Frederic Boase
Modern English Biography (volume 1 of 4) A-H
BRANDE, George William (brother of the preceding). Chief clerk of the Treasury many years. d. Exeter 18 June 1854 aged 69.
BRANDE, William Thomas (brother of the preceding). b. Arlington st. 11 Jany. or Feb. 1788; ed. at Westminster; began lecturing on chemistry 1808; F.R.S. 13 April 1809, Copley medallist 1813, one of secretaries 1816–26; professor of chemistry to Apothecaries company 4 Nov. 1812 and professor of materia medica 1813, master of the Company 1851; professor of chemistry at Royal Institution May 1813 to 1854; superintendent of die department of Mint 1825 and of coining department 1854; edited with M. Faraday Quarterly journal of science and arts 1816–36; author of Outlines of geology 1817, 2 ed. 1829; A manual of chemistry 1819, 6 ed. 2 vols. 1848; A manual of pharmacy 1825, 3 ed. 1833; edited A dictionary of science literature and art 1842, 3 ed. 1853. d. Tunbridge Wells 11 Feb. 1866. Proc. of Royal Society xvi, 2–6 (1868); S. Muspratt’s Chemistry vol. 1 (1853), portrait.
BRANDLING, John James. Second lieut. R.A. 19 March 1839; lieut. col. 8 March 1860 to death; C.B. 5 July 1855. d. Woodsley house, Leeds 16 April 1860 aged 39.
BRANDON, John Raphael. b. 1817; articled to W. Parkinson, architect 1836; practised at Beaufort buildings, Strand, London with his brother Joshua Arthur Brandon 1841–7 when the latter died; joint architect with Robert Ritchie of Catholic Apostolic church, Gordon sq. London, opened 1 Jany. 1854; architect of St. Peter’s church, Great Windmill st. Piccadilly 1861; one of the 11 architects who competed for Royal Courts of Justice, London 1867; author with his brother of Analysis of Gothick architecture 2 vols. 1847; Views of English ecclesiastical structures 1848, new ed. 2 vols. 1858; Open timber roofs of the middle ages 1849; Railways and the Public 1868, 8 ed. 1871; shot himself at his chambers 17 Clement’s Inn, Strand, London 8 Oct. 1877.
BRANDRETH, Thomas Alston. Second lieut. R.A. 19 July 1797; colonel 23 Nov. 1841 to death; served in the Peninsula 1812–14; C.B. 26 Sep. 1831. d. Chudleigh, Devon 24 Sep. 1851 aged 72.
BRANDRETH, Thomas Shaw (2 son of Joseph Brandreth M.D. of Liverpool, physician 1746–1815). b. 24 July 1788; ed. at Eton and Trin. coll. Cam., 2 wrangler, 2 Smith’s prizeman and chancellor’s medallist 1810, B.A. 1810, M.A. 1813; fellow of his college 1811; barrister I.T. 5 June 1818; revising barrister for Liverpool, Bolton and other towns in Lancashire many years; invented a logometer or ten-foot gunter, a friction wheel, and a double-check clock escapement, all of which he patented; invented a machine in which the weight of a horse was utilised on a moving platform, this invention was used where steam power proved too expensive as in Lombardy and in some parts of the United States where it is still employed; F.R.S. 8 March 1821; author of Homer’s Iliad with notes 2 vols. 1841 in which the Digamma was restored throughout for sake of the metre; A dissertation on the metre of Homer 1844; Homer’s Iliad, translated 2 vols. 1846. d. The Steyne, Worthing 27 May 1873.
BRANDT, Francis Frederick (eld. son of Rev. Francis Brandt R. of Gawsworth Cheshire who d. 1870). b. Gawsworth rectory 1819; ed. at Macclesfield gr. sch.; practised as special pleader; barrister I.T. 30 April 1847; leader of Chester and Knutsford sessions; reported for the Times in Court of Common Pleas; contributed to Bells Life in London; author of Habet, a short treatise on the law of the land as it effects pugilism 1857; Fur and feathers 1859; Frank Marland’s Manuscripts 1859; Games, gaming and gamester’s law 1871, 2 ed. 1873. d. 8 Fig tree court, Temple London 6 Dec. 1874.
BRANDT, Robert. Barrister L.I. 1 June 1821; went northern circuit; commissioner in Bankruptcy for Manchester; judge of Bury Court of Requests; judge of Manchester county court March 1847 to death. d. Pendleton near Manchester 15 April 1862. Law Times xxxvii, 321 (1862).
