Frederic Boase
Modern English Biography (volume 1 of 4) A-H
DICKINSON, Sir Drury Jones (2 son of Edgar Dickinson of Dublin). b. Dawson st. Dublin 1804; a wine merchant in Dublin; high sheriff of city of Dublin 1833–34; knighted by Marquess Wellesley the lord lieut. of Ireland 1833. d. 10 Mountjoy place, Dublin 8 May 1869.
DICKINSON, John (eld. son of Thomas Dickinson, superintendent of shipping to Board of Ordnance 44 years, who d. 24 May 1828 aged 74). b. 29 March 1782; paper manufacturer at Apsley hill, Hemel Hempstead to 1857; F.R.S. 6 March 1845; master of the Stationers’ Company 1857 and 1858. d. 39 Upper Brook st. London 11 Jany. 1869.
DICKINSON, John (son of the preceding). b. 28 Dec. 1815; chief founder of the India Reform Society 12 March 1853, hon. sec. 1853–61, chairman 1861; author of Letters on the cotton and roads of Western India 1851; India, its government under a Bureaucracy 1853; Dhar not restored 1864 and other books chiefly pamphlets on subject of India; found dead in his study at 1 Upper Grosvenor st. London 23 Nov. 1876. J. Dickinson’s Last counsels of an unknown counsellor, edited by Evans Bell (1883), portrait.
DICKINSON, Sir John Nodes (son of Nodes Dickinson, F.R.C.S., staff surgeon to H.M.’s forces). b. Island of Grenada 1806; ed. at Caius coll. Cam., B.A. 1829, M.A. 1832; barrister I.T. 20 Nov. 1840; judge in supreme court of New South Wales 23 April 1844, chief justice there 1860 to 18 Feb. 1861 when he retired on pension of £1050 per annum; knighted by patent 19 June 1860; author of A letter to the lord chancellor on law consolidation 1861. d. Rome 16 March 1882 in 76 year. Heads of the people ii, 41 (1848), portrait.
DICKINSON, Joseph. Educ. at Trin. coll. Dublin; M.B. 1837, M.A. and M.D. 1843; physician to Royal infirmary, Liverpool about 1839 and subsequently to the Fever hospital, workhouse and South Dispensary, Liverpool; lectured on medicine and botany at Liverpool school of medicine; pres. of Liverpool Lit. and Phil. Soc.; L.R.C.P. 1844, F.R.C.P. 1859; F.L.S.; M.R.I.A.; F.R.S. 1 June 1854; author of The Flora of Liverpool 1851 and Supplement 1855. d. 92 Bedford st. south, Liverpool 21 July 1865.
DICKINSON, Sebastian Stewart. b. Bombay 25 March 1815; ed. at Eton; barrister I.T. 7 June 1839; M.P. for Stroud 19 Nov. 1868 to 26 Jany. 1874, re-elected 5 Feb. 1874 but election declared void April 1874. d. Brown’s hill, Stroud 23 Aug. 1878.
DICKINSON, Thomas. b. Hampshire; entered navy Feb. 1796; captain 29 Nov. 1832; received gold Vulcan medal of Society of Arts 1825 for his mode of applying percussion powder to the discharge of ships guns; author of A narrative of the operation for the recovery of the public stores and treasure sunk in H.M.S. Thetis 1836. d. Greenwich hospital 30 July 1854 aged 68.
DICKINSON, Thomas. Entered Bengal army 1805; col. 10 Bengal N.I. 10 May 1853 to death; M.G. 28 Nov. 1854. d. Teignmouth 24 Oct. 1859.
DICKSON, Alexander. b. Edinburgh 21 Feb. 1836; ed. at Univ. of Edin., M.D. 1860; professor of botany in Univ. of Dublin 1866, in Univ. of Glasgow 1868–79; professor of botany in Univ. of Edin. and regius keeper of Royal botanic garden 1 April 1879 to death; pres. of Botanical Soc. of Edin. twice; F.R.S. Edin.; author of numerous papers on botany. d. suddenly of heart disease at Thriepland pond near Hartree, Peebleshire 30 Dec. 1887.
DICKSON, Elizabeth (dau. of Archibald Dalzel, governor of Cape Coast Castle). b. probably at Cape Coast Castle 1793; wrote to the English press about 1809 to entreat that immediate steps might be taken to relieve the British captives in Barbary, the matter roused public feeling and resulted in the despatch of an expedition under Lord Exmouth 1816; received a gold medal from the Anti-Piratical Society of Knights and Noble Ladies; resided in Africa, chiefly at Tripoli. (m. John Dickson, surgeon to Lord Nelson at battle of Copenhagen). d. Tripoli 30 April 1862 aged about 70.
