Richard Crawley (26 December 1840 – 30 March 1893) was a Welsh writer and academic, best known for his translation of

Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His '' History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of " scienti ...

's ''

History of the Peloponnesian War The ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' is a historical account of the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), which was fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) and the Delian League (led by Athens). It was written by Thucydides, an ...

''.

Life

Crawley was born at a

Bryngwyn Bryngwyn is a village and rural location in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. Location Bryngwyn is located two miles to the west of Raglan in Monmouthshire. History and amenities Bryngwyn is a rural areclose to Raglan Castle and with easy ...

rectory on 26 December 1840, the eldest son of

William Crawley William Crawley, MRIA, is a Belfast-born BBC journalist and broadcaster. He is the presenter of ''Talkback'', a daily radio programme on BBC Radio Ulster, and he is a presenter of ''Sunday'' on BBC Radio 4. He has also made several television ...

Archdeacon of Monmouth The Diocese of Monmouth is a diocese of the Church in Wales. Despite the name, its cathedral is located not in Monmouth but in Newport — the Cathedral Church of St Woolos. Reasons for not choosing the title of Newport included the existence of ...

, by his wife, Mary Gertrude, third daughter of Sir Love Jones Parry of Madryn,

Carnarvonshire , HQ= County Hall, Caernarfon , Map= , Image= Flag , Motto= Cadernid Gwynedd (The strength of Gwynedd) , year_start= , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Caerna ...

. From 1851 to 1861 he was 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 ...

. He matriculated at

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

, as an exhibitioner on 22 May 1861, and graduated with a B.A. in 1866, having taken a first class both in

moderations Honour Moderations (or ''Mods'') are a set of examinations at the University of Oxford at the end of the first part of some degree courses (e.g., Greats or '' Literae Humaniores''). Honour Moderations candidates have a class awarded (hence the ' ...

and in the school of Literae Humaniores. In 1866, he was elected to a fellowship at

Worcester College, Oxford Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. The college was founded in 1714 by the benefaction of Sir Thomas Cookes, 2nd Baronet (1648–1701) of Norgrove, Worcestershire, whose coat of arms ...

, which he held till 1880. Called to the bar at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincol ...

on 7 June 1869, Crawley never practised; in poor health, he lived abroad for many years. In April 1875, he became director of a

life assurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...

company, and that business largely occupied him until his death on 30 March 1893.

Works

In 1868 he published ''Horse and Foot'', a

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...

on contemporary literary effort in the manner of

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, ...

. ''Venus and Psyche and other Poems'' appeared in 1871. ''The Younger Brother'', a play in the style of the Elizabethan drama, followed in 1878. Crawley contributed verse to conservative newspapers during the general election of 1880. These he collected in a volume called ''Election Rhymes'' in the same year. His most substantial work was a translation of

's ''

''. The first book came out in 1866, and the whole was issued in 1874.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crawley, Richard 1840 births 1893 deaths Alumni of University College, Oxford British businesspeople in insurance Fellows of Worcester College, Oxford Greek–English translators 19th-century translators People educated at Marlborough College Welsh scholars and academics 19th-century Welsh writers 19th-century Welsh poets Translators of Ancient Greek texts 19th-century British businesspeople