BRANKS, Rev. William. Minister of parish of Torpichen; published anonymously Heaven our Home 1861, new ed. 1864, sale of which reached considerably over 100,000 copies; Zion’s King 1859; preserved anonymous character of his works to the last. d. Torpichen 18 Feb. 1879.
BRANSON, William Scholes. Member of company of T.R. Liverpool 1847 or before; manager of Adelphi theatre Liverpool; author of many plays. d. Fairfield, Liverpool Jany. 1884 aged 74.
BRANT, James. Vice consul at Trebizond 31 March 1830; consul at Erzeroom 27 April 1836 and at Damascus Sep. 1856 to 2 Nov. 1860 when he retired on a pension; C.B. 31 Oct. 1860. d. Cliftonville, Brighton 24 Nov. 1861.
BRANT, Rev. William Holt. Consular chaplain at St. Michael’s in the Azores 11 Nov. 1834 to 25 April 1865. d. Lisbon 20 April 1867 aged 90.
BRANWHITE, Charles (son of Nathan Branwhite of Bristol, miniature painter). b. Bristol 1817; landscape painter especially of frost scenes; exhibited 9 pictures at R.A., 25 at British Institution and 2 at Suffolk st. gallery 1845–57. d. Bramford house, Westfield park, Redland, Bristol 15 Feb. 1880. I.L.N. lxxvi, 285 (1880), portrait.
BRASIER, James. Entered navy 3 Dec. 1799; captain 10 Jany. 1837; V.A. on h.p. 14 Nov. 1863. d. Bradney near Bridgnorth 28 July 1864 aged 80.
BRASSEY, Thomas (son of John Brassey of Buerton, Aldford, Cheshire, farmer). b. Buerton 7 Nov. 1805; land surveyor at Birkenhead 1826; railway contractor in London 1836; made line from Paris to Rouen 1841–3 and from Rouen to Havre 1843–5; contractor for Great Northern railway 1847–51, railways in Italy 1850–3, Grand Trunk railway of Canada 1852–9 and railways in Australia 1859–63; established with E. T. Betts and M. Peto Canada works at Birkenhead 1853. d. Hastings 8 Dec. 1870. Life by Arthur Helps 1872, portrait; J. Devey’s Life of Joseph Locke (1862) 145–54; Work and wages practically illustrated, by T. Brassey, M.P. 1872.
Note.—He laid out £78,000,000 of other people’s money and upon that outlay retained £2,500,000 being as nearly as possible three per cent.; he had in his employ at one time upwards of 30,000 men on railways in Europe; his will was proved in London 7 Feb. 1871, personalty being sworn under £3,200,000.
BRAVO, Charles Delauney Turner (only son of Charles Turner of the Isle of Jersey). b. 39 Upper Charlotte st. Tottenham Court road, London 30 Nov. 1845; ed. at King’s coll. London and Trin. coll. Ox., admitted gentleman commoner 16 Jany. 1864, B.A. 1866, M.A. 1868; barrister M.T. 30 April 1870, went Home circuit; changed his name to Bravo 1868 or 1869. (m. 7 Dec. 1875 Florence eld. dau. of Robert Campbell of Buscot park near Reading, she was b. 5 Sep. 1845, m. (1) 21 Sep. 1864 Alexander Lewis Ricardo, Ensign Grenadier Guards (who d. 19 April 1871), she d. at Lumps villa Southsea 17 Sep. 1878 and was bur. at Farringdon, Berkshire 21 Sep.) C. D. T. Bravo d. suddenly and mysteriously from taking tartar emetic at The Priory Bedford hill road, Balham Surrey 21 April 1876. bur. Lower Norwood cemetery 1 May. The Balham mystery or the Bravo poisoning case 7 numbers 56 pages (1876), portraits.
Note.—There was a coroner’s inquest held at which no conclusion was arrived at as to how the poison was administered, a renewed inquest was opened by the Coroner for East Surrey 11 July 1876 which lasted till 11 Aug. when the coroner’s jury returned the following verdict, “We find that the deceased did not commit suicide, but that he was wilfully murdered by the administration of tartar emetic, but there is not sufficient evidence to fix the guilt upon any person or persons.” In consequence of this decision the Government offered a reward of £250 for information leading to the conviction of the murderer, but nothing more was ever found out.
