Herman Merivale CB (8 November 1806 – 8 February 1874) was an English civil servant and historian. He was the elder brother of

Charles Merivale Charles Merivale (8 March 1808 – 27 December 1893) was an English historian and churchman, for many years dean of Ely Cathedral. He was one of the main instigators of the The Boat Race, inaugural Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race which took p ...

, and father of the poet Herman Charles Merivale. He was born at

Dawlish Dawlish is a seaside resort town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Teignbridge district in Devon, England. It is located on the south coast of England at a distance of from the city of Exeter and a similar distance from the to ...

, Devon to John Herman Merivale (1770–1844) and Louisa Heath Drury. He was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

. In 1823 he entered

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...

. In 1825 he became a scholar of Trinity College and also won the Ireland scholarship, and three years later he was elected fellow of

Balliol College Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and ar ...

. He became a member of the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

and practised on the western circuit, being made in 1841 recorder of Falmouth,

Helston Helston () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the The Lizard, Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: ...

and

Penzance Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...

. From 1837 to 1842 he was professor of political economy at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. In this capacity he delivered a course of lectures on the

British Colonies A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by England, and then Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English and later British Empire. There was usually a governor to represent the Crown, appointed by the British monarch on ...

in which he dealt with questions of emigration, employment of labour and the allotment of public lands. The reputation he secured by these lectures had much to do with his appointment in 1847 as Assistant Under-Secretary for the colonies, and in the next year he became Permanent Under-Secretary. In 1859 he was transferred to the permanent under-secretaryship for India, receiving the distinction of CB. In 1870, Merivale was awarded the degree of DCL by

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. He died in 1874 and is buried in

Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is since 1852 the first (and only) London cemetery to be Crown Estate, Crown property, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington a ...

, London. Besides his ''Lectures on Colonization and Colonies'' (1841), he published ''Historical Studies'' (1865), and completed the ''Memoirs of Sir Philip Francis'' (1867); he wrote the second volume of the ''Life of Sir Henry Lawrence'' (1872) in continuation of Sir Herbert Edwardes's work. A tribute to his powers as an original thinker by his chief at the Colonial Office, Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton, is printed with a notice of his career which his brother contributed to the ''Transactions'' (1884) of

the Devonshire Association The Devonshire Association (DA) is a learned society founded in 1862 by William Pengelly and modelled on the British Science Association, British Association, but concentrating on research subjects linked to Devon in the fields of science, litera ...

Family

On 29 October 1834 he married Caroline Penelope Robinson, daughter of William Villiers Robinson and Anne Brooksbank. ''Children'' * Herman Charles Merivale (27 January 1839 – 17 August 1906) married Elizabeth Pitman * Isabel Frances Sophia Merivale married William Peere Williams-Freeman * Agnes Merivale (1847-1872) married John Townsend Trench on 10 August 1870.

References

* Merivale, Anna Wilhelmina, and Charles Merivale. ''Family Memorials.'' (p. 390) Exeter: T. Upward, printer, 1884
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Retrieved February 6, 2009 * Attribution: * {{DEFAULTSORT:Merivale, Herman People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford 1806 births 1874 deaths Companions of the Order of the Bath Burials at Brompton Cemetery People from Dawlish Civil servants in the Colonial Office Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for India Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for the Colonies Fellows of Balliol College, Oxford Members of the Inner Temple Drummond Professors of Political Economy 19th-century English historians English civil servants English male non-fiction writers 19th-century English male writers Presidents of the Oxford Union