DICKSON, Ellen (3 dau. of general Sir Alexander Dickson). b. Woolwich 1819; an invalid from her youth; resided chiefly at Lyndhurst, New Forest; composed under pseudonym of Dolores upwards of 50 drawing-room songs which were very popular and some of which are still sung, the best known of them are As I lay a thynkinge 1857; The Brook 1857; The Fairies; Clear and cool; The land of long ago; O my lost love; The racing river; Tell her not when I am gone. d. Lyndhurst 4 July 1878.
DICKSON, James A. b. London 1774; made his first appearance on the stage in Boston, United States 1794 as Saville in The Belle’s Stratagem; became eminent as an actor of comic old men; manager of Boston theatre for some years from 1806; retired from the stage 14 April 1817. d. Boston 1 April 1853.
DICKSON, John Bourmaster. b. 29 April 1815; entered navy 1834; captain 17 May 1854; retired R.A. 1 April 1870; C.B. 20 May 1871. d. Thornborough, Ryde 11 Feb. 1876.
DICKSON, John Robinson. b. Dungannon, co. Tyrone 15 Nov. 1819; went to Canada 1838; graduated at Univ. of New York 1842; visiting physician to general hospital at Kingston, Canada 1846–54, visiting surgeon 1854–56, clinical lecturer 1856–60; dean of the medical faculty and professor of surgery in Univ. of Queen’s college, Kingston 1854, the name was altered in 1866 to Royal College of physicians and surgeons, of which he was pres. 1866 to death. d. Wolfe island, St. Lawrence river, Canada 23 Nov. 1882.
DICKSON, Sir Joseph Ritchie Lyon (2 son of Elizabeth Dickson 1793–1862). b. 1820; physician to British legation at Teheran, Persia 11 Sep. 1847 to death; attended the Shah for typhus fever 1849 for which he received the Commander’s Star of the Lion and Sun; accompanied the Shah to England 1873; knighted at Windsor Castle 30 June 1873. d. St. Juliens, Malta on his way home from Persia 7 Aug. 1887.
DICKSON, Robert. b. Dumfries 1804; ed. at high sch. and univ. of Edin., M.D. 1826; a physician in London to 1866; L.R.C.P. 1831, F.R.C.P. 1855; lectured on botany at medical school in Webb st. London and afterwards at St. George’s hospital; author of A lecture on the dry rot 1837; wrote all the articles on Materia Medica in the Penny Cyclopædia 1833–58 and several articles on popular science in Church of England Mag. d. Cambridge lodge, Harmondsworth near Slough 13 Oct. 1875. Medical times and gazette ii, 509–10, 669 (1875); Proc. of Royal Med. and Chir. Soc. viii, 73 (1875).
DICKSON, Samuel. Educ. at Univ. of Edin. and in Paris; M.R.C.S. Edin. 1825; M.D. Glasgow 1833; assistant surgeon in army in India 1828–33; practised at Cheltenham 1833, then in London to his death; started The Chrono-thermalist, or People’s Medical Inquirer 1850 all of which he wrote himself, it ceased 1852; the Penn Medical College of Philadelphia was founded to teach his doctrines; he is drawn from life by Charles Reade in his novel Hard Cash 1863 as Dr. Sampson; author of The fallacy of the art of physic as taught in the schools 1836; Fallacies of the faculty being the spirit of the Chrono-thermal system 1839; What killed Mr. Drummond, the lead or the lancet? 1843, and 6 other books. d. 12 Bolton st. Piccadilly, London 12 Oct. 1869 aged 67. S. Dickson’s Memorable events in the life of a London physician (1863).
DICKSON, Thomas, b. Lauder, Berwickshire 26 March 1822; went to Canada 1835; established the Dickson Manufacturing Co. for building steam engines 1856 which became one of most important locomotive works in United States; general superintendent of Delaware and Hudson Canal Co. 1864, pres. 1869 to death; organised a company for purchase of a large tract of iron land on shores of Lake Champlain 1873; a director in 20 other companies, d. Morristown, New Jersey 31 July 1884.
