Anthony Askew (1722–1774) was an English physician and is best known for having been a

book collector Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given collector. The love of books is '' bibliophilia'', and some ...

. His collection was purchased by the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

and books purchased by

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

of Great Britain were added to the

King's Library The King's Library was one of the most important collections of books and pamphlets of the Age of Enlightenment.British LibraryGeorge III Collection: the King's Libraryaccessed 26 May 2010 Assembled by George III (r.1760–1820), this schola ...

Life and work

Askew was born in 1722 in

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

, the son of Dr. Adam Askew, a well-known physician of

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

and Ann Crackenthorp. He was baptised in Kendal on 7 May 1722. The family moved to Newcastle in 1725. His early education was at

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school, day school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, North West England. It comprise ...

and The Royal Free Grammar School in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

. According to a fellow physician, he was terrified of the formidable Head Master, Richard Dawes. (Dictionary of National Biography is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License) He was married twice. He first married Margaret Swinburn; they had no children. The second time to Elizabeth Holford, by whom he had twelve children, six girls and six boys. Elizabeth was born in 1734 and died on 2 August 1773.

Medical education and career

He took the degree of

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education trad ...

(M.B.) at

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mo ...

in December 1745. Initially intended for the medical profession, Askew studied for one year at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...

in Holland. He then travelled to

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, Athens,

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, Italy, and other countries. He began to collect valuable books and manuscripts he laid the foundation of the extensive library, the ''Bibliotheca Askeviana.'' He started medical practice at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

in 1750, in which year he took his degree of

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

(M.D.), and afterwards established himself in London. He was physician to St. Bartholomew's and Christ's Hospital, and Registrar of the

College of Physicians A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary school ...

from 1767 until 1774. On 8 February 1749 he became a member of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. On 25 June 1752 he became a candidate of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

and one year later became a fellow of the organisation. In 1758 he delivered the Harveian Oration at the Royal College of Physicians.

Book collector

Askew is best known today as a

classical scholar Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

and

bibliophile A bookworm or bibliophile is an individual who loves and frequently reads or collects books. Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. Bibliophiles may have large, specialized book collections. They may highly value old editions, aut ...

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is large ...

was his favourite author. He assembled an extensive library, the ''Bibliotheca Askeviana'', helping to develop the taste for curious manuscripts, scarce editions, and fine copies. Askew's house was crowded with books from the cellar up to the garrets. The collection was chiefly classical, and it was its possessor's aim to have every edition of every Greek author. In ''Thornton's Medical Books, Libraries and Collectors,'' Alain Besson wrote that Askew's library was replete with "rare manuscripts and choice editions in exquisite bindings". He further stated that Askew made "bibliomania fashionable."

Death

Askew died 28 February 1774 at

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, London, England. He was buried at Hampstead church. Henry Askew, Anthony's brother, became the caregiver for the orphaned children. After the death of Askew, the library of nearly 7,000 books, was sold at an auction which lasted from 13 February to 7 March 1775. William Munk stated that the library collection was sold beginning 19 February 1775 by Baker and Leigh; the sale continued for 19 days. The catalogue of the collection was sold at one shilling and sixpence, with a few copies on royal paper at four shillings... Over 80% of the sale consisted of classical texts in Latin and Greek. The purchasers of Askew's books at the auction included the

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

William Hunter, the

and the kings of England and France. Books purchased by

of England in 1762, and the Second Folio of Shakespeare bought in 1800, were added to the

. Askew's extensive collection of transcribed inscriptions is at the

. One codex of his collection is named Askew Codex.

Life and work

Medical education and career

Book collector

Death

Notes

References

Further reading