William Tooke
Encyclopedia
William Tooke was a British clergyman and historian of Russia.
William was educated at an academy at Islington kept by one John Shield. In 1771 Tooke obtained letters of ordination as deacon and priest from Richard Terrick
as bishop of London
; and received from John Duncombe
the offer of the living of West Thurrock
, Essex
, in the same year. This he declined on being appointed chaplain to the English church at Kronstadt
. Three years later, on the resignation of Dr. John Glen King, Tooke was invited by the English merchants at St. Petersburg to succeed him as chaplain there. In this position he made the acquaintance of many members of the Russian nobility and episcopate, and also of the numerous men of letters and scientists of all nationalities whom Catherine II summoned to her court. He was a regular attendant at the annual diner de tolérance which the empress gave to the clergy of all denominations, and at which Gabriel, the metropolitan of Russia, used to preside. Among those whose acquaintance Tooke made was the French sculptor Étienne Maurice Falconet
, then engaged on his statue of Peter the Great.
On 5 June 1783 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society, and on 14 May 1784 was admitted sizar
of Jesus College, Cambridge
, but neither resided nor graduated. Shortly afterwards he became member of the imperial academy of sciences at St. Petersburg and of the free economical society of St. Petersburg. While chaplain at St. Petersburg Tooke made frequent visits to Poland and Germany, some details of which are printed from his letters in John Nichols
's Literary Anecdotes. At Königsberg
he made the acquaintance of Immanuel Kant
.
In 1792 Tooke was left a fortune by a maternal uncle, returned to England, and devoted himself to writing. In 1814 Tooke served as chaplain to the lord mayor of London, Sir William Domville, and preached in that capacity several sermons, which were published separately.
Tooke resided during his latter years in Great Ormond Street, Bloomsbury, but moved to Guilford Street just before his death, which took place on 17 November 1820. He was buried on the 23rd in St. Pancras new burial-ground. An engraving by J. Collyer, after a portrait by Martin Archer Shee
, is prefixed to his Lucian.
's Funeral Monuments. In 1769 he issued in two volumes The Loves of Othniel and Achsah, translated from the Chaldee. The "translation" was merely a blind, and Tooke's object appears to have been to give an account of Chaldee philosophy and religion; he evinces an acquaintance with Hebrew. This was followed in 1772 by an edition of Mary Magdalen's Funeral Tears by Robert Southwell
. In 1777 he published Pieces written by Mons. Falconet and Mons. Diderot on Sculpture … translated from the French by William Tooke, with several additions, London.
His residence at St. Petersburg had given him chances for the study of Russian history, and he now set to work to publish the results of his researches. He had already translated from German Russia, or a compleat Historical Account of all the Nations which compose that Empire, London, 4 vols. 1780–1783. In 1798 appeared The Life of Catharine II, Empress of Russia; an enlarged translation from the French, 3 vols. More than half the work consisted of Tooke's additions. It was followed in 1799 by A View of the Russian Empire during the Reign of Catharine II and to the close of the present Century, 3 vols; a second edition appeared in 1800, and was translated into French in six volumes (Paris, 1801). In 1800 Tooke published a History of Russia from the Foundation of the Monarchy by Rurik to the Accession of Catharine the Second, London, 2 vols.
In 1795 he produced two volumes of Varieties of Literature, followed in 1798 by the similar Selections from Foreign Literary Journals. He was principal editor, assisted by William Beloe
and Robert Nares
, of the New and General Biographical Dictionary, published in fifteen volumes in 1798; and in the same year he wrote Observations on the Expedition of General Bonaparte to the East A few years later he began a translation in ten volumes of the sermons of the Swiss divine George Joachim Zollikofer. The first two appeared in 1804 (2nd edit. 1807), two in 1806, two in 1807, and two in 1812; they were followed in 1815 by a translation of the same divine's Devotional Exercises and Prayers.