DICKSON, William Gillespie (2 son of Henry Gordon Dickson of Edinburgh, writer to the signet). b. Edinburgh 9 April 1823; ed. at academy and univ. of Edin.; member of Faculty of Advocates 9 March 1847; procureur and advocate general of Mauritius, July 1856 to March 1868; senior sheriff substitute at Glasgow, March 1868; sheriff of Lanarkshire 21 Jany. 1874 to death; LLD. Edin. 22 April 1874; published A treatise on the law of evidence in Scotland 2 vols. 1855, 2 ed. 1864. d. Glasgow 19 Oct. 1876.
DIGBY, George Stephen, b. 7 July 1821; second lieut. R.M.A. 16 Aug. 1842, col. 23 March 1865, col. commandant 3 May 1876 to death; C.B. 2 Jany. 1857. d. London 19 March 1877.
DIGBY, Jane Elizabeth (only dau. of Admiral Sir Henry Digby, G.C.B. 1770–1842). b. 3 April 1807. m. (1) 15 Sep. 1824 Edward Law 1 Earl of Ellenborough, they separated 22 May 1829, he obtained a divorce in Consistory Court of Bishop of London 20 Feb. 1830 for her adultery with Felix, Prince Swartzenburgh, marriage was dissolved by private act of parliament 11 Geo. iv, cap. 51, 8 April 1830; m. (2) 10 Nov. 1832 Charles Theodore Herbert, Baron Venningen of Bavaria; m. (3) Hadji-Petros a general in the Greek army; m. (4) a Bedouin Arab called Midjouel. She is sketched by About under the name of Ianthe, in his Grèce Contemporaine (1854) pp. 99–111. d. Damascus 11 Aug. 1881.
DIGBY, Joseph. b. 15 July 1786; entered navy 12 June 1800; captain 8 Sep. 1815; retired V.A. 9 July 1857. d. 5 March 1860.
DIGBY, Kenelm Henry (younger son of Very Rev. Wm. Digby 1730–1812, dean of Clonfert). b. 1800; ed. at Trin. coll. Cam., B.A. 1823; joined Church of Rome 1823; author of The broad stone of honour, or rules for the gentlemen of England 1822 anon., which he rewrote and published in 4 vols. 1826–27 omitting the second title, an edition de luxe 5 vols. 1876–7; Mores Catholici or ages of faith 11 vols. 1831–40, and 16 other books. d. 7 The Terrace Kensington 22 March 1880. Gillow’s English Catholics, ii, 81–3 (1885).
DIGGLE, Charles. Ensign 52 foot 31 Aug. 1804; captain of companies of gentlemen cadets at Royal military college 10 Aug. 1820 to 23 June 1843 when placed on h.p. with rank of major; M.G. 31 Aug. 1855; K.H. 1831. d. Cheltenham 18 Sep. 1862 aged 74.
DILKE, Ashton Wentworth (younger son of Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke 1810–69). b. London 11 Aug. 1850; ed. at Trin. hall, Cam., scholar; bought Weekly Dispatch for £14,000 Jany. 1875, edited it to his death; M.P. for Newcastle, April 1880 to Feb. 1883; author of I. S. Turgenev’s Virgin Soil translated by A. W. Dilke 1878. d. Algiers 12 March 1883. Graphic xxvii, 469 (1883), portrait.
DILKE, Charles Wentworth (eld. son of Charles Wentworth Dilke 1742–1826, clerk in the Civil Service). b. 8 Dec. 1789; in the Navy Pay Office to 1836 when office was abolished and he retired on a pension; edited the London Mag.; edited the Athenæum 5 June 1830 to 23 May 1846; managed the Daily News, April 1846 to April 1849. d. Alice Holt near Farnham, Hants. 10 Aug. 1864. bur. Kensal Green cemetery 16 Aug. The Papers of a Critic edited by Sir C. W. Dilke (1875) i, 1–91.
DILKE, Sir Charles Wentworth (only son of the preceding). b. London 18 Feb. 1810; ed. at Westminster and Trin. hall, Cam., LLB. 1834, LLM. 1860; founded with John Lindley the Gardener’s Chronicle 1841; chairman of council of Society of Arts several years; commissioner of Exhibitions of 1851 and 1862; unpaid comr. to New York exhibition 1853 and Paris Exposition 1855; created a baronet for services as comr. 22 Jany. 1862; M.P. for Wallingford 13 July 1865 to 11 Nov. 1868; F.S.A.; F.R.G.S. d. Hotel de France, St. Petersburgh 10 May 1869. The Queen, vol. 1 (1862), portrait; I.L.N. xix, 487, 509 (1851), xl, 215, 225 (1862), portrait.
