zealand university from 1870 to 1961. It was the sole New Zealand university, having a federal structure embracing several constituent colleges at various locations around New Zealand...

 and 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...

, and from 1889-93 Clark lecturer on English literature at Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...

. Until 1903, when he retired, he was professor of English literature at King's College, London. He married Henrietta Trafford, daughter of judge Richard Leigh Trafford and Eliza Frances Tarleton, in 1867.

Works

Hales published 109 works in 300 publications in 5 languages.. A selection is shown below.

• Bell's Handbooks of English Literature (general editor)
• Milton's Areopagitica (1874)
• Percy Folio Manuscript
  Percy Folio
  The Percy Folio is a folio book of English ballads used by Thomas Percy to compile his Reliques of Ancient Poetry. Although the manuscript itself was compiled in the 17th century, some of its material goes back well into the 12th century...
  
  (1867-8) (co-editor)
• Longer English Poems (1872, 1884) http://www.archive.org/details/longerenglishpo01halegoog (editor)
• Notes and Essays on Shakespeare (1884) http://www.archive.org/details/notesandessayso00halegoog
• Essays and Notes on Shakespeare (1892) http://www.archive.org/details/essaysandnoteso00halegoog
• Folia Litteraria: Essays and Notes on English Literature (1893) http://www.archive.org/details/folialitteraria00halegoog
• Snell's Age of Chaucer and Seccombe (introduction)
• Allen's Age of Shakespeare

Edited works

• Complete Works of Edmund Spenser: A Variorum Edition (1893) http://www.archive.org/details/completeworksed00halegoog

External links

• Correspondence from John Wesley Hales, Professor of English at King's College, London, sometime of Louth at Lincolnshire Archives
  Lincolnshire Archives
  Lincolnshire Archives is the county record office of Lincolnshire, England. It was established as a county service in 1948 by the Lincolnshire Archives Committee, which had been formally constituted on 24 October 1947 with Sir Sir Robert Pattinson as chairman...