BRAY, Anna Eliza (only dau. of John Kemp of the Mint, London, bullion porter 1748–1823). b. St. Mary Newington, Surrey 25 Dec. 1790; author of Traditions, legends, superstitions and sketches of Devonshire, the Tamar and the Tavy 3 vols. 1838; Trelawnie of Trelawne or the prophecy 3 vols., 2 ed. 1845; Henry de Pomeroy or the eve of St. John 3 vols. 1842, new ed. 1846; Handel, his life personal and professional 1857; Joan of Arc 1874. (m. (1) Feb. 1818 Charles Alfred Stothard, historical draughtsman who d. 28 May 1821, m. (2) 1822 Rev. Edward Atkyns Bray, V. of Tavistock who d. 1857). She d. 40 Brompton Crescent, London 21 Jany. 1883. Mrs. Bray’s Autobiography 1844, portrait; Library Chronicle i, 126–9 (1884); I.L.N. lxxxii, 197 (1883), portrait.
BRAY, Charles (son of Mr. Bray of Coventry, ribbon manufacturer who d. 1835). b. Coventry 31 Jany. 1811; ribbon manufacturer at Coventry 1835–56; helped to establish Coventry Labourers’ and Artisans’ Society 1843 which developed into a co-operative society of which he was president; started a working man’s club 1845; purchased The Coventry Herald and Observer 1846 which he sold to J. M. Scott 1874; author of Education of the feelings 1838, 4 ed. 1872; Philosophy of necessity 2 vols. 1841, 2 ed. 1863; Outlines of social systems and communities 1844; A manual of anthropology 1871, 2 ed. 1883; Psychological and ethical definitions on a physiological basis 1879 and a number of pamphlets. d. 5 Oct. 1884. C. Bray’s Phases of opinion and experience during a long life (1884), portrait; George Eliot’s Life, by J. W. Cross 1885.
BRAY, Rev. Edward Atkyns (only son of Edward Bray of Tavistock, solicitor). b. the Abbey house, Tavistock 18 Dec. 1778; a student at M.T. 1801, barrister M.T. 1806; ordained by bishop of Norwich about 1811; entered at Trin. coll. Cam. 1812, B.D. 1822; V. of Tavistock 1812 to death; P.C. of Brent Tor, Devon 1812 to death; author of Sermons from the works of the most eminent divines 1818; Discourses from tracts and treatises of eminent divines 1821; Discourses on Protestantism 1829; Poetical remains 2 vols. 1859. d. Tavistock 17 July 1857. Poetical remains of the late E. A. Bray i, pp. ix-lii, (1859), portrait.
BRAY, Edward William. Ensign 67 Foot 12 Jany. 1805; major 39 Foot 9 Nov. 1841 to 7 Aug. 1846 when he retired on full pay; C.B. 2 May 1844. d. Montpellier villas, Brighton 3 Dec. 1859 aged 70.
BRAY, George Frederick Campbell. b. 23 April 1826; ensign 39 Foot 22 March 1844; lieut. col. 96 Foot 14 Sep. 1870 to 13 March 1878 when placed on h.p.; assistant adjutant general second division Abyssinian expedition 11 Nov. 1867 to 7 June 1868; deputy A.A.G. Bombay 20 Sep. 1872 to 15 Nov. 1873; A.A.G. and Q.M.G. southern district 15 March 1878 to 31 March 1883; hon. M.G. 26 Sep. 1883. d. 16 Kidbrook Green, Blackheath 26 Sep. 1884.
BRAY, Reginald (son of Edward Bray of Shere near Guildford 1768–1814, treasurer of Society of Antiquaries). b. 26 Jany. 1797; solicitor in London 1818 to death; F.S.A. 26 Nov. 1829; printed many papers on reforms of the law; author of Concise directions for obtaining Lord Chancellors orders for election and removal of coroners of counties 1831. d. Shere 9 Sep. 1879.
BRAYBROOK, Richard Griffin Neville, 3 Baron (eld. son of Richard Aldworth Neville Griffin, 2 Baron Braybrook 1750–1825). b. Stanlake, Berks. 26 Sep. 1783; ed. at Sunbury, Eton and Magd. coll. Cam., M.A. 1811, D.C.L. Ox. 1810; M.P. for Thirsk 1805–1806, for Saltash 1806–1807, for Buckingham 1807–1812 and for Berkshire (after a 15 days poll) 12 Oct. 1812 to 28 Feb. 1825 when he succeeded as 3 Baron; recorder of Saffron Walden to 1835; pres. of Camden Society and of Surtees Society; edited Diary and correspondence of Samuel Pepys 2 vols. 1825, 4 ed. 4 vols. 1854; Life of Jane Lady Cornwallis 1842; author of History of Audley End and Saffron Walden 1835. d. Audley End 13 March 1858.