DILLON, Charles. b. Diss, Norfolk 24 May 1819; wrote magazine articles and melodramas 1836–38; acted Hamlet at City of London theatre 1840; stage manager, leading actor and dramatic author at Marylebone theatre 1842; starred in every city and important town in Great Britain and Ireland 1845–56; played at Sadlers Wells, April to Sep. 1856; lessee and manager of Lyceum, Sep. 1856 to 2 April 1857 and 20 Jany. to 22 March 1858; played at Drury Lane 1860, in the United States 1861–63 and 1866–68, in Australia 1863–66, at Sadler’s Wells 1868 and Drury Lane 1869; last appeared in London at Drury Lane, when he played Belphegor for his benefit 7 Dec. 1878; last appeared on the stage at Hawick town hall as Othello 23 June 1881; dropped dead in High st. Hawick 24 June 1881. bur. Brompton cemetery, London 29 June. Time, Feb. 1883 pp. 213–17; C. E. Pascoe’s Dramatic List (1880) 119–26; The Players i, 161 (1860), portrait; Touchstone 28 Sep. 1878, portrait; The Era 25 June 1881 p. 5 col. 4, 2 July p. 9 col. 4, and 9 July p. 14 col. 1.
DILLON, John Blake (3 son of Luke Dillon). b. Ballyhadenan, co. Mayo 1814; ed. at Trin. coll. Dublin; called to Irish bar 1841; agitated for the repeal of the Union; one of founders and proprietors of the Nation newspaper 1842; attached himself to political fortunes of Smith O’Brien 1848; escaped to France 1848; went to the United States where he practised in the New York courts 1848; returned to Ireland 1855; a leader of the National party; M.P. for co. Tipperary 24 July 1865 to death; alderman of city of Dublin; one of founders of National Association 1865 and secretary; author of The history of Indiana 1 vol. 1843, no more published. d. Druid lodge, Killiney 15 Sep. 1866. O. J. Burke’s Anecdotes of Connaught circuit (1885) 323–5; Sullivan’s New Ireland (1877) i, 148–53; Nation 6 Oct. 1866, portrait.
DILLON, Mr. b. about 1830; clerk in general post office, London; went to France about 1850; on the staff of Paris paper Le Sport; killed by Duc de Gramont-Caderousse in a duel with swords in Forest of St. Germain near Paris 21 Oct. 1862; his widow obtained an order in the Court of Versailles, Nov. 1862 obliging the Duke to pay her an annuity of 3600 francs. Larouse’s Grand Dictionaire (1870) vi, 855–56.
DILLON, Sir William Henry (son of Sir John Talbot Dillon, a baron of the Holy Roman empire). b. Birmingham 8 Aug. 1779; entered navy May 1790; a prisoner in France 1803–6; captain 21 March 1808; naval equerry to Duke of Sussex; K.C.H. 13 Jany. 1835; knighted at St. James’s palace 24 June 1835; V.A. 5 March 1853. d. Monaco 9 Sep. 1857. Journal of British Archæol. Assoc. xiv, 191 (1858).
DILLWYN, Lewis Weston (son of Wm. Dillwyn of Higham Lodge, Walthamstow, minister of Society of Friends, who d. Sep. 1824 aged 81). b. Ipswich 21 Aug. 1778; head of the Cambrian pottery, Swansea 1802; published Natural history of British Confervæ in parts 1802–1809, and other works on natural history; wrote with Dawson Turner The Botanists Guide 2 vols. 1805; pres. of Royal Institution of South Wales from its foundation 1835 to his death; sheriff of Glamorganshire 1818; alderman of Swansea 1835–40, mayor 1839; M.P. for Glamorganshire 17 Dec. 1832 to July 1837; F.L.S. 1800, F.R.S. 1804. d. Sketty hall near Swansea 31 Aug. 1855. Proc. of Linnæan society (1856) 36–39.
DIMOCK, Rev. James Francis. Educ. at St. John’s coll. Cam., Bell’s scholar 1830; 29 wrangler 1833; B.A. 1833, M.A. 1837; minor canon of Southwell 1846–63; R. of Barnborough, Yorkshire 1863 to death; preb. of Lincoln 1869 to death; author of Explanation of the Thirty-nine articles 2 vols. 1845; Southwell church, views with architectural description 1854; edited A metrical life of St. Hugh of Lincoln 1860; Magna vita S. Hugonis 1864; Giraldi Cambrensis Opera, vols. 5 and 6, 1867–69. d. Barnborough 21 April 1876 aged 65.
