Modern English biography

1873. _W. J. Thoms’ Longevity of man_ (1879) 207–24; _Historical

Mag. and American Notes and Queries_, _April 1867 pp._ 211–12. LARCOM, SIR THOMAS AISKEW (2 son of Joseph Larcom 1764–1843, captain R.N.). _b._ 22 April 1801; 2 lieut. R.E. 1 June 1820, lieut.-col. 17 Feb. 1854 to 1 April 1858 when placed on retired full pay with rank of M.G.; assistant in the central organisation of the Irish ordnance survey at Mountjoy, Phœnix park near Dublin 1828–46; the beauty of his county maps of Ireland has never been exceeded; a census comr. in Ireland 1841; a comr. of public works in Ireland 1846; chief director of the public relief works 1846; deputy chairman of Irish board of works 1850; under sec. of state for Ireland Feb. 1853 to Nov. 1868; C.B. 5 March 1858, K.C.B. 19 June 1860; cr. baronet 7 Dec. 1868; P.C. Ireland 1868; edited Sir W. Petty’s The history of the survey of Ireland, for the Irish Archæological soc. 1851; Memoirs of life of Capt. Drummond, in Papers of Corps of Royal Engineers vol. 4 pp. ix–xxiv (1850) and Memoir of city of Londonderry, in Ordnance Survey of Ireland 1837. _d._ Heathfield, Fareham, Hants. 15 June 1879. _Proc. of royal society_, _xxix_ 10–15 (1879). LARDNER, DIONYSIUS (son of Wm. O’B. Lardner of 88 Marlborough st. Dublin, solicitor, who _d._ 1808). _b._ Dublin 3 April 1793; ed. at Trin. coll. Dublin, B.A. 1817, M.A. 1819, LLB. and LLD. 1827; took holy orders, chaplain of his college; professor of natural philosophy and astronomy in London univ. 1827 to 1832; published the Cabinet Cyclopædia 133 vols. 1829–46, in which he wrote the treatises on hydrostatics and pneumatics, arithmetic and geometry; published Dr. Lardner’s Cabinet Library 9 vols. 1830–2; edited the Edinburgh Cabinet Library 38 vols. 1830–44; The Museum of science and art 12 vols. 1856; lectured in the United States and Cuba 1840–5, cleared £40,000; lived at Paris 1845 to death; Paris correspondent of Daily News; is satirised by Thackeray in his Miscellanies as Dionysius Diddler, and in his Memoirs of Mr. Charles J. Yellowplush as Doctor Diolesius Larner, Doctor Athanasius Lardner and Doctor Ignatius Loyola. _d._ Naples 29 April 1859. _W. Bates’s Maclise portrait gallery_ (1883) 122–5, _portrait_; _A.R._ (1849) 289 _and_ (1859) 446; _The works of W. M. Thackeray_, _xii_ 404–14 (1869). NOTE.--He married in the parish church of St. Paul, Dublin 19 Dec. 1815 Cecilia dau. of Henry Flood of Dublin, barrister, she left him 20 Oct. 1820 and lived near Dublin with Samuel Booth Williams Murphy to 20 Jany. 1829 when he died. Lardner obtained a sentence of divorce in consistory court of Dublin 1832 and his marriage was dissolved by 2 and 3 Vict. cap. 53, 14 June 1839. On 13 March 1840 he eloped with Mary wife of captain Richard Heaviside of Brighton, who obtained £8000 damages against him in an action tried at town hall, Lewes 1 Aug. 1840. Heaviside obtained a sentence of divorce in consistory court of London 3 March 1841 and his marriage was dissolved by 8 and 9 Vict. cap. 35, 31 July 1845. Lardner married the lady 2 Aug. 1846 at Paris, where she resided until her death about 30 April 1891. LARDNER, LEOPOLD JAMES. _b._ Holland 1816; private tutor in family of Jacob van Lennep poet in Holland many years; entered British Museum 1846 where he superintended the transcription of the catalogue of books extending to 300 volumes to his death; frequently employed by the Foreign Office in translating from the Italian, Spanish, Dutch and Danish; threw himself from the window of his residence 9 Cornwall villas, Kentish Town, London 27 Nov. 1855. _Times 3 Dec. 1855 p._ 6 _col._ 6. LARKIN, NATHANIEL JOHN. _b._ London 5 Dec. 1781; the first sec. of society of civil engineers 1825; manufacturer of mathematical models at 29 Baker st. Spa Fields, London 1829; author of An essay on a mosaic pavement formed of right angled triangles of different colours 1818; An introduction to solid geometry 1820; The rudiments of linear, plane and solid geometry 1820. _d._ 21 Oct. 1855. LARKING, JOHN WINGFIELD (son of John Larking 1755–1838). _b._ Clare house 1801; English consul in Egypt; negotiated terms of peace between Mehemet Ali and the Sultan and probably prevented a war between France and England 1839; the first Englishman who acquired influence in Egypt, a favourite with Mehemet, Said and Ismail; received order of Medjidie; at his expense Dr. Henry Holman Drake re-wrote and published the Hundred of Blackheath, a portion of Hasted’s History of Kent 1886; resided at The Firs, Old road, Lee, Kent from 1858, _d._ there 18 May 1891. _Times 21 May 1891 p._ 7; _Blackheath Local Guide 23 May 1891 pp._ 10, 13. LARKING, LAMBERT