BRAYBROOK, Richard Cornwallis Neville, 4 Baron (eld. son of the preceding). b. St. George’s parish, Hanover sq. London 17 March 1820; ed. at Eton; ensign Grenadier guards 2 June 1837, lieut. 31 Dec. 1841 to 1842 when he sold out; F.S.A. 25 March 1847; succeeded 13 March 1858; author of Saxon Obsequies discovered in Cambridgeshire 1852. d. Audley End 22 Feb. 1861.
BRAYBROOKE, Samuel. Second lieut. 1 Ceylon regiment 17 Dec. 1812, lieut. col. 26 Jany. 1844 to 11 June 1859; col. 99 Foot 26 Jany. 1866 to death; general 16 April 1875. d. 3 Gledhow gardens, South Kensington, London 7 Oct. 1880 aged 84.
BRAYBROOKE, William Leman (2 son of the preceding). Ensign 90 Foot 29 March 1844; ensign 15 Foot 6 June 1845; ensign Ceylon Rifles 11 July 1845, lieut. 10 Jany. 1847 to death, adjutant 7 April 1848 to 1854; served with and carried colours of 95 Foot in Crimean war 1854. d. on board H.M.S. Vulcan in Black Sea 21 Sep. 1854 from wounds received at battle of the Alma 20 Sep. The diary of the late W. L. Braybrooke 1855.
BRAYE, Sarah Otway-Cave, Baroness. b. July 1767. (m. 25 Feb. 1790 Henry Otway who was b. 1769 and d. 13 Sep. 1815); barony of Braye in abeyance since 1557 was revived in her favour 3 Oct. 1839. d. 14 Great Stanhope st. London 21 Feb. 1862.
BRAYLEY, Edward Wedlake. b. Lambeth, Surrey 1773; apprenticed to an enameller at Clerkenwell; prepared enamel plates for Henry Bone; edited with John Britton The beauties of England and Wales 10 vols. 1801–14; sec. and librarian to Russell Institution 55 Great Coram st. London 1826 to death; F.S.A. 1823; author of The history and antiquities of the abbey church of St. Peter Westminster 2 vols. 1818; Historical and descriptive account of the theatres of London 1826; Londiniana, or reminiscences of the British metropolis 4 vols. 1829; The graphic and historical illustrator, a periodical July 1832 to Nov. 1834; A topographical history of the county of Surrey 5 vols. 1841–8 and many other books. d. 55 Great Coram st. London 23 Sep. 1854. Memoir by John Britton privately printed 1855; G.M. xlii, 538, 582 (1854).
BRAYLEY, Edward William (eld. son of the preceding). b. London 1801; studied science at London and Royal Institutions; joint librarian of the London Institution 1834 where he also lectured, sole librarian 1865 to death, and professor of physical geography and meteorology 1865 to death; an original member of Zoological society 1826 and of Chemical society of London 1841; F.R.S. 1 June 1854; F.R.A.S. Nov. 1866; one of the editors 1822–45 of Annals of philosophy, Zoological journal, and Philosophical Magazine to all of which he contributed papers; author of Ancient castles of England and Wales 2 vols. 1825. d. 53 Oakley road, London 1 Feb. 1870. Monthly notices of Royal Astronom. Soc. xxxii, 111 (1872).
BREADALBANE, John Campbell, 2 Marquis of (only son of John Campbell, 1 Marquis of Breadalbane 1762–1834). b. Nethergate, Dundee 26 Oct. 1796; ed. at Glasgow college; M.P. for Okehampton 1820–26; M.P. for Perthshire 29 Dec. 1832 to 29 March 1834 when he succeeded as 2 Marquis; F.R.S. 5 June 1834; K.T. 21 March 1838; lieut. and sheriff principal of Argyllshire 5 Dec. 1839; presided over meeting of British Association at Glasgow 1840; lord rector of Univ. of Glasgow 1841; received Queen Victoria at Taymouth Castle, Perthshire on her first visit to Scotland 8 Sep. 1842; lord chamberlain of the household 1848–52 and 1853–58; P.C. 4 Sep. 1848; colonel of Argyll and Bute militia 18 Sep. 1854 to death. d. Lausanne 8 Nov. 1862. P. R. Drummond’s Perthshire in bygone days (1879) 6–17.
BREADALBANE, John Alexander Gavin Campbell, 6 Earl of. b. London 30 March 1824; ensign 79 Foot 2 Aug. 1842; captain 1 Foot 4 Aug. 1854 to 12 Jany. 1855 when he sold out; succeeded 8 Nov. 1862, confirmed as 6 Earl by Court of Session 1866 and by House of Lords 1867; a frequent correspondent of The Field; a great salmon fisher. d. 4B The Albany, Piccadilly, London 20 March 1871. J. Paterson’s Breadalbane succession case 1863.