DINNEFORD, William. b. London; first appeared in America at Chestnut st. theatre, Philadelphia 1823, leading actor there; made his début in New York at Lafayette theatre 1826; became manager of the Bowery theatre and of the Franklin theatre, New York; travelled with strolling companies all over the United States from Maine to California; an actor, author, manager, auctioneer, broker and merchant; opened a lodging and eating house at 157 Broadway, New York called the Byron 1845. d. Panama 8 Dec. 1852. Ireland’s Records of the New York stage i, 405 (1866).
DINORBEN, William Lewis Hughes, 1 Baron (eld. son of Rev. Edward Hughes of Kinmel park near St. Asaph, who d. 1815). b. 10 Nov. 1767; M.P. for Wallingford 5 July 1802 to 10 Sep. 1831 when created Baron Dinorben of Kinmel park, co. Denbigh; militia aide-de-camp to the Queen 7 Feb. 1840 to death. d. Kinmel park 10 Feb. 1852.
DINSDALE, Frederick. Educ. at Chr. coll. Cam., LLB. 1829, LLD. 1835; barrister M.T. 23 May 1834; judge of Court of Requests at Oldham 1843 to March 1847; judge of county courts, circuit No. 22 (Warwickshire), March 1847 to death; changed his name from Trotter to Dinsdale 1847; author of A glossary of provincial words used in Teesdale 1849, anon. d. Tachbrooke house, Leamington 8 July 1872.
DIPROSE, John (eld. son of John Diprose of London, bookbinder). b. Bell Alley, Temple Bar, London 1814; bookseller at Newington Butts 1837, at 312 Strand 1841, at 16 Portugal st. Lincoln’s Inn Fields, at 9 Sheffield st. 1876 to death; began his career as a publisher by issuing The royal song book 1840; wrote or edited upwards of 30 minor works which he styled books for the non-reading public; author of Some account of the parish of St. Clement Danes past and present 2 vols. 1868–76, vol. 2 has the date 1876 on the title page but was not published till 1880. d. 131 Kennington park road, London 20 June 1879. Diprose’s St. Clements ii, v-xxiii (1876).
DIRCKS, Henry. b. Liverpool 26 Aug. 1806; a practical engineer conducting railway canal and mining works to 1842, a consulting engineer 1842–58; patented several inventions 1840–57; invented optical delusion exhibited at Polytechnic, London under name of Pepper’s Ghost, July 1863; author of Jordantype, otherwise called Electrotype 1852; Perpetuum mobile or search for self-motive power 1861, second series 1870; Joseph Anstey or the patron and protégé 1863, a novel published under pseud. of D. S. Henry; The life of the Second Marquis of Worcester 1865 and other books. d. Brighton 17 Sep. 1873. H. Dircks’s Inventors and Inventions 1867, portrait; H. Dircks’s Nature-Study 1869, portrait; H. Dircks’s Naturalistic poetry 1872, portrait; Notes and Queries 6 S. xii, 309, 477 (1885).
DISBROWE, Sir Edward Cromwell (son of Col. Edward Disbrowe of Walton, Derbyshire, who d. 30 Nov. 1818). Educ. at Eton; matric. from Ch. Ch. Ox. 21 Oct. 1808 aged 18; M.P. for Windsor 11 Feb. 1823 to 2 June 1826; entered diplomatic service 1826; envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary at the Hague 28 Oct. 1835 to death; G.C.H. 1831. d. The Hague 29 Oct. 1851. The Eton portrait gallery (1876) 406–8.
DISNEY, John (eld. son of Rev. John Disney, Unitarian clergyman 1746–1816). b. Flintham hall, Notts. 29 May 1779; inherited from his father the collection of antiquities formed by Hollis and Brand in Italy 1748–53 to which he made additions; barrister I.T. 13 May 1803; recorder of Bridport 14 Sep. 1807 to Oct. 1823; contested Harwich, Dec. 1832 and North Essex, May 1835; F.R.S. 7 June 1832; F.S.A.; presented to Univ. of Cam. a collection of 83 ancient marbles 16 April 1850; founded Disney professorship of archæology in Univ. of Cam. 1851, endowed it with sum of £1000 which he increased to £3250 by a bequest in his will 1857; published A collection of acts of parliament relative to elections 1811; Outlines of a penal code 1826; Museum Disneianum 3 parts 1846–9. d. The Hyde, Ingatestone, Essex 6 May 1857.
