Francis Grose (lexicographer)

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Francis Grose

Francis Grose (* 1731 in London ; † June 12, 1791 ) was an English antiquarian, draftsman and lexicographer.

Francis Grose was born in his father's house on Broad Street, London. His parents were the Swiss immigrant Francis Jacob Grose († 1769) and his wife Anne († 1773), the daughter of Thomas Bennett from Greenford in Middlesex.

Francis was the oldest of seven children. His father was a jeweler and had the coronation crown for George II . He was able to manufacture a classical education for Francis. After that, however, he first joined the military, which he left in 1751. In 1755 his father bought him a place in the College of Arms as herald for Richmond. Obviously Grose did not like checking and recording family trees, which is why he sold the office of herald again in 1763 in order to pursue a military career again, this time in the militia. He became adjutant and paymaster, first in Hampshire and then in the Surrey militia, although he had actually learned little from his own financial mismanagement. As he himself used to tell, he had only two business books, namely his right and left pocket.

Although he is often referred to by his military title Captain , Grose was far more successful in his artistic career. From 1757 he was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and in 1766 a member of the Incorporated Society of Artists . From 1769 he exhibited his works, mainly views of architectural remains, in the Royal Academy .

When he was sent to Kent for excise duties in 1750 , he met Catherine Jordan of Canterbury and married her. They had ten children, six of whom reached adulthood. With the inheritance of his parents and his wife, the salary he received as captain of the militia improved. Grose was able to live reasonably well and care for his children despite the financial demands that had arisen from upbringing and education. Their eldest son was Francis Grose , an officer in the British Army and Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales , Australia.

Publications (selection)

  • The Antiquities of England and Wales, 1 (new ed.), London: S. Hooper, 1784 [1772]
  • The Antiquities of England and Wales, 2 (new ed.), London: S. Hooper, 1783
  • The Antiquities of England and Wales, 3 (new ed.), London: S. Hooper, 1783
  • The Antiquities of England and Wales, 4 (new ed.), London: S. Hooper, 1785
  • The Antiquities of England and Wales, 5 (new ed.), London: S. Hooper, 1785
  • The Antiquities of England and Wales, 6 (new ed.), London: S. Hooper, 1785
  • The Antiquities of England and Wales, 7 (new ed.), London: S. Hooper, 1785
  • Supplement to the Antiquities of England and Wales, 8, London: S. Hooper, 1783 [1783]
  • A Dictionary of Buckish Slang, University Wit, and Pickpocket Eloquence (and now considerably altered and enlarged, with the modern changes and improvements, by a member of the whip club), London: C. Chapel, 1811 [1785]
  • A Glossary of Provincial and Local Words used in England, London: John Russell Smith, 1839 [1787]
  • A Provincial Glossary; with a collection of local proverbs, and popular superstitions, London: E. Jeffery, 1811 [1787]
  • The Antiquities of Scotland, 1, London: S. Hooper, 1797
  • The Antiquities of Scotland, 2, London: S. Hooper, 1797
  • The Antiquities of Ireland, 1, London: S. Hooper, 1797
  • The Antiquities of Ireland, 2, London: S. Hooper, 1797 [1791]
  • A Treatise on Ancient Armor and Weapons, illustrated by plates taken from the original armor in the tower of London, and other arsenals, museums, and cabinets, London: S. Hooper, 1786
  • Military Antiquities respecting a History of the English Army, from the Conquest to the present, 1, London: S. Hooper, 1786

Military Antiquities respecting a History of the English Army, from the Conquest to the present, 2, London: T. Egerton Whitehall & G. Kearsley, 1801

  • The Olio: being a collection of essays, dialogues, letters, biographical sketches, anecdotes, pieces of poetry, parodies, bon mots, epigrams, epitaphs, & c., Chiefly original, London: Hooper and Wigstead, 1796
  • The Antiquarian Repertory: a miscellaneous assemblage of topography, history, biography, customs, and manners. Intended to illustrate and preserve several valuable remains of old times. Chiefly compiled by, or under the direction of, Francis Grose, Thomas Astle and other eminent antiquaries, 3 volumes, 1807

literature

  • Julie Coleman: A History of Cant and Slang Dictionaries. Volume 2: 1785-1858. Oxford University Press, New York 2004, ISBN 0-19-925470-2 , pp. 14ff.
  • John H. Farrant: Grose, Francis . In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093 / ref: odnb / 11660 .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Julie Coleman: A History of Cant and Slang Dictionaries. Volume 2: 1785-1858 . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2008, ISBN 978-0-19-156525-0 , pp. 14th ff . ( google.de [accessed June 15, 2019]).
  2. ^ John H. Farrant: The Travels and Travails of Francis Grose, FSA In: The Antiquaries Journal . tape 75 , 1995, ISSN  1758-5309 , pp. 365-380 , doi : 10.1017 / S0003581500073066 ( cambridge.org [accessed June 15, 2019]).
  3. ^ William Hendry Stowell: The Eclectic Review . 1806, p. 307 ( google.de [accessed June 15, 2019]).
personal data
SURNAME Grose, Francis
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English antiquarian, draftsman and lexicographer
DATE OF BIRTH 1731
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH June 12, 1791