Sir Adolphus William Ward (2 December 1837 – 19 June 1924) was an English historian and

man of letters An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, ei ...

Life

Ward was born at

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the London Borough o ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the son of John Ward. He was educated in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

. In 1866, Ward was appointed professor of history and English literature in Owens College, Manchester, and was principal from 1890 to 1897, when he retired. He took an active part in the foundation of Victoria University, of which he was vice-chancellor from 1886 to 1890 and from 1894 to 1896, and he was a founder of

Withington Girls' School Withington Girls' School is an independent day school in Fallowfield, Manchester, United Kingdom, providing education for girls between the ages of seven and eighteen. Withington is a member of the Girls' Schools Association and the Headmasters ...

in 1890. He was a Member of the

Chetham Society The Chetham Society "for the publication of remains historic and literary connected with the Palatine Counties of Lancaster and Chester" is a text publication society and registered charity (No. 700047) established on 23 March 1843. History The ...

, serving as a member of council from 1884 and as president from 1901 until 1915. In 1897, the freedom of the city of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

was conferred upon him, he delivered the

Ford Lectures The Ford Lectures, technically the James Ford Lectures in British History, are an annual series of public lectures held at the University of Oxford on the subject of English or British history. They are usually devoted to a particular historical ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in 1898, and on 29 October 1900 he was elected master of

. He was elected in 1903 a fellow of the British Academy and was the academy's president from 1911 to 1913. In 1919 he delivered the British Academy's Shakespeare Lecture. Ward served as president of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

from 1899 to 1901, and he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

in 1913.

Works

Ward's major work is his standard ''History of English Dramatic Literature to the Age of Queen Anne'' (1875), re-edited after a thorough revision in three volumes in 1899. He also wrote ''The House of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

'' (1869), ''Great Britain and

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

: Some Aspects of the Personal Union'' (1899), and ''The Electress Sophia and the Hanoverian Succession'' (1903) (2nd ed. 1909). His ''Germany, 1815–1890'' has three volumes. Ward edited

George Crabbe George Crabbe ( ; 24 December 1754 – 3 February 1832) was an English poet, surgeon and clergyman. He is best known for his early use of the realistic narrative form and his descriptions of middle and working-class life and people. In the 177 ...

's ''Poems'' (2 vols., 1905–1906) and

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

's ''Poetical Works'' (1869); he wrote the volumes on

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...

and

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

in the "

English Men of Letters English Men of Letters was a series of literary biographies written by leading literary figures of the day and published by Macmillan, under the general editorship of John Morley. The original series was launched in 1878, with Leslie Stephen's bi ...

" series, translated Ernst Curtius's ''History of Greece'' (5 vols., 1868–1873); with

G. W. Prothero Sir George Walter Prothero (14 October 1848 – 10 July 1922) was an English historian, writer, and academic who served as president of the Royal Historical Society from 1901 to 1905. Life and writings Prothero was born in Wiltshire to Georg ...

and

Stanley Mordaunt Leathes Sir Stanley Mordaunt Leathes (7 May 1861 – 25 July 1938) was a British poet, economist, historian and senior Civil Service administrator, being the First Civil Service Commissioner from 1910 to 1927. Early life Leathes was born in London, the ...

he edited the ''

Cambridge Modern History ''The Cambridge Modern History'' is a comprehensive modern history of the world, beginning with the 15th century Age of Discovery, published by the Cambridge University Press in England and also in the United States. The first series, planned by ...

'' between 1901 and 1912, and with A. R. Waller edited the '' Cambridge History of English Literature'' (1907, etc.). Ward's collected papers were published in 5 volumes by Cambridge University Press in 1921.

Notes

External links

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Chetham Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Adolphus William 1837 births 1924 deaths 19th-century English historians Fellows of Peterhouse, Cambridge Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Academics of the Victoria University of Manchester Masters of Peterhouse, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Chaucer scholars Presidents of the British Academy Presidents of the Royal Historical Society Vice-Chancellors of the Victoria University of Manchester Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge Knights Bachelor Fellows of the British Academy Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society Chetham Society 20th-century English historians