DISSTON, Henry. b. Tewkesbury 21 May 1819; went to United States 1833; manufacturer of saws in Philadelphia about 1840 to death, employed 400 workmen; invented more than 20 improvements in saw manufacture, among them the movable or inserted teeth; inventor and manufacturer of the Disston saw. d. Philadelphia 16 March 1878.
DISTIN, John. b. 1793; trumpet player in Her Majesty’s theatre, London; bandmaster to Marquis of Breadalbane; formed a Quintet band of wind instruments, composed of himself and his sons 1833, travelled with it in England 1833–36 and abroad 1836–44; made an improvement in the sax horn 1844; first played at Jullien’s concerts, Covent Garden 3 Nov. 1844. d. Great Newport st. St. Martin’s lane, London 8 July 1863. I.L.N. v, 384 (1844), portraits of John Distin and his 4 sons.
DITCHER, Rev. Joseph. Educ. at Queen’s coll. Cam.; P.C. of Holy Trinity, Bitton, Gloucs. 1821–35; M.A. by Abp. of Canterbury 3 Feb. 1837; judge of consistorial episcopal court of Bath and Wells 1836–41; V. of South Brent, Somerset 1841 to death; prosecuted Archdeacon G. A. Denison for his sermons on the doctrine of the Real Presence 1856; author of A statement of the proceedings in the case of Ditcher v. Denison 1858. d. South Brent 28 Nov. 1875. S. Ditcher’s Memorials of Rev. J. Ditcher 1876.
DIVETT, Edward. b. 1797; ed. at Eton; M.P. for Exeter 12 Dec. 1832 to death. d. Bystock near Exmouth 25 July 1864.
DIXON, George (3 son of John Dixon of Gledhow hall, Yorkshire 1753–1825). b. 5 Aug. 1801; ensign 3 Foot guards 20 Jany. 1820, major 25 March 1853 to 20 June 1854; col. 104 Foot 2 Feb. 1867 to death; general 1 April 1870. d. 97 Mount st. London 15 May 1874.
DIXON, Henry Hall (2 son of Peter Dixon of Warwick bridge, Carlisle, cotton manufacturer). b. Carlisle 16 May 1822; ed. at Rugby and Trin. coll. Cam., B.A. 1846; articled to a solicitor at Doncaster; contributed to the Sporting Review about 1850–60; barrister M.T. 7 May 1852; wrote The herds of Great Britain in the Mark Lane Express 1859–60; wrote the article entitled The Farm in the Illustrated London News some years; author of The law of the farm 1858, 4 ed. 1879; Field and Fern 2 vols. 1865; published under pseudonym of The Druid Post and Paddock 1856; Silk and Scarlet 1859; Scott and Sebright 1862; Saddle and Sirloin 1870. d. Warwick gardens, Kensington, London 16 March 1870. Sporting Review lxiii, 294–97 (1870); Illust. sporting and dramatic news i, 65–6 (1874), portrait; Sporting Times 6 Feb. 1886 pp. 2–3.
DIXON, Rev. James. b. King’s Mills near Castle Donington, Leics. 29 Oct. 1788; joined Methodist Society 1808, licensed at quarter sessions to preach 14 Jany. 1812; appointed to Cardiff circuit 1816; pres. of the Conference 1841; D.D. of Univ. of Pennsylvania, July 1843; appointed to South London circuit 1844; pres. of Conference of Upper Canada 1848; retired from full ministry 1862; a great preacher and orator; author of Methodism in its origin, economy and present position 1841; Methodism in America 1849 and other books. d. Bradford 28 Dec. 1871. R. W. Dixon’s Life of James Dixon, D.D. 1874; Methodist Quarterly ix, 9, (1849), portrait.
DIXON, His Grace the Most Rev. Joseph. b. Cole Island near Dungannon, co. Tyrone 2 Feb. 1806; entered Royal college of St. Patrick, Maynooth 1822, dean there 5 years, professor of Sacred Scripture and Hebrew 1828; R.C. archbishop of Armagh and primate of all Ireland 28 Sep. 1852 to death, consecrated 21 Nov.; author of A general introduction to the Sacred Scriptures in a series of dissertations 2 vols. 1852; The blessed Cornelius, or some tidings of an archbishop of Armagh who went to Rome in the twelfth century 1855. d. Armagh 29 April 1866. Catholic Directory, Dublin 1867 pp. 421–28.
