Falconer Madan (15 April 1851 – 22 May 1935) was

Librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time ...

of the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Early life and education

Falconer Madan was born in Cam, Gloucestershire, the fifth son of George and Harriet Madan. He was educated at

Marlborough College ( 1 Corinthians 3:6: God gives the increase) , established = , type = Public SchoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = Church of England , president = Nicholas Holtam , head_label = Master , head = Louis ...

and

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

, where he took part in Oxford and Cambridge chess matches in 1873 and 1874, and won the University Singles

fives Fives is an English sport believed to derive from the same origins as many racquet sports. In fives, a ball is propelled against the walls of a 3- or 4-sided special court, using a gloved or bare hand as though it were a racquet, similar to ...

prize in 1874.

Career

Madan was a fellow of Brasenose from 1875 until 1880, when he was appointed sub-librarian of the

. In 1890, he was given the task of the creating a summary catalogue of the manuscripts of the Bodleian beginning with those not included in the catalogue of 1697. The completion of the ''Summary Catalogue'' is the chief monument of his work. In 1889, Madan became a Fellow again and lecturer in

palaeography Palaeography ( UK) or paleography ( US; ultimately from grc-gre, , ''palaiós'', "old", and , ''gráphein'', "to write") is the study of historic writing systems and the deciphering and dating of historical manuscripts, including the analysi ...

until 1913. Another significant publication of this period is his ''The Early Oxford Press: a bibliography of printing and publishing at Oxford, 1468–1640'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1895). In 1912, Madan became Librarian of the Bodleian. During this time, a new underground book-store under

Radcliffe Square Radcliffe Square is a square in central Oxford, England. It is surrounded by historic Oxford University and college buildings. The square is cobbled, laid to grass surrounded by railings in the centre, and is pedestrianised except for access. ...

was opened, the library records were put into systematic arrangement, and the ''Bodleian Quarterly Record'', a periodical of more than local interest, was started. He resigned the librarianship in 1919. He was president of the

Library Association The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, since 2017 branded CILIP: The library and information association (pronounced ), is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers in the U ...

in 1914 and 1915, President of the

Bibliographical Society Founded in 1892, The Bibliographical Society is the senior learned society dealing with the study of the book and its history in the United Kingdom. Largely owing to the efforts of Walter Arthur Copinger, who was supported by Richard Copley ...

from 1919 to 1921, and President of the Oxford Bibliographic Society in 1924 and 1925. He published many library-related works. In 1932, he received the Gold Medal of the

. Madan helped Sidney Herbert Williams revise his ''A Bibliography of

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...

'' (London: The Bookman's Journal, 1924), the first such, into ''A Handbook of the Literature of the Rev. C. L. Dodgson (

)'' (London: Oxford University Press, 1931), receiving co-author credit, and published a supplement thereto in 1935. He also edited ''The

Centenary in London'' (London: J. & E. Bumpus, 1932), a catalogue of the exhibition.

Personal life

Falconer Madan married Frances Jane Hayter (1862–1938) second daughter of

Harrison Hayter Harrison Hayter (10 April 1825 – 5 May 1898) was a British engineer, participating in many significant railway construction projects in Britain and many harbour and dock constructions worldwide. Biography Hayter was born at Flushing ne ...

the engineer. His son, Geoffrey, was a celebrated anthologist. His daughter Ethel married

Charles Fox Burney Charles Fox Burney (4 November 1868 – 15 April 1925) was biblical scholar at Oxford University, England. Early life Charles was the son of Charles Burney, Paymaster Chief Royal Navy, and his wife Eleanor Norton, daughter of the Rev. W. A. Norto ...

, and his granddaughter Venetia Burney is noteworthy for proposing the name

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the S ...

for the newly discovered planet.

Publications

* ''Oxford Books: a bibliography of printed works relating to the university and city of Oxford or printed or published there'' (1895-1931) :* v.1 ''The Early Oxford Press, 1468–1640'' :* v.2 ''Oxford Literature, 1450–1640, and 1641–1650'' :* v.3 ''Oxford Literature, 1651–1680''
''Books in Manuscript''
(1893) * '' The Gresleys of Drakelowe'' (1899) * ''History of the Madan Family'' * ''The Daniel Press: memorials of C. H. O. Daniel, with a bibliography of the Press 1845–1919''. (Oxford: Printed on the Daniel Press in the Bodleian Library, 1922. Reprinted: Folkestone: Dawsons, 1974. Addenda and corrigenda, 1922.) * ''Oxford Outside the Guide-Books'' (1923) * ''A Handbook of the Literature of the Rev. C. L. Dodgson (Lewis Carroll)'' (1931) * ''The Lewis Carroll Centenary in London'' (1932)

References

* ''Who's Who'' * ''Times'' Obituaries May 1935

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Madan, Falconer 1851 births 1935 deaths People educated at Marlborough College Bodley's Librarians English librarians Fellows of Brasenose College, Oxford Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford People from Stroud District