Charles Rochemont Aikin (1775–1847) was an English medical doctor and chemist.

Biography

He was born at

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

into a distinguished literary family of Unitarians. His father,

John Aikin John Aikin (15 January 1747 – 7 December 1822) was an English medical doctor and surgeon. Later in life he devoted himself wholly to biography and writing in periodicals. Life He was born at Kibworth Harcourt, Leicestershire, England, son of ...

, was a medical doctor, historian, and author. His grandfather, also called John Aikin (1713–1780), was a Unitarian scholar and theological tutor, closely associated with Warrington Academy. His sister

Lucy Lucy is an English language, English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings ar ...

(1781–1864) was a historical writer; one brother

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

(1773–1854) was a chemist, mineralogist, and scientific writer; another,

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and nobles *Ed ...

, was an architect.For Edmund see: He was adopted as a child by his aunt,

Anna Laetitia Barbauld Anna Laetitia Barbauld (, by herself possibly , as in French, Aikin; 20 June 1743 – 9 March 1825) was a prominent English poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, and author of children's literature. A prominent member of the Blue Stockings ...

, a poet, essayist,

literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...

, editor, and

children's author Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

. She and her husband Rochemont ran a

dissenting academy The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and seminaries (often institutions with aspects of all three) run by English Dissenters, that is, Protestants who did not conform to the Church of England. They formed a significant part of educatio ...

(a sort of

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

for the sons of

Dissenters A dissenter (from the Latin , 'to disagree') is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Dissent may include political opposition to decrees, ideas or doctrines and it may include opposition to those things or the fiat of ...

) at Palgrave in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

; Charles was educated at their

Palgrave Academy Palgrave Academy was an early dissenting academy, that is, a school or college set up by English Dissenters. It was run from 1774 to 1785 in Palgrave, Suffolk - on the border of Norfolk - by the married couple Anna Laetitia Barbauld and her hus ...

. He is the "little Charles" of Mrs. Barbauld's '' Lessons for Children''. From an early age he devoted himself to science, and aided his eldest brother Arthur in his first published works and public lectures. Subsequently he applied himself to medicine, became a member of the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations ...

, and was chosen secretary of the

Medical and Chirurgical Society of London The Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society of London (RMCS), created in 1805 as the Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, was a learned society of physicians and surgeons, that received a Royal charter in 1834, and a supplement charter in 190 ...

. He married Anne, daughter of the Rev.

Gilbert Wakefield Gilbert Wakefield (1756–1801) was an English scholar and controversialist. He moved from being a cleric and academic, into tutoring at dissenting academies, and finally became a professional writer and publicist. In a celebrated state trial ...

; one of their children was the writer and memoirist

Anna Letitia Le Breton Anna Letitia Le Breton ( Aikin; 30 June 1808 – 29 September 1885) was an English author. She was best known for publishing the memoirs of her great-aunt, the poet Anna Laetitia Barbauld as well as her aunt, the writer Lucy Aikin. Early year ...

. Aikin died at his house in

Bloomsbury Square Bloomsbury Square is a garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, London. Developed in the late 17th century, it was initially known as Southampton Square and was one of the earliest London squares. By the early 19th century, Be ...

central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

, on 20 March 1847.

Publications

*''Concise View of all the most important Facts that have hitherto appeared respecting the Cow Pox'', 1800. *''Dictionary of Chemistry and Mineralogy'', 1807–1814, which he wrote in conjunction with his eldest brother. *''

Rees's Cyclopædia Rees's ''Cyclopædia'', in full ''The Cyclopædia; or, Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature'', was an important 19th-century British people, British encyclopaedia edited by Rev. Abraham Rees (1743–1825), a Presbyterian minis ...

'', articles (topics unknown)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aikin, Charles Rochemont 1775 births 1847 deaths 19th-century English chemists 19th-century English medical doctors 19th-century English writers People from Warrington Anna Laetitia Barbauld

Biography

See also

Publications

References