BLACKWELL (brother of the preceding). _b._ Clare house, East Malling, Kent 2 Feb. 1797; ed. at Eton 1808–16 and Brasenose coll. Oxf., B.A. 1820, M.A. 1823; founded University lodge of freemasons 1819; C. of East Peckham near Tunbridge 1820; V. of Ryarsh near Maidstone 14 April 1830 to death; V. of Burham near Rochester 28 Jany. 1837 to death; hon. sec. of Kent Archæological soc. 19 Sep. 1857 to 1861, vice pres. 1861; wrote many articles in the Archæologia Cantiana; member of council of Camden Soc. 1852 to death, ed. for the soc. Certain considerations upon the government of England by Sir R. Twysden 1849, The knights hospitallers 1857 and Proceedings in the county of Kent 1862; author of The late Thomas Streatfield 1861; A description of the heartshrine in Leybourne church 1864; with rev. T. Streatfield collected materials for a history of Kent, the first part called Hasted’s History of Kent corrected, enlarged and continued. Ed. by H. H. Drake Part 1 The hundred of Blackheath was published in 1886 with portrait of L. B. Larking. _d._ Ryarsh vicarage 2 Aug. 1868. _Archæologia Cantiana_, _vii_ 323–29 (1868). LARPENT, SIR GEORGE GERARD DE HOCHEPIED-, 1 Baronet (youngest son of John Larpent 1741–1824, inspector of plays). _b._ London 16 Feb. 1786; entered East India house of Cockerell and Larpent; took additional name of De Hochepied by r.l. 14 June 1819; chairman of Oriental and China Assoc.; deputy chairman of St. Katharine’s Docks co.; contested Ludlow, May 1840 and Nottingham, April 1841; M.P. Nottingham 28 June 1841 to July 1842; contested city of London 1847; created baronet 13 Oct. 1841; edited The Private Journals of Francis Seymour Larpent 3 vols. 1853, 3 ed. 1853; and Turkey, its history and progress by Sir J. Porter, continued to the present time 1854; author of Some remarks on the negotiations between the board of control and the East India Co. 1833. _d._ Conduit st. Regent st. London 8 March 1855. LASCELLES, EDWIN (4 son of 2 earl of Harewood 1767–1841). _b._ 25 Dec. 1799; ed. at Eton and Ch. Ch. Oxf.; fellow of All Souls’ coll. 1822 to death; B.C.L. 1826, D.C.L. 1831; barrister I.T. 10 Feb. 1826; contested Northallerton, Yorkshire 1841; M.P. Ripon 1846–57; chairman of quarter sessions of West riding of Yorkshire to death. _d._ Wighill park near Wetherby, Yorkshire 25 April 1865. LASCELLES, WILLIAM SAUNDERS SEBRIGHT (3 son of 2 earl of Harewood 1767–1841). _b._ 29 Oct. 1798; M.P. Northallerton 1820–26, 1831–32; M.P. East Looe 1826–30; M.P. Wakefield 1837–41, 1842–47; M.P. Knaresborough 1847 to death; P.C. 22 July 1847; comptroller of H.M.’s household 24 July 1847 to death. _d._ Bute house, Campden hill, Kensington 2 July 1851. _G.M. xxxvi_ 193–4 (1851); _I.L.N. xix_ 42 (1851). LASLETT, WILLIAM EMERSON (only son of Thomas Emerson Laslett). _b._ 1801; solicitor at Worcester 1831–52; barrister I.T. 30 April 1856; practised at Worcester; M.P. Worcester city 1852–60 and 1868–74; contested East Worcestershire 1868 and 1874; gave 25 acres of land in Astwood road, Worcester for a public cemetery; founded by his will Laslett’s Almshouses 33 in number in Whiteladies’ close, Worcester; gave estates of 2,000 acres in Gloucestershire valued at £85,000 in trust for religious and charitable purposes. _d._ Abberton hall, Pershore 26 Jany. 1884. _I.L.N. xxxii_ 561, 562 (1858), _portrait_. LASSELL, WILLIAM (son of Mr. Lassell of Bolton, _d._ 1810). _b._ Bolton 18 June 1799; apprenticed to a Liverpool merchant 1814–21; a brewer about 1825; commenced constructing reflecting telescopes 1820; built an observatory at Starfield near Liverpool, which he moved to Bradstones near there 1854; invented a new machine for grinding specula; member of Royal Astronom. Soc. 1839, pres. 1870–2, discovered the satellites of Uranus 10 Oct. 1846; received gold medal of Royal Astronom. Soc. 1849; the first to clearly ascertain composition of the Uranian system; mounted a four-foot reflecting telescope at Valetta in Malta 1861, worked there 3 years and catalogued 600 new nebulæ; set up a two-foot reflector at Ray lodge near Maidenhead 1865; F.R.S. 7 June 1849, royal medallist 1858; F.R.S. Edin.; hon. LL.D. Cambridge 1874; his specula have never been surpassed; ranks with sir Wm. Herschel and lord Rosse among the perfecters of the reflecting telescope. _d._ in his sleep at Ray Lodge, Maidenhead 5 Oct. 1880. _Proc. of Royal Soc. xxxi_ 7–10 (1881); _Wallich’s Eminent men of the day_ (1870), _portrait No._ 13; _Nature, xxii_ 565–6 (1880). LAST, EDWARD. Ensign 90 foot 13 Oct. 1814; captain 99 foot 22 May 1829, major 18 Oct. 1839; lieut.-col. 21 foot 26 March 1858 to 21 Oct. 1859 when placed on retired full pay; M.G. 5 Sep.