Daniel Wray
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Daniel Wray (28 November 1701 – 29 December 1783) was an English antiquary and
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 science, natural knowledge, incl ...
.


Life

Born on 28 November 1701 in the parish of St. Botolph, Aldersgate, he was the youngest child of Sir Daniel Wray (died 1719), a London citizen and soap-boiler residing in Little Britain, by his second wife. His father was knighted on 24 March 1708, while
High Sheriff of Essex The High Sheriff of Essex was an ancient sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the ...
, where he possessed an estate near
Ingatestone Ingatestone is a village and former civil parish in Essex, England, with a population of 5,365 inhabitants according to the 2011 census. Just north lies the village of Fryerning, the two forming now the parish of Ingatestone and Fryerning. Ing ...
. At the age of thirteen Daniel the son entered
Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...
as a day scholar. In 1718 he matriculated from
Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...
, graduating B.A. in 1722, and M.A. in 1728. Between 1722 and 1728 he paid a prolonged visit to Italy in the company of James Douglas. On 13 March 1729 he was admitted a fellow of the Royal Society, and on 18 June 1731 he was incorporated at Oxford. He resided generally at Cambridge until 1739 or 1740, but after being elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in January 1741 he became a more habitual resident of London, lodging at the house of Arthur Pond. At a later date he removed to lodgings at
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...
and after his marriage took a house in town, first in King Street, Covent Garden, and afterwards in Duke Street, Soho, and another at Richmond. In 1737 Wray became acquainted with Philip Yorke, and a lifelong friendship grew up. In 1741 Philip and his brother,
Charles Yorke Charles Yorke Privy Council of the United Kingdom, PC (30 December 172220 January 1770) was briefly Lord Chancellor, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain. His father was also Lord Chancellor, and he began his career as a Member of Parliament. ...
, brought out the first volume of the ''
Athenian Letters The ''Athenian Letters'' was a collaborative work of Ancient Greek history and geography, published by a circle of authors around Charles Yorke and Philip Yorke, and taking the form of commentary in letter form on Thucidydes. It had a “considera ...
'', to which Wray contributed under the signature "W." In 1745 Philip Yorke appointed Wray his deputy teller of the exchequer, an office which he continued to hold until 1782. Wray had many friends among his literary contemporaries, among them
Henry Coventry Henry Coventry (1619–1686), styled "The Honourable" from 1628, was an English politician who was Secretary of State for the Northern Department between 1672 and 1674 and the Southern Department between 1674 and 1680. Origins and education Co ...
, William Heberden the elder,
William Warburton William Warburton (24 December 16987 June 1779) was an English writer, literary critic and churchman, Bishop of Gloucester from 1759 until his death. He edited editions of the works of his friend Alexander Pope, and of William Shakespeare. Li ...
,
Conyers Middleton Conyers Middleton (27 December 1683 – 28 July 1750) was an English clergyman. Mired in controversy and disputes, he was also considered one of the best stylists in English of his time. Early life Middleton was born at Richmond, North Yorkshir ...
, and
Nicholas Hardinge Nicholas Hardinge (1699–1758) was an English civil servant, clerk to the House of Commons from 1731 to 1752 and then Secretary to the Treasury, and a Member of Parliament known also as a neo-Latin poet. Life He was the elder son of Gideon Har ...
. He was a keen antiquary and collector of rare books, and on 18 June 1765 was appointed one of the trustees 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 ...
. He had younger men as protegees, including Francis Wollaston,
George Hardinge George Hardinge (1743–1816) was an English judge, writer and Member of Parliament. Life He was born on 22 June (new style) 1743 at Canbury, a manorhouse in Kingston upon Thames. He was the third but eldest surviving son of Nicholas Harding ...
, and
William Heberden the younger William Heberden the Younger (23 March 1767 – 19 February 1845) was a British physician. He was born in London the son of the medical doctor William Heberden the Elder and his wife Mary Wollaston. He was educated at Charterhouse School and St ...
. Wray died on 29 December 1783, and was buried in the church of St. Botolph Without, where there is a tablet to his memory. He married Mary (died 10 March 1803), daughter of Robert Darell of Richmond, Surrey. His portrait by Sir Nathaniel Holland was presented by his widow to Queens' College, Cambridge. Another, engraved by Henry Meyer from a painting by Nathaniel Dance, forms the frontispiece of the first volume of John Nichols's ''Literary Illustrations.'' A copy of Dance's portrait by John Powell was presented to the Charterhouse library. In the ''Literary Illustrations'' there is an engraving by
Barak Longmate Barak Longmate (1738 – 23 July 1793) was an English genealogist and editor, heraldic engraver and publisher. Life and work Longmate was born in 1738, son of Barak and Elizabeth Longmate of St James's, Westminster in London. He engraved some top ...
of a profile of Wray cut out in paper by his wife, said to be a good likeness, and a copy of a profile in bronze executed in Rome by G. Pozzo in 1726. His library was presented by his widow to Charterhouse in 1785, and a ''Catalogue'' was printed in 1790. In 1830 James Falconar published a work entitled ''The Secret Revealed'', in which he made out a case for the identification of Wray as Junius.


Works

Though Wray wrote much, he published little in his lifetime. He contributed three papers to the first two volumes of ''Archæologia'' on classical antiquities. After his death George Hardinge compiled a memoir to accompany a collection of his verses and correspondence, which he published in 1817 in the first volume of ‘Literary Illustrations,’ with a dedication to
Philip Yorke, 3rd Earl of Hardwicke Philip Yorke, 3rd Earl of Hardwicke, KG, PC, FRS (31 May 1757 – 18 November 1834), known as Philip Yorke until 1790, was a British politician. Background and education Born in Cambridge, England, he was the eldest son of Charles Yorke, L ...
. Two sonnets to Wray by Thomas Edwards (1699–1757) appear in the later editions of Edwards's ''Canons of Criticism.'' Hardinge states that a sonnet by
Richard Roderick Richard Roderick (baptized 1710, died 20 July 1756) was a British editor and poet. A native of Cambridgeshire, Roderick was admitted pensioner of Queens' College, Cambridge, on 20 December 1728, and graduated B.A. in 1732. He subsequently became ...
, printed in Robert Dodsley's ‘Collection of Poems’ (ed. 1775, ii. 321), and again in ‘Elegant Extracts,’ edited by
Vicesimus Knox Vicesimus Knox (1752–1821) was an English essayist, headmaster and Anglican priest. Life Knox was born 8 December 1752, at Newington Green, Middlesex, the son of Vicesimus Knox (1729–1780), a cleric and schoolmaster, and his wife Ann Wall, da ...
(ed. 1796, p. 838), is also addressed to Wray, but this has been doubted.


Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Wray, Daniel 1701 births 1783 deaths People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge English antiquarians Fellows of the Royal Society