DIXON, Manley Hall. b. Stoke Damarel, Devon 8 June 1786; entered navy June 1794; captain 28 June 1811; R.A. 27 Dec. 1847; V.A. 7 Feb. 1855; pensioned 28 Dec. 1855; admiral on half pay 1 Nov. 1860. d. Stoke, Devonport 3 March 1864.
DIXON, Rev. Richard (son of Joshua Dixon of Whitehaven). Matric. from Queen’s coll. Ox. 3 May 1796 aged 16; B.A. 1799, M.A. 1803; fellow of his college to 1829, tutor 1822; F.R.S. 21 March 1811; R. of Niton, Isle of Wight 1828 to death. d. Niton rectory 13 May 1858.
DIXON, Venerable Robert Vickers. Educ. at Trin. coll. Dublin; B.A. 1833, M.A. 1840, B.D. and D.D. 1862, fellow 1839; R. of Clogherney, co. Tyrone 1853 to death; archdeacon of Armagh 1883 to death. d. Clogherney rectory 14 May 1885.
DIXON, Rev. William Henry (son of Rev. Henry Dixon, V. of Wadworth near Doncaster). b. Wadworth 2 Nov. 1783; ed. at Pemb. coll. Cam., B.A. 1805, M.A. 1809; V. of Bishopthorpe near York 1824 to death; chaplain to Abp. of York to death; preb. of York 1825–31, canon residentiary 1831 to death; canon of Ripon 1836; R. of Etton near Beverley, Yorkshire 1837 to death; F.S.A. 31 May 1821; author of Synodus Eboracensis, or a short account of the convocation of the province of York 1848. d. Minster yard, York 17 Feb. 1854. Memoir of Rev. W. H. Dixon by Rev. C. B. Norcliffe, privately printed 1860; Rev. W. H. Dixon’s Fasti Eboracenses, edited by Rev. James Raine vol. 1, 1863, preface.
DIXON, William Hepworth (son of Abner Dixon of Holmfirth, Yorkshire). b. Newton st. Ancoats, Manchester 30 June 1821; wrote a series of articles on the literature of the lower classes and on London prisons in the Daily News 1846; barrister I.T. 1 May 1854; contributed to the Athenæum 1846, editor Jany. 1853 to Aug. 1869; F.S.A. 15 Jany. 1852; helped to found Palestine exploration fund 1865, chairman of executive committee; knight commander of German order of the Crown 4 Oct. 1872; member for Marylebone of London school board 29 Nov. 1870 to Nov. 1873; author of William Penn, an historical biography 1851; The Holy Land 2 vols. 1865; New America 2 vols. 1867 of which there were 8 editions in England, 3 in America and several in France, Russia, Holland, Italy and Germany, and about 20 other books. d. 6 St. James’s terrace, Regent’s park, London 27 Dec. 1879. In Memoriam Hepworth Dixon 1880; Illustrated Review vi, 225–28 (1873), portrait; Cartoon Portraits (1873) 227–38, portrait; Graphic xxi, 69 (1880), portrait.
DIXON, William Jerrold (elder son of the preceding). b. 1848; ed. at Westminster and Trin. hall, Cam., B.A. 1871; in saving lives in the skating accident in Regent’s Park 15 Jany. 1867 caught a cold which rendered him an invalid and cripple for life; barrister I.T. 26 Jany. 1870; hon. sec. of the Savage club, London; sec. to Dublin sanitary commission 1879; author of articles in periodicals; adapted Molière’s Le Médecin malgré lui under title of The Doctor in spite of himself, comedy in 3 acts produced at Globe theatre 23 June 1877; wrote Married another, a comedietta; wrote in The Theatre and London Society, in Belgravia under name of Gerald Dixon. d. Dublin 20 Oct. 1879 in 31 year. Belgravia xl, 193–97 (1880); Theatre iii, 277–79 (1879).
DIXON, William Manley Hall. b. 1817; second lieut. R.A. 18 June 1835, col. 27 Feb. 1866 to 23 Dec. 1871 when he retired on full pay; prepared plans for attack on Bomarsund and other places during Russian war; superintendent of Royal small arms factories at Enfield 1855 to 1871; C.B. 20 May 1871; M.G. 23 Dec. 1871. d. Tharp lodge, Hornchurch, Essex 19 March 1888.