BREEKS, James Wilkinson. b. Edengate, Warcop, Westmoreland 5 March 1830; entered Madras civil service 1849, private sec. to Sir W. T. Denison governor of Madras 1861–64; comr. of the Nilagiris, principal sanatorium of South of India to death; made a complete collection of arms, ornaments, dresses and implements in use among four aboriginal tribes of the Nilagiris and of contents of many cairns and cromlechs; author of An account of the primitive tribes and monuments of the Nilagiris 1873. (m. 19 Feb. 1863 Susan Maria eld. dau. of Sir. W. T. Denison). d. Madras 6 June 1872.
BREEN, James (2 son of Hugh Breen who superintended Lunar reductions at Royal Observatory, Greenwich). b. Armagh 5 July 1826; a calculator at Royal Observatory, Greenwich Aug. 1842 to Aug. 1846 and at Cambridge Observatory Aug. 1846 to Dec. 1858; observed the total eclipse of the sun at Camuesa in Spain 18 July 1860; F.R.A.S. 10 June 1862; author of The Planetary Worlds, the topography and telescopic appearance of the sun, planets, moon and comets 1854; contributed to Popular Science Review and other periodicals generally anonymously. d. 25 Aug. 1866. Monthly notices of Royal Astronom. Soc. xxvii, 104 (1867).
BREESE, Edward. b. 13 April 1835; ed. at Lewisham, Kent; admitted solicitor 1857; practised at Dolgelly to death; clerk of the peace for Merionethshire; F.S.A. 21 March 1872; author of Kalendars of Gwynedd, or chronological lists of lords-lieutenant, sheriffs and knights of the shire for the counties of Anglesey, Caernarvon and Merioneth 1873. d. Morva lodge, Portmadoc, Carnarvonshire 10 March 1881. Law Times lxx, 357, 413 (1881).
BREFFIT, Edgar. b. Cromford near Matlock 12 June 1810; founded a glass bottle manufactory in City of London which became the leading house, trading as Aire and Calder glass bottle company at Castleford Yorkshire and Free trade wharf London; took out patents for stoppered bottles and for making large bottles with taps for drawing off the contents; member of court of common council for Dowgate ward 1865; sheriff of London 1875–6; alderman of ward of Cheap 1877 to death. d. The Glebe, Lee Kent 18 Oct. 1882. I.L.N. lxvii, 475 (1875), portrait; Graphic xi, 446 (1875), portrait.
BREMNER, James. b. Keiss, parish of Wick, Caithnessshire 25 Sep. 1784; shipbuilder at Wick 1809 to death; designed and constructed many harbours and piers on north coast of Scotland; raised 236 wrecked vessels between Aberdeenshire and Isle of Skye; removed steamer Great Britain off strand in Dundrum bay 1847, she was stranded 22 Sep. 1846 and floated 27 Sep. 1847; author of Treatise on the planning and constructing of harbours in deep water 1845. d. Harbour place, Pulteney Town, Wick 20 Aug. 1856. Min. of Proc. of Instit. of C.E. xvi, 113–20 (1857).
BREMRIDGE, Richard. b. Barnstaple 1803; solicitor at Barnstaple 1825; M.P. for Barnstaple 1847–52, re-elected 8 July 1852 but election declared void; M.P. for Barnstaple 1863–65. d. Exmouth 15 June 1878.
BRENNAN, Very Rev. Patrick. b. Carlow; one of the Superiors of Carlow college 1812–20; priest of parish of Kildare 1820; Penitentiary of dioceses of Kildare and Leighlin. d. Kildare 1864.
BRENT, John (eld. son of John Brent of Rotherhithe, Kent, shipbuilder 1786–1867). b. Rotherhithe 21 Aug. 1808; a miller at Canterbury; alderman; city treasurer; F.S.A. 7 April 1853; author of The sea wolf, a romance 1834; Lays and legends of Kent 1840, 2 ed. 1851; The battle cross, a romance of the fourteenth century 3 vols. 1845; Canterbury in the olden time 1860, 2 ed. 1879; Village bells and other poems 1865, 2 ed. 1868 and of many papers in antiquarian magazines. d. 8 Dane John grove, Canterbury 23 April 1882. C. R. Smith’s Retrospections i, 259, 303 (1883); Journal of Brit. Archæol. Assoc. xxxviii, 235–6 (1882).
