Anthony Blackwall ( 17 July 1672 – 8 April 1730), was an English classical scholar and schoolmaster.

Early life

Blackwall was the son of another Anthony Blackwall, of Blackwall, a hamlet of Kirk Ireton,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

. He was educated at

Derby School Derby School was a school in Derby in the English Midlands from 1160 to 1989. It had an almost continuous history of education of over eight centuries. For most of that time it was a grammar school for boys. The school became co-educational a ...

and

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mo ...

, graduating BA in 1695 and MA in 1698.

Career

In 1697, he was appointed headmaster of his old school,

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

, and lecturer of All Saints' Church,

. He was Vicar of Elvaston, Derbyshire, from 1699 until 1723. In 1706, he published an edition of the verse of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

poet

Theognis Theognis of Megara (, ''Théognis ho Megareús'') was a Greek lyric poet active in approximately the sixth century BC. The work attributed to him consists of gnomic poetry quite typical of the time, featuring ethical maxims and practical advice ...

, with a translation into

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. His next book, ''An Introduction to the Classics'' (1718), was written for schoolboys and had numerous editions. It was revised by William Fordyce Mavor as ''Blackwall's Introduction to the Classics'' in 1809. In 1722, he became headmaster of the Grammar School at

Market Bosworth Market Bosworth ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Leicestershire, England. At the 2001 Census, it had a population of 1,906, increasing to 2,097 at the 2011 census. It is most famously near to the site of the decisive final battle of the ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

, and enlarged it. He was Rector of

Clapham Clapham () is a district in south London, south west London, England, lying mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, but with some areas (including Clapham Common) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. History Ea ...

from 1726 until his death. At both his schools Blackwall taught from his own Latin grammar, which he eventually published anonymously in 1728 as ''A new Latin Grammar: being a short, clear, and easy introduction of young scholars to the knowledge of the Latin tongue''. Blackwall's last work was ''The Sacred Classics Defended and Illustrated, or, An essay humbly offered towards proving the purity, propriety, and true eloquence of the writers of the New Testament'' (1725).

Family

Blackwall and his first wife had one son, another Anthony Blackwall, who graduated BA from Emmanuel College, Cambridge, in 1722. With his second wife, the widow of the Reverend Thomas Cantrell (1649–1698), there were four more sons and a daughter: Henry (died 1728), fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, Robert (born 1704), a dragoon, John (baptized 1707, died 1762), an attorney at

Stoke Golding Stoke Golding is a village and civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England, close to the county border with Warwickshire.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : According to the 2001 census ...

, William (born about 1708), who died young, and Mary, who married John Pickering on 20 September 1733.

Bibliography

*''Theognis'' (1706) *''An Introduction to the Classics'' (1718, new edition as ''Blackwall's Introduction to the Classics'', 1809) *''A new Latin Grammar: being a short, clear, and easy introduction of young scholars to the knowledge of the Latin tongue'' (published anonymously, 1728) *''The Sacred Classics Defended and Illustrated, or, An essay humbly offered towards proving the purity, propriety, and true eloquence of the writers of the New Testament'' (1725)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackwall, Anthony 1672 births 1730 deaths Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Headmasters of Derby School People educated at Derby School People from Derbyshire Dales (district)