He contributed largely to the Monthly Review
and the Gentleman's Magazine, and is credited with the authorship of the memoir of Sir Hans Sloane, written in French, and extant in Brit. Mus. Addit. MS. 30066 (Cat. Addit. MSS. 1882, p. 30). His last work was Lucian of Samosata, from the Greek, with the Comments and Illustrations of Wieland and others, London, 1820, 2 vols.
and William Tooke (1777–1863), and a daughter Elizabeth.
Life
Tooke was the second son of Thomas Tooke (1705–1773) of St. John's, Clerkenwell, by his wife Hannah, only daughter of Thomas Mann of St. James's, Clerkenwell, whom he married in 1738. The family claimed connection with Sir Bryan Tuke and George Tooke.William was educated at an academy at Islington kept by one John Shield. In 1771 Tooke obtained letters of ordination as deacon and priest from Richard Terrick
Richard Terrick
Richard Terrick was a Church of England clergyman and bishop of London from 1764 to 1777.Terrick graduated with a BA from Clare College, Cambridge in 1729 and an MA in 1733. He was preacher at the Rolls Chapel from 1736 to 1757, and vicar of Twickenham from 1749...
as bishop of London
Bishop of London
The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
; and received from John Duncombe
John Duncombe (writer)
John Duncombe was an English clergyman and writer, son of William Duncombe.He studied at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, where he became a fellow. He married the poet Susanna Highmore...
the offer of the living of West Thurrock
West Thurrock
West Thurrock is a traditional Church of England parish and town in Thurrock, Essex, England, located 17.5 miles east south-east of Charing Cross, London.-Location:...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, in the same year. This he declined on being appointed chaplain to the English church at Kronstadt
Kronstadt
Kronstadt , also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt |crown]]" and Stadt for "city"); is a municipal town in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg proper near the head of the Gulf of Finland. Population: It is also...
. Three years later, on the resignation of Dr. John Glen King, Tooke was invited by the English merchants at St. Petersburg to succeed him as chaplain there. In this position he made the acquaintance of many members of the Russian nobility and episcopate, and also of the numerous men of letters and scientists of all nationalities whom Catherine II summoned to her court. He was a regular attendant at the annual diner de tolérance which the empress gave to the clergy of all denominations, and at which Gabriel, the metropolitan of Russia, used to preside. Among those whose acquaintance Tooke made was the French sculptor Étienne Maurice Falconet
Étienne Maurice Falconet
Étienne Maurice Falconet is counted among the first rank of French Rococo sculptors, whose patron was Mme de Pompadour.-Life:Falconet was born to a poor family in Paris...
, then engaged on his statue of Peter the Great.
On 5 June 1783 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society, and on 14 May 1784 was admitted sizar
Sizar
At Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is a student who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in return for doing a defined job....
of Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
, but neither resided nor graduated. Shortly afterwards he became member of the imperial academy of sciences at St. Petersburg and of the free economical society of St. Petersburg. While chaplain at St. Petersburg Tooke made frequent visits to Poland and Germany, some details of which are printed from his letters in John Nichols
John Nichols (printer)
John Nichols was an English printer, author and antiquary.-Early life and apprenticeship:He was born in Islington, London to Edward Nichols and Anne Wilmot. On 22 June 1766 he married Anne Cradock daughter of William Cradock...
's Literary Anecdotes. At Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
he made the acquaintance of Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
.
In 1792 Tooke was left a fortune by a maternal uncle, returned to England, and devoted himself to writing. In 1814 Tooke served as chaplain to the lord mayor of London, Sir William Domville, and preached in that capacity several sermons, which were published separately.
Tooke resided during his latter years in Great Ormond Street, Bloomsbury, but moved to Guilford Street just before his death, which took place on 17 November 1820. He was buried on the 23rd in St. Pancras new burial-ground. An engraving by J. Collyer, after a portrait by Martin Archer Shee
Martin Archer Shee
Sir Martin Archer Shee RA was a British portrait painter and president of the Royal Academy.-Biography:...
, is prefixed to his Lucian.
