William Coxe

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William Coxe

William Coxe (March 6th July / March 17th  1748 greg. In London , † June 8th 1828 in Bemerton , Wiltshire ) was an English travel writer and historian .

Life

William Coxe was the eldest son of the practicing physician at the royal court William Coxe († 1760) and his wife Martha, daughter of Paul D'Aranda. He first attended Marylebone Grammar School from 1753 to 1754 and then from 1754 to 1764 Eton College . From 1765 he continued his education at King's College (Cambridge) , was from 1768 to 1771 a Fellow of this institute and obtained in 1769 the title of Bachelor of Arts and 1772 that of a Master of Arts . He was ordained a deacon in London in December 1771 and a priest in March 1772 .

Soon after, Coxe served for two years as the teacher of the Marquess of Blandford , the eldest son of the Duke of Marlborough . He then accompanied Lord Herbert , son of Henry Herbert, 10th Earl of Pembroke , from 1775 to 1779 on a journey through a large part of Europe. Among other things, he visited Switzerland and then Russia . One result of his explorations were Sketches of the natural, political and civil state of Switzerland (London 1779; German 3 Bde., Zurich 1781–1792), which after a second visit to the country in the revision Travels in Switzerland and the country of the Grisons (3 vols., London 1789) and were multiplied in the 4th edition (1801) by a history of the revolution of 1798. As leader of the later parliamentary speaker Samuel Whitbread , he embarked on a new journey through southern and northern Europe in 1784, again toured Switzerland and France in 1786, and Holland , Germany and Hungary in 1794 . He put his observations in Travels into Poland, Russia, Sweden and Denmark (3 vols., London 1784–1790; 6th edition, 3 vols., London 1803; German von Pezzl, 3 vols., Zurich 1785–1795) .

In the meantime, Coxe had been appointed vicar of Kingston upon Thames in 1786 and pastor of Bemerton in 1788. He usually lived in the latter place until his death. He also held the parish of Stourton in Wiltshire from 1801-11 and then that of Fovant in Wiltshire from 1811 until his death . Since 1791 he had a benefice from Salisbury . In May 1804 Bishop John Douglas of Salisbury appointed him archdeacon in Wiltshire.

In 1803 Coxe married Eleonora, daughter of the English consul general in Russia, William Shairp, and widow of Thomas Yeldham from the British trading post in Saint Petersburg . In the last years of his life he went blind and died on June 8, 1828 at the age of 80 in Bemerton. He was buried in the choir of Fugglestone St Peter's Church in Wilton, Wiltshire .

plant

The travelogues and historical tracts written by Coxe often only offer a chronological listing of the events in an annal style. What is important, however, are his careful editions of personal notes and letters from contemporary statesmen such as Sir Robert Walpole ( Memoirs of Sir Robert Walpole , 3 vols., London 1798; 2nd ed., 2 vols.), Which are very valuable as historical sources for the 18th century . London 1815), Lord Horatio Walpole ( Memoirs of Horatio Lord Walpole , London 1802; increased edition, 2 vols., 1808) and Henry Pelham ( Memoirs of the administration of Henry Pelham , posthumously ed. 2 vols., London 1829).

Other works published by Cox include:

  • Account of the Russian discoveries between Asia and America, to which are added the conquest of Sibiria and the history of the transactions and commerce between Russia and China , London 1780, Supplement 1787, 4th ed. 1804; German Frankfurt 1784
  • Account of the prisons and hospitals in Russia, Sweden and Denmark , London 1781
  • Letter on secret tribunals of Westphalia , London 1796
  • Historical tour in Monmouthshire , London 1801 (with plates based on drawings by his companion RC Hoare)
  • History of the house of Austria… from 1218 to 1792 , 3 vol., London. 1807 and ö .; German by Dippold and Wagner, 4 vols., Leipzig 1810–17
  • Memoirs of the kings of Spain of the house of Bourbon from 1700 to 1788 , 3 vols., London 1813
  • Memoirs of John, Duke of Marlborough , 3 vols., London 1817-19; new edition 1847; German, 6 vols., Vienna 1820
  • The private and original correspondence of Charles Talbot, Duke of Shrewsbury, with King William III , London 1821

literature

personal data
SURNAME Coxe, William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English travel writer and historian
DATE OF BIRTH March 17, 1748
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH June 8, 1828
Place of death Bemerton , Wiltshire