DOBBS, Conway Richard. b. 1796; ed. at Eton; entered navy 4 Sep. 1810; fought at battle of Algiers 27 Aug. 1816; lieut. 16 Oct. 1821; placed on reserved list July 1851; retired commander 1 July 1864; M.P. for Carrickfergus 19 Dec. 1832 to March 1833 when unseated on petition; sheriff of Antrim 1841. d. 28 Feb. 1886.
DOBBS, William Cary (only son of Rev. Robert Conway Dobbs, who d. 9 Dec. 1809 aged 38). b. 1806; ed. at Trin. coll. Cam.; B.A. 1827, M.A. 1830; called to bar in Ireland 1833; crown prosecutor on North East circuit 1851–59; Q.C. 26 May 1858; a judge of Landed Estates Court, April 1859 to death; M.P. for Carrickfergus 2 April 1857 to 23 April 1859. d. Wimpole st, London 17 April 1869.
DOBELL, Sydney Thompson (eld. son of John Dobell of Cranbrook, Kent, hide merchant). b. Cranbrook 5 April 1824; a wine merchant at Cheltenham 1848 to death; author of The Roman, a dramatic poem by Sydney Yendys 1850; Balder, part the first, By the author of the Roman 1854; England in time of war 1856; a complete edition of his works was published in 3 vols. 1875–6. d. Barton end house, Nailsworth near Stroud 22 Aug. 1874. The life of Sydney Dobell edited by E. J. [Miss E. Jolly] 2 vols. 1878; The golden decade of a favored town, by Contem Ignotus (1884) 154–93; T. H. Ward’s English poets, 2 ed. iv, 615–20 (1883); Temple Bar lvi, 80–91 (1879); Graphic x, 264 (1874), portrait.
DOBSON, George (son of John Dobson of Mortimer, Berkshire). b. 1795; entered navy 14 Dec. 1807; captain 5 Jany. 1844; admiral on h.p. 11 Dec. 1875. d. 52 Pulteney st. Bath 13 June 1877.
DOBSON, John. b. Chirton, North Shields 1788; executed designs for damasks 1800; pupil of David Stephenson, architect, Newcastle 1803–10; architect at Newcastle 1811 to death; became most noted architect in North of England; said to be real author of modern Gothic revival in actual practice; restored many churches; designed or erected greatest part of the public buildings and finest new streets in Newcastle; pres. of Northern Architectural Assoc. 1859. d. New Bridge st. Newcastle 8 Jany. 1865 in 77 year. Memoirs of John Dobson (1885), portrait.
DOBSON, Thomas. Assistant sec. of Excise, Somerset House, London 1856–60; joint sec. to Board of inland revenue 1860–63 when his services were acknowledged in a special treasury minute laid before Parliament; granted a pension of £1010 a year 1863; presented with a service of plate by 2489 officers of excise surveying department 1863; discovered with Mr. Phillips the method of testing gravities of beer, and substitution of duty free malt in distilleries in room of malt drawback; invented method of levying duties on spirits. d. Yarrow lodge, Sydenham 19 June 1885 in 88 year. I.L.N. 17 Oct. 1863 p. 401.
DOBSON, Rev. William. b. 1809; ed. at Charterhouse and Trin. coll. Cam., B.A. 1832, M.A. 1835; fellow of his coll. 1834–41; V. of Tuxford, Notts 1840–48; principal of Cheltenham college 1841–61. d. Cheltenham 31 Dec. 1867. Rev. T. Mozley’s Reminiscences i, 170–74 (1882).
DOBSON, William (son of Lawrence Dobson of Preston, stationer). b. Preston 1820; stationer at Preston; edited the Preston Chronicle to March 1868; member of Preston town council 1862–72 and 1874–83; member of Chetham Society; author of History of the parliamentary representation of Preston during the last hundred years 1856, 2 ed. 1868; Rambles by the Ribble 3 series 1864–83 and other books. d. Churton road, Chester 8 Aug. 1884.
DOBSON, William Burdett. Entered navy 11 Dec. 1806; inspecting commander in coast guard 5 May 1834 to July 1837; captain on half pay 23 Nov. 1841; V.A. on half pay 24 May 1867. d. Lyde house, Bath 22 March 1872 aged 79.