Modern English biography, volume 1 (of 4), A-H by Frederic Boase

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_. BREWSTER, REV. PATRICK (_brother of the preceding_). _b._ 20 Dec. 1788; licensed by Presbytery of Fordoun 26 March 1817; minister of Abbey church Paisley Aug. 1817 to death; ordained 10 April 1818; had but few equals as a preacher for elegance of style and purity of diction; took an active share in chartist agitation; author of _An essay on passive obedience_ 1836; _The rights of the poor of Scotland vindicated against the misrepresentations of the editor of the Glasgow Post and Reformer 2 parts_; _The seven Chartist and military discourses libelled by the Marquis of Abercorn and other heritors of the Abbey parish_ 1843. _d._ Craigie Linn near Paisley 26 March 1859, monument to his memory erected by public subscription in Paisley cemetery 1863. _John Smith’s Our Scottish clergy, 2 series_ 1849, 162–6. BREWSTER, WILLIAM BAGENAL. Educ. at St. John’s coll. Ox., B.A. 1846; rowed No. 4 in Oxford boat against Cambridge 1842 when Oxford gained her first victory on the Putney to Mortlake course; ensign 1 battalion Rifle brigade 7 July 1846, captain 29 Dec. 1854 to 1858 when he sold out; served in Kaffir war 1852–3; lieut. col. 23 Middlesex Volunteers (Inns of Court) 9 April 1860 to death. _d._ 75 Warwick sq. Belgrave road, London 7 July 1864 in 45 year. _Saturday Review xviii_, 81–2 (1864). BRICE, EDWARD. Second lieut. Madras Artillery 16 June 1826, colonel 25 Sep. 1861 to death; C.B. 1 March 1861. _d._ Harley st. London 9 June 1868. BRIDELL, FREDERICK LEE (_son of Mr. Bridell of Southampton, builder_). _b._ Southampton 7 Nov. 1831; apprenticed to a picture dealer 1846–53; studied painting at Munich 1854–7; his chief works are ‘Sunset on the Atlantic,’ exhibited at Liverpool Nov. 1857; ‘Temple of Venus’ painted in emulation of Turner 1858 and ‘The Coliseum by moonlight’ painted at Rome 1858, exhibited at the R.A. 1859 and at International Exhibition 1862; his patron James Wolff of Southampton acquired so many of his works that he formed a ‘Bridell gallery’ which was sold for nearly £4,000. _d._ Aug.