BRENT, William Brent. Barrister L.I. 19 Nov. 1813; comr. of bankrupts to 1831; steward of Marshalsea Court and Palace Court, Great Scotland yard, Westminster 16 Sep. 1825 to 31 Dec. 1849 when they were abolished by 12 & 13 Vict. c. 101, s. xiii; probably dead.
BRENTON, John. b. 28 Aug. 1782; entered navy 28 Aug. 1798; captain 26 Dec. 1822; retired V.A. 5 Jany. 1858; knight of Russian order of St. Vladimir. d. Ryde, Isle of Wight 17 Sep. 1859.
BRENTON, Sir Lancelot Charles Lee, 2 Baronet (younger son of Vice Admiral Sir Jahleel Brenton, 1 Baronet 1770–1844). b. 1807; ed. at Hyde abbey sch. Winchester, and Oriel college Oxford; ordained 1830; seceded from Church of England Dec. 1831; took a small chapel at Bath and set up a new sect which died out with its founder; succeeded 21 April 1844; author of The Septuagint version of the Old Testament according to the Vatican text translated into English 2 vols. 1844; Cardiphonia Latina, 3 ed. 1850; Diaconia, or thoughts on the subject of Ministry 1852; Psalms: Bible and Prayer book version, parallel 1860. d. Montagu house, Ryde 13 June 1862. Memoir of Sir Jahleel Brenton re-edited by his son [Rev. L. C. L. Brenton] 1855, preface vii-cxxv; Rev. T. Mozley’s Reminiscences ii, 114–20 (1882).
BRERETON, Rev. Charles David (eld. son of Rev. Charles David Brereton, R. of Little Massingham, Norfolk). b. 19 April 1820; ed. at Trin. coll. Cam., B.A. 1843, M.A. 1846; C. of St. James Piccadilly 1848–49; R. of St. Edmund Norwich 1849–52; consular chaplain at Malaga, Spain 27 Aug. 1850 to 30 April 1859; R. of Bixley with Framlingham Earl, Norfolk 1863 to death; author of Lectures for travellers 1854; Verses and lectures 1868. d. Lowestoft 15 April 1876.
BRERETON, Sir William (son of major Robert Brereton who fought at Culloden). b. 1789; 2 lieut. R.A. 10 May 1805; lieut. col. 17 Aug. 1843 to 16 Dec. 1854; served in Spain, France and the Netherlands; granted service reward 1 April 1856; head of Irish constabulary short time; K.H. 1837; C.B. 19 July 1838; K.C.B. 28 June 1861; L.G. 27 June 1864; author of The British fleet in the Black Sea while under the command of Vice Admiral J. W. D. Dundas, privately printed 1857. d. 3E Albany, Piccadilly, London 27 July 1864. I.L.N. xlv, 154, 299 (1864).
BRERETON, William Westropp (4 son of Arthur Brereton of Ballyadams Queen’s county). b. 1810; ed. at Trin. coll. Dublin, B.A. 1832, M.A. 1856; called to Irish bar 1836; went Munster circuit; Q.C. 9 Nov. 1852; assistant barrister for co. Kerry 1858; chairman of quarter sessions for co. Galway 1858 to death. d. Fitzwilliam sq. north, Dublin 13 Dec. 1867. Law mag. and law review v, 260 (1855).
BRETT, Harry Augustus. Writer Madras civil service 1831; collector of Salem 1860; member of Board of Revenue 1862–65; pres. of Income tax commission 1862–67; resigned the service 27 May 1867. d. 20 Dec. 1867.
BRETT, John Watkins (son of Wm. Brett of Bristol, cabinet maker). b. Bristol 1805; Telegraphic engineer; laid a gutta percha wire between Dover and Cape Grisnez 1850 by which the first submarine message was sent from England to France; laid cables between Dover and Calais 1851, Dover and Ostend 1853, and Sardinia and France 1854; mainly instrumental in forming Atlantic Telegraph Company 1856; director of Submarine Telegraph Co.; made a splendid collection of works of art; author of On the origin and progress of the Oceanic telegraph 1858. d. Lunatic asylum, Coton Hill, Stafford 3 Dec. 1863 bequeathing one tenth of his large property to charity. Notes and Queries 3 S. viii, 203 (1865).