Works
Tooke early turned his attention to literature, and in 1767 published an edition of John WeeverJohn Weever
John Weever , was an English poet and antiquary.-Life:He was a native of Preston, Lancashire. Little is known of his early life and his parentage is not certain...
's Funeral Monuments. In 1769 he issued in two volumes The Loves of Othniel and Achsah, translated from the Chaldee. The "translation" was merely a blind, and Tooke's object appears to have been to give an account of Chaldee philosophy and religion; he evinces an acquaintance with Hebrew. This was followed in 1772 by an edition of Mary Magdalen's Funeral Tears by Robert Southwell
Robert Southwell
Robert Southwell , also Saint Robert Southwell, was an English Roman Catholic priest of the Jesuit Order. He was also a poet and clandestine missionary in post-Reformation England. After being arrested and brutally tortured by Sir Richard Topcliffe, Father Southwell was tried and convicted of high...
. In 1777 he published Pieces written by Mons. Falconet and Mons. Diderot on Sculpture … translated from the French by William Tooke, with several additions, London.
His residence at St. Petersburg had given him chances for the study of Russian history, and he now set to work to publish the results of his researches. He had already translated from German Russia, or a compleat Historical Account of all the Nations which compose that Empire, London, 4 vols. 1780–1783. In 1798 appeared The Life of Catharine II, Empress of Russia; an enlarged translation from the French, 3 vols. More than half the work consisted of Tooke's additions. It was followed in 1799 by A View of the Russian Empire during the Reign of Catharine II and to the close of the present Century, 3 vols; a second edition appeared in 1800, and was translated into French in six volumes (Paris, 1801). In 1800 Tooke published a History of Russia from the Foundation of the Monarchy by Rurik to the Accession of Catharine the Second, London, 2 vols.
In 1795 he produced two volumes of Varieties of Literature, followed in 1798 by the similar Selections from Foreign Literary Journals. He was principal editor, assisted by William Beloe
William Beloe
William Beloe was an English divine and miscellaneous writer.-Biography:He was born at Norwich in 1756, and was the son of a respectable tradesman. His ‘pruriency of parts,’ as he expresses it, led to his receiving a liberal education. After an unsuccessful experiment at a day school in his native...
and Robert Nares
Robert Nares
Robert Nares was an English clergyman, philologist and author.-Life:He was born at York in 1753, the son of James Nares , organist of York Minster and educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford.From 1779 to 1783 he lived with the family of Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 4th Baronet as...
, of the New and General Biographical Dictionary, published in fifteen volumes in 1798; and in the same year he wrote Observations on the Expedition of General Bonaparte to the East A few years later he began a translation in ten volumes of the sermons of the Swiss divine George Joachim Zollikofer. The first two appeared in 1804 (2nd edit. 1807), two in 1806, two in 1807, and two in 1812; they were followed in 1815 by a translation of the same divine's Devotional Exercises and Prayers.
He contributed largely to the Monthly Review
Monthly Review
Monthly Review is an independent Marxist journal published 11 times per year in New York City.-History:The publication was founded by Harvard University economics instructor Paul Sweezy, who became the first editor...
and the Gentleman's Magazine, and is credited with the authorship of the memoir of Sir Hans Sloane, written in French, and extant in Brit. Mus. Addit. MS. 30066 (Cat. Addit. MSS. 1882, p. 30). His last work was Lucian of Samosata, from the Greek, with the Comments and Illustrations of Wieland and others, London, 1820, 2 vols.
Family
Tooke married, in 1771, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Eyton of Llanganhafal, Denbighshire, by whom he had issue two sons, Thomas TookeThomas Tooke
Thomas Tooke was an English economist known for writing on money and his work on economic statistics. After Tooke's death the Statistical Society endowed the Tooke Chair of economics at King's College London, and a Tooke Prize.In business, he served several terms between 1840 and 1852 as governor...
and William Tooke (1777–1863), and a daughter Elizabeth.