Abercromby, Patrick (b. 1656, d. in or after 1716), antiquary, was born at Forfar, the third son of Alexander Abercromby of Fetterneir and his wife, Jean Seton. The family was a branch of the Abercrombys of Birkenbog in Banffshire, which in turn descended from the ...
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Adamson, John (1787–1855), antiquary and Portuguese scholar, the last surviving son of Lieutenant Cuthbert Adamson RN and his second wife, Mary Huthwaite, was born on 13 September 1787 at his father's house in Gateshead. After education at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle upon Tyne...
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G. H. Martin
Agard, Arthur (1535/6–1615), archivist and antiquary, was born at Foston, Derbyshire, the second of the three sons of Clement Agard of Foston and his wife, Eleanor, daughter of Thomas Middlemore of Edgbaston. He matriculated from Queens' College, Cambridge, at Michaelmas 1553, but nothing further is known of his education, and there is no doubt that the greater part of his learning came by his study of the records of which he had charge. His knowledge of the common law may have been acquired first in one of the inns of court. ...
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H. M. Stephens
revised by S. Kinross
Ainslie, George Robert (1776–1839), army officer and numismatist, was born near Edinburgh, the eldest son of Sir Philip Ainslie and his wife, the Hon. Elizabeth Gray, fifth daughter of John, twelfth Lord Gray. He entered the army as an ensign in the 19th regiment...
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Arthur H. Grant
revised by S. J. Skedd
Ainslie, Sir Robert, first baronet (1729/30–1812), diplomatist and numismatist, was the third son of George Ainslie (d. 1773), merchant, and his wife, Jean, daughter of Sir Philip Anstruther of Anstrutherfield, Fife. He grew up with his two brothers and five sisters in ...
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Akerman, John Yonge (1806–1873), numismatist and antiquary, was born in London on 12 June 1806, the son of John Ackerman, a merchant, and his wife, Elizabeth Harriet Yonge. He married on 20 August 1826 Emma Mary Matthews of Bethnal Green, Middlesex. Ackerman became secretary at an early age to the radical writer and politician ...
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Alchin, William Turner (1790–1865), antiquary, was born at St Mary-at-Hill, Billingsgate, London, the son of James Alchin (b. c. 1754) of Strrod, Kent, and his first wife Dorothy née Thornton (1764/5–1792). In 1803 he was apprenticed to Richard Oakley, an attorney, of New London Street, and was admitted clerk in 1814. For some years he practised as a solicitor at ...
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R. C. D. Baldwin
Aldersey, William (1543–1616), merchant and antiquary, was baptized at St Oswald's, Chester, on 15 December 1543, the son of Ralph Aldersey (d. 1555) and Jane Goodman (d. c.1555). He followed in his father's footsteps as a successful merchant ironmonger. He married ...
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Peter Sherlock
Allam, Andrew (bap. 1655, d. 1685), antiquary, was baptized on 23 April 1655 at Garsington, Oxfordshire, the second of four surviving children of Andrew Allam (d. 1674) and his wife, Bridget, née Darling (d. 1680). He was educated at a private grammar school in ...
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C. M. Fraser
Allan, George (1736–1800), antiquary and topographer, was born on 7 June 1736 in Darlington, co. Durham, the eldest son of James Allan (1712–1790) and Elizabeth Pemberton (1710–1756). His father, ‘Auld Jem’, fourth son of Nicholas Allan of Staindrop, had trained as an attorney, and in 1738 was appointed bailiff of ...
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Stuart Handley
Allen, Anthony (1685–1754), barrister and antiquary, was born on 3 June 1685 and baptized at Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, two days later, the fourth surviving son of William Allen (d. 1698), of Much Hadham, and his wife, Bridget James. After attending Bishop's Stortford School...
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Paul Latcham
Allen, John (1789–1829), bookseller and antiquary, was born 'about' 27 July 1789, and baptized on 4 August 1789 at Hereford, the eldest son of John Allen (c.1754–1828), a leading bookseller in the city, and his wife, Mary (c...
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Allen, Thomas (1540
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Allen, Thomas William (1862–1950), Greek scholar and palaeographer, was born on 9 May 1862 at 103 Camden Road Villas, Camden New Town, London, the eldest of five children of Thomas Bull Allen, wholesale tea dealer, and his wife, Amelia Le Lacheur. One of his sisters married the classical scholar ...
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Allies, Jabez (bap. 1787, d. 1856), antiquary, the second son of William Allies (1739–1819) and his wife, Anne, née Coucher (bap. 1761, d. 1797), was baptized on 22 October 1787, at Lulsley, Worcestershire, where his family had lived for generations. As a youth, he was fascinated by Roman and Anglo-Saxon remains, and by the rural customs of the region. He served a clerkship in ...
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Ames, Joseph (bap. 1687, d. 1759), bibliographer and antiquary, was born of a seafaring family in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, and baptized there on 20 June 1687. He was the son of John Ames (1651–1699?), master in the merchant service, and his wife, Esther (...
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J. M. Blatchly
Amyot, Thomas (1775–1850), lawyer and antiquary, was the eldest of the six sons and one daughter of Peter Amyot (c.1736–1799), a watch- and clock-maker, and his wife, Susannah Garrett. His great-grandfather Thomas, the eldest son of a physician to Louis XIII...
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Alexander Du Toit
Anderson, James (1662–1728), historiographer and antiquary, was born in Edinburgh on 5 August 1662, the son of Patrick Anderson (c.1627–1690) and his wife, Margaret Threipland. His father was the Presbyterian minister of Walston in Lanarkshire, and was imprisoned on the Bass Rock...
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Mary Anning (1799–1847) by unknown artist, before 1842 © The Natural History Museum, London
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H. S. Torrens
Anning, Mary (1799–1847), fossil collector and dealer, was born on 21 May 1799 in a seaside house in Lyme Regis, Dorset. She and her brother Joseph (1796–1849) were the only surviving children of Richard Anning (c.1766–1810), cabinet-maker and carpenter, and his wife, ...