BRETT, Robert. b. at or near Luton Beds. 11 Sep. 1808; ed. at St. George’s hospital London, M.R.C.S. and L.S.A. 1830; assistant to Samuel Reynolds of Stoke Newington surgeon, partner with him 1860 to death; founded the Guild of St. Luke, a band of medical men who co-operate with the clergy; vice pres. of London Union on church matters 1850; one of founders and vice pres. with Dr. Pusey of English Church Union 1860; author of The Churchman’s guide to faith and piety by R. B. 1862, 5 ed. 1871; Scripture history for the young 1845; Devotions for the sick room 1843; Companion for the sick room 1844; Thoughts during sickness, 4 ed. 1870 and 11 other books. d. Stoke Newington 3 Feb. 1874. Robert Brett. In memoriam reprints from the principal church journals including a sermon by Rev. J. W. Belcher 1874.
BRETT, William Freeland. b. 19 Oct. 1821; ensign 54 Foot 1 April 1842, major 14 Aug. 1857; major 61 Foot 27 Sep. 1861; lieut. col. brigade depot 26 Jany. 1876; M.G. 1 Oct. 1877; placed on retired list 1 July 1881. d. Colchester 10 Nov. 1884.
BRETT, Rev. William Henry. b. Dover; left Dover on his first journey to Demerara as missionary from S.P.G. 10 Feb. 1840; ordained deacon 1843 and priest 1844; chaplain to Bishop of Guiana and R. of Holy Trinity Essequibo 1851–79; author of The Indian tribes of Guiana 1852; Legends and myths of the aboriginal Indians of British Guiana 1880; Mission work among the Indian tribes in the forests of Guiana 1881. d. Bowruma, Totnes road, Paignton, Devon 10 Feb. 1886 aged 67.
BRETTELL, Rev. Jacob (only son of Rev. Jacob Brettell, Independent minister at Sutton-in-Ashfield, Notts who d. 19 March 1810). b. Sutton-in-Ashfield 16 April 1793; ed. at Manchester college York 1809–14; Unitarian minister at Cockey Moor (now called Ainsworth) Lancs. July 1814 and at Rotherham Sep. 1816 to June 1859; author of The country minister, a poem in 4 cantos 1821; The country minister part second, a poem in 3 cantos 1825; The country minister, a poem in 7 cantos with additional poems and notes 1827; contributed hundreds of hymns and political and patriotic pieces to Christian Reformer, Sheffield Iris, and other periodicals. d. Rotherham 12 Jany. 1862. Christian Reformer xviii, 128, 191 (1862).
BRETTLE, Robert. b. Portobello near Edinburgh 6 Dec. 1831; a glassblower in the hardware districts; fought B. Malpas for £50 a side 14 Feb. 1854 when stakes were drawn; fought Sam. Simmonds for £200 a side 3 June 1856, and Job Cobley for £100 a side 4 Aug. 1857 and beat them both; fought Bob Travers for £100 a side 26 Jany. 1858 when he won after 100 rounds in 2 hours; fought James Mace for £100 a side 21 Sep. 1858 when he won; fought Tom Sayers who staked £400 to Brettle’s £200, 20 Sep. 1859 when Sayers won; fought James Mace again 9 Sep. 1860 when Mace won; fought Jack Rooke for £200 a side 31 Dec. 1861, 1 Jany. 1862 and 11 March 1862 when stakes were drawn; kept the White Lion, Digbeth, Birmingham 1857 to about 1868 when he went to the United States; trained and brought out some of the best light-weight pugilists. d. 56 Upper Windsor st. Birmingham 7 April 1872. The championship of England by the editor of Bell’s Life in London [Francis Dowling] 1860 pp. 70–4; Illust. sporting news 1862 p. 9, portrait; H. D. Miles’s Pugilistica iii, 451–60 (1881).
BREWER, George. b. Gosport 7 Aug. 1773; entered navy 19 March 1793; joined the ‘Robust’ 15 Feb. 1795; discharged incurable 17 May 1799; a waterman at Gosport. d. in a court in Havant st. Portsea 7 Sep. 1871 aged 98 but generally reputed to be 106. Thoms’s Human longevity (1873) 185–6.
BREWER, Rev. John Sherren (eld. son of John Sherren Brewer of Eaton, Norwich, schoolmaster). b. 1810; ed. at Queen’s coll. Ox., B.A. 1833, M.A. 1835; chaplain of workhouse of St. Giles’s in the Fields and St. George’s Bloomsbury 17 Dec. 1837 to July 1845; lecturer in classical literature at King’s college London 1839–60, professor of English language and literature there 1855 and of English literature and modern history 1865–77; reader at the Rolls chapel Chancery lane 1857–62, and preacher 1862 to death; hon. fellow of Queen’s coll. Ox. Nov. 1870; head of Working mens’ college in Great Ormond st. 1872; R. of Toppesfield Essex 16 Sep. 1876 to death; edited the Standard for short time in 1860; edited Aristotle’s Ethics 1836; Book of the Church by R. Field 3 vols. 1843; Lectures to ladies on practical subjects 1855; and Letters and papers foreign and domestic of the reign of Henry viii, 4 vols. d. Toppesfield rectory 16 Feb. 1879. Rev. J. S. Brewer’s English Studies (1881) vii-xl.
