Canon Robert Baker Girdlestone (1836–1923) was an Anglican priest, first principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford

Wycliffe Hall, Oxford

Wycliffe Hall is a Church of England theological college and a Permanent Private Hall of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located on the Banbury Road in central North Oxford, between Norham Gardens and Norham Road.-Overview:...

, and Hebrew scholar, best known for his reference work Synonyms of the Old Testament.

Life

Robert Baker Girdlestone was the seventh son of Charles Girdlestone

Charles Girdlestone

-Life:The second son of Samuel Rainbow Girdlestone, a chancery barrister, was born in London in March 1797; Edward Girdlestone, canon of Bristol, was his younger brother. He was educated at Tunbridge School, under Vicesimus Knox, and in 1815 entered Wadham College, Oxford, where he held two...

, a Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford. R. B. Girdlestone was minister of St. John's Downshire Hill, Hampstead, then head of the translation department of the British and Foreign Bible Society

British and Foreign Bible Society

The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply as Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world....

, and first principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, in the post from from 1877 to 1889.

Family

His third son Gathorne Robert Girdlestone (1881–1950) was the first Nuffield Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, and thereby the first professor of orthopaedics in Britain.