Benjamin Caunt (1814–1861) by unknown engraver © National Portrait Gallery, London
Image
Caunt, Benjamin (1814–1861)
Maker: unknown engraver
In
Article
Caunt, Benjamin (1814–1861), pugilist
G. C. Boase
revised by Julian Lock
Caunt, Benjamin (1814–1861), pugilist, was born in the village of Hucknall Torkard, Nottinghamshire, on 22 March 1814 (some sources give 1815), the son of Robert Caunt, a labourer, and his wife, Martha. He was baptized on 15 May 1814. His father, a tenant of ...
Image
Cribb, Tom (1781–1848)
Maker: Douglas Guest
In
Tom Cribb (1781–1848) by Douglas Guest, 1810–11 unknown collection; photograph Sotheby's Picture Library, London / National Portrait Gallery, London
Article
Cribb, Tom (1781–1848), pugilist
G. C. Boase
revised by Julian Lock
Cribb, Tom (1781–1848), pugilist, was born at Hanham in the parish of Bitton, Gloucestershire, on 8 July 1781, the son of Thomas and Hannah Cribb (he had three brothers and three sisters). He moved to London at the age of thirteen and worked as a bellhanger, then became a porter at the public wharves, and was afterwards a sailor. From the fact of his having worked as a coal porter he became known as the ...
Image
Figg, James (b. before 1700, d. 1734)
Maker: Jonathan Richardson the elder
In
James Figg (b. before 1700, d. 1734) by Jonathan Richardson the elder, 1714 Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Article
Figg, James (b. before 1700, d. 1734), prize-fighter
Tony Gee
Figg, James (b. before 1700, d. 1734), prize-fighter, was born in Thame, Oxfordshire, of unknown parents. Little is known of his early life but by 1714 he was living in London and a scholar of the renowned master of the noble science of defence, ...
Article
Godfrey, John [formerly John Godfrey Hanckwitz] (d. 1766?)
See Godfrey, Ambrose, the elder [known as Ambrose Godfrey Hanckwitz the elder]
Article
Mace, James [Jem] (1831–1910), pugilist
Tony Gee
Mace, James [Jem] (1831–1910), pugilist, was born on 8 April 1831 at Beeston-next-Mileham, Norfolk, the son of William Mace (d. 1860), blacksmith, and his wife, Ann (née Rudd). As a boy he showed an aptitude for fisticuffs and violin playing and, although sent to a cabinet-maker to learn the trade, soon embarked on a vagabond life during which he put these talents to good use. While exhibiting his milling and musical abilities at fairs and race-meetings, he attracted the attention of celebrated middleweight ...
Image
![Cover Mace, James [Jem] (1831–1910)](/cover/searchableMedia/odnb-9780198614128-e-1005494-graphic-1-thumbnail.jpg)
Mace, James [Jem] (1831–1910)
Maker: Reginald Haines
In
James Mace (1831–1910) by Reginald Haines, c. 1904 © reserved; collection National Portrait Gallery, London
Image
Mallin, Henry William (1892–1969)
Maker: unknown photographer
In
Henry William Mallin (1892–1969) by unknown photographer, 1920 © PA Photos
Article
Mallin, Henry William [Harry] (1892–1969), boxer
H. J. Spencer
Mallin, Henry William [Harry] (1892–1969), boxer, was born on 1 June 1892 at 10 Bridport Place, Hoxton, London, the second child of William Henry Mallin (1860/61–1937), a journeyman glass beveller, and his wife, Caroline, née Haggith (1863–1941). By 1901 the family had moved to ...
Article
Marged ferch Ifan (bap. 1696, d. 1793), harpist and wrestler
Ceridwen Lloyd-Morgan
Marged ferch Ifan (bap. 1696, d. 1793), harpist and wrestler, was probably born in Beddgelert, Caernarvonshire, and baptized in the parish church on 10 May 1696, one of at least eleven children born to Ifan Powell and his wife, Elizabeth Hughes. She became known far beyond ...
Image
![Cover Mills, Frederick Percival [Freddie] (1919–1965)](/cover/searchableMedia/odnb-9780198614128-e-1010882-graphic-1-thumbnail.jpg)
Mills, Frederick Percival [Freddie] (1919–1965)
Maker: George Konig
In
Frederick Percival Mills (1919–1965) by George Konig, 1948 Getty Images – George Konig
Article
Mills, Frederick Percival [Freddie] (1919–1965), boxer
Michael Erben
Mills, Frederick Percival [Freddie] (1919–1965), boxer, was born on 26 June 1919 at 7 Terrace Road, the poorest street in Bournemouth, the youngest of the four children of Thomas James Mills, totter and marine store dealer, and his wife, Lottie Hilda (née...
Image
Parkyns, Sir Thomas, second baronet (1664–1741)
In
Sir Thomas Parkyns, second baronet (1664–1741) by unknown engraver, pubd 1713 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Article
Parkyns, Sir Thomas, second baronet (1664–1741), writer on wrestling
Thomas Seccombe
revised by Adrian N. Harvey
Parkyns, Sir Thomas, second baronet (1664–1741), writer on wrestling, was born at Bunny in Nottinghamshire; he was the second son of Sir Thomas Isham Parkyns (1639–1684), of Bunny, who became first baronet in 1681, and Anne, only daughter and heir of Thomas Cressey...
Image
Perrins, Isaac (1750x57–1801)
Maker: unknown artist
Isaac Perrins (1750x5757–1801) by unknown artist [Left to right] Tom Johnson (c.1750-1797) and , at Banbury on 22 October 1789] Edgar Astaire Collection
Article
Perrins, Isaac (1750x57–1801), pugilist and mechanical engineer
Tony Gee
Perrins, Isaac (1750x57–1801), pugilist and mechanical engineer, of whom few early details are known, appears, unusually for a member of the eighteenth-century boxing fraternity, to have been well educated and, as various extant letters in copperplate handwriting show, certainly extremely literate.
Perrins's enduring fame in the prize ring rests primarily on his memorable bout with the celebrated ...
Image
![Cover Thompson, William [Bendigo] (1811–1880)](/cover/searchableMedia/odnb-9780198614128-e-1001295-graphic-1-thumbnail.jpg)
Thompson, William [Bendigo] (1811–1880)
Maker: Thomas Earl
In
William Thompson [Bendigo] (1811–1880) by Thomas Earl, 1850 © National Portrait Gallery, London
Article
Thompson, William [known as Bendigo] (1811–1880), pugilist
G. C. Boase
revised by Julian Lock
Thompson, William [known as Bendigo] (1811–1880), pugilist, was born at Nottingham on 11 October 1811, the youngest of the twenty-one children (according to some accounts) of Benjamin Thompson (d. c.1826), a mechanic in the lace industry, and his wife, Mary (1769–1851)...