BREWER, Thomas. b. 1807; entered office of Town Clerk of City of London 1823; secretary of City of London school 1837 to death; a founder of Sacred Harmonic Society 1832, secretary 1832–70, pres. Nov. 1870 to death; author of Memoir of John Carpenter, town clerk of London 1836, 2 ed. 1856; Memoir of Walter Scott, citizen and plaisterer of London privately printed 1858. d. City of London school, Milk st. London 25 Dec. 1870.
BREWER, William (brother of Rev. John Sherren Brewer). Ed. at Univ. of Edin., M.D., L.R.C.S. Edin. 1834; M.D. St. Andrew’s 1834; M.R.C.P. London 1841, F.R.C.P. 1872; M.P. for Colchester 18 Nov. 1868 to 26 Jany. 1874; member of Metropolitan Board of Works for St. George’s Hanover square 1870; chairman of Metropolitan Asylums Board; author of The family medical reference book 1840; Beatrice Sforza or the progress of truth 3 vols. 1863; translated A. Tavernier’s Treatise on the treatment of deformities of the spine 1842. d. 21 George st. Hanover sq. London 3 Nov. 1881.
BREWSTER, Abraham (eld. son of Wm. Bagenal Brewster of Ballinulta, co. Wicklow). b. Ballinulta April 1796; ed. at Kilkenny coll. and Univ. of Dublin, B.A. 1817, M.A. 1847; called to Irish bar 1819, went Leinster circuit; K.C. 13 July 1835, legal adviser to lord lieut. of Ireland 10 Oct. 1841; bencher of King’s Inns Dublin 1846; solicitor general for Ireland 2 Feb. 1846 to 16 July 1846; attorney general 10 Jany. 1853 to 10 Feb. 1855; P.C. Ireland Jany. 1853; lord justice of Court of Appeal in Ireland July 1866; lord chancellor of Ireland March 1867 to 17 Dec. 1868. d. 26 Merrion square south, Dublin 26 July 1874. Burke’s Lord Chancellors of Ireland (1879) 307–11; I.L.N. lxv, 115, 427 (1874).
BREWSTER, Sir David (2 son of James Brewster, rector of Jedburgh gr. sch. who d. 1815). b. Canongate, Jedburgh 10 or 11 Dec. 1781; ed. at Jedburgh gr. sch. and Univ. of Edin.; licensed by Presbytery of Edin. 1804; LLD. Aberdeen 1807, M.A. Cam. 1807; F.R.S. Edin. 1808, pres. 1864; F.R.S. 4 May 1815, Copley medallist 1815, Rumford medallist 1818, Royal medallist 6 times; founded Scottish Society of Arts 1821; invented polyzonal lens for lighthouses 1811, Kaleidoscope 1816 and lenticular stereoscope; procured establishment of British Association 1831; K.H. 1831; knighted at St. James’s Palace 8 March 1832 fees of £109 were never demanded from him; principal of Univ. of St. Andrew’s Jany. 1838 to Oct. 1859; a chevalier of Order of Merit 1847; one of the 8 foreign associates of French Institute 1849; president of Peace congress at Exeter hall London 22–24 July 1851; principal of Univ. of Edin. 28 Oct. 1859 to death; author of Treatise on the Microscope 1837, new ed. 1851; Lives of Galileo, Tycho Brahe, and Kepler 1841, new ed. 1874; More worlds than one 1854, new ed. 1874; History of the Stereoscope 1856 and many other books. d. Allerley near Melrose 10 Feb. 1868, centenary of his birth celebrated at Jedburgh 10 Dec. 1881. The home life of Sir D. Brewster by his daughter Mrs. Gordon 1869, portrait; Proc. of Royal Soc. xvii, 69–74 (1869); Min. of Proc. of Instit. of C.E. xxvi, 194–200 (1871); Grant’s Story of Univ. of Edin. ii, 274–8 (1884), portrait; Maclise Portrait Gallery (1883) 143–7, portrait; I.L.N. xvii, 121 (1850), portrait, lii, 189 (1868), portrait.