Joseph Planta
FRS (21 February 1744,
Castasegna
Castasegna () is a former municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Grisons, on the Italian border. It is currently part of the municipality of Bregaglia. The town is situated in the Bergell valley, above the river Mera.
H ...
, Switzerland – 3 December 1827, London, England), aka Joseph von Planta, the
Principal Librarian (i.e. Director) of the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
for the first quarter of the nineteenth century.
Family background
Joseph Planta was born at Castasegna in
Grisons
The Grisons () or Graubünden,Names include:
*german: (Kanton) Graubünden ;
* Romansh:
** rm, label= Sursilvan, (Cantun) Grischun
** rm, label= Vallader, (Chantun) Grischun
** rm, label= Puter, (Chantun) Grischun
** rm, label= Surmiran, (Ca ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, the son of Reverend
Andrew (aka Andreas) Planta (1717–1773).
[G. R. de Beer]
Andreas and Joseph Planta, FF.R.S.
'' Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London'', Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 8–14, October 1952. 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, r ...
.David M. Wilson
Sir David Mackenzie Wilson, FBA (born 30 October 1931) is a British archaeologist, art historian, and museum curator, specialising in Anglo-Saxon art and the Viking Age. From 1977 until 1992 he served as the Director of the British Museum, whe ...
, ''The British Museum: A History''. The British Museum Press
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It documen ...
, 2002. . Page 58. The
Plantas were of noble origin. The reverend, who was minister of a
Swiss Reformed Church
The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), (EKS); french: Église évangélique réformée de Suisse (EERS); it, Chiesa evangelica riformata in Svizzera (CERiS); rm, Baselgia evangelica refurmada da la Svizra (BRRS) formerly named Federation o ...
, moved his family to London in 1752, where he took up a position with a German church (of which there were already several). He was also appointed to the British Museum virtually from its inception, and worked there until his death in 1773.
Joseph had five sisters, four of whom became
governess
A governess is a largely obsolete term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, ...
es, including two – first
Frederica and then Margaret (Peggy) – to the Royal Household of
King George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great B ...
and
Queen Charlotte
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...
.
Education and career
Joseph Planta studied
philology
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...
at
University of Utrecht
Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...
and
University of Göttingen
The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...
. He served as secretary to the
British minister (i.e. ambassador) at Brussels, who at that time was
William Gordon. On the death of Andreas Planta, Joseph returned home to London, and immediately succeeded his father as assistant librarian at the British Museum. He was promoted to keeper of manuscripts in 1776 and then Principal Librarian, i.e. director, from 1799 until his death in 1827.
At the British Museum, Planta produced a library catalogue for the
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
manuscripts. As Under Librarian, Planta organized the rehousing of the museum's coin collection. His time as Principal Librarian was a significant period in the history of the British Museum.
He improved the facilities available for the public, recruited assistants to guide visitors (thus freeing the more senior staff), and improved pay.
Joseph Planta was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...
in 1774.
Soon afterwards Planta was appointed as an assistant at the British Museum, he published a paper on the
Romansh language
Romansh (; sometimes also spelled Romansch and Rumantsch; Sursilvan: ; Vallader, Surmiran, and Rumantsch Grischun: ; Putèr: ; Sutsilvan: , , ; Jauer: ) is a Gallo-Romance language spoken predominantly in the Swiss canton of the Gr ...
of the area of Switzerland in which he was born in the ''
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London
''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the first journ ...
''. The paper was read to 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 10 November 1775. He was also appointed as one of the secretaries to the Royal Society in 1776.
Marriage and children
Planta married Elizabeth Atwood (1744/5–1821) of the parish of
St George's, Hanover Square, Westminster. They had a daughter, Sophia (born April 1779) and a son, Sir
Joseph Planta (1787–1847), MP for
Hastings
Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
.
[Constance Richardson]
Mrs. Oom and 'The Forty-Eight'
'' Music & Letters'', Vol. 32, No. 1, pp
98
99
January 1951. Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...
.
References
External links
Joseph Planta & Richard Payne Knight by William Evans (active 1797–1856), British Museum, 1810.
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Planta, Joseph
1744 births
1827 deaths
People from Maloja District
Swiss Protestants
Swiss librarians
British librarians
Swiss philologists
British philologists
Swiss emigrants to the United Kingdom
Directors of the British Museum
Fellows of the Royal Society
Employees of the British Library
British people of Romansh descent
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...