E. V. Boulger
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Edward Vaughan Boulger (1846–11 August 1910), generally known as Vaughan Boulger or E. V. Boulger, was an Irish academic whose career included Professor of Classics in the
University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...
. A Protestant by birth, he converted to Catholicism in his later years.


History

Boulger was born in Dublin, a son of Persse Boulger, a solicitor with a practice in Lower Gardiner Street, and was associated with the
Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
. In September 1860 he enrolled in
Rathmines School Rathmines School was a Church of Ireland secondary school in the suburb of Rathmines, Dublin: it opened in 1855 and closed in 1899. In all 2,190 pupils attended the school. The school was located at 48 Lower Rathmines Road. The founder of the ...
, founded a few years earlier by Rev. Charles William Benson. He left for Trinity College, Dublin in 1866 after gaining first place in the university's entrance examination, and had a stellar academic career in the next three years, graduating in 1869 as First Senior Moderator in Classics, History, English Literature and Law, with a gold medal. :He has been reported as being engaged in Oriental studies in Germany and on his return to Ireland was made Regius Professor of Greek at Trinity. On leaving Trinity he was appointed by Rev. Benson as Head Classical Master of his old school, then in June 1871 he was appointed to the Chair of Classical Literature at the
University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English language, English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universiti ...
at
Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy), Saint John River, ...
, Canada, succeeding Professor Campbell, who died in March 1871. This appointment met with some local antagonism which, coupled with the intensely cold New Brunswick winters, may have led to his resignation in July 1873. Back in Dublin, the recently married Boulger was in urgent need of remunerated work, and in September 1872 accepted the post of Senior Classical Master at The High School, Harcourt Street, operated under the
Erasmus Smith Erasmus Smith (1611–1691) was an English merchant and a landowner with possessions in England and Ireland. Having acquired significant wealth through trade and land transactions, he became a philanthropist in the sphere of education, treading ...
charity by the Church of Ireland, indicating perhaps, assistance from his connections in high places. This was not to last long, as on 30 January 1873 he was appointed foundation headmaster of Lurgan College, partly financed by a bequest from Samuel Watts. Despite student numbers being very small, Boulger felt the need for an assistant to take Mathematics, and appointed Thomas E. Clouston, later a Presbyterian minister in Australia. Student numbers failed to increase as hoped, and the college's finances became strained, resulting in a request that he pay rent on the headmaster's house, which he refused point-blank, and in 1875 applied for, and won, the Chair of Greek at
University College, Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Colleges located in B ...
and left in December 1875. His time at Lurgan had not been happy: he was uncomfortable among small boys, and both he and Elizabeth enjoyed culture and high society, something lacking so far from the big cities. He served at Cork from January 1876 to June 1883, though further information is hard to find. When he resigned to take the Hughes Professorship of English Language and Literature and Mental and Moral Philosophy at the
University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...
, to which he was appointed on 1 July 1883, he was farewelled with "glowing testimonials". The support of David Frederick Kelly, Professor of Classics at the University of Adelaide, may have been influential in his being selected.


Adelaide

Mr and Mrs. Boulger, their two children and governess arrived in Adelaide per SS ''Melbourne'' on 16 July 1883, but was in August reported seriously ill with
pneumonitis Pneumonitis describes general inflammation of lung tissue. Possible causative agents include radiation therapy of the chest, exposure to medications used during chemo-therapy, the inhalation of debris (e.g., animal dander), aspiration, herbicide ...
, and unable to meet his lecturing commitments until October, when he made an impression with his eloquence, profound scholarship and his literary and linguistic knowledge. He wholeheartedly entered the intellectual and political life of the University, founding the University Shakespeare Society and gaining a seat on the University Council, only the second academic to be so honored. He represented the University on the Board of Governors of the Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery 1885–1893. :In 1886 he applied for the chair of Modern Literature at the University of Sydney, but was unsuccessful despite testimonials from distinguished British classicists,
Alexander Leeper Alexander Leeper (3 June 1848 – 6 August 1934), was an Australians, Australian educator. Alexander Leeper, the son of the Rev. Alexander Leeper, canon of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, was born on 3 June 1848. He was educated at Trinity ...
and Professor
Edward Ellis Morris Edward Ellis Morris (25 December 1843 – 1 January 1902) was an English educationist and miscellaneous writer and latterly in colonial Australia. Biography Morris was born in Madras, British India, the fourteenth child of John Carnac Morris, ...
of Melbourne and Bishop George Kennion and Chancellor
Samuel Way Sir Samuel James Way, 1st Baronet, (11 April 1836 – 8 January 1916) was an English-Australian jurist who served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia from 18 March 1876 until 8 January 1916. Background Way was born in P ...
, who attested to the great impetus he had given to intellectual life in Adelaide. He was recognised as the most profound scholar in Hebrew and Sanscrit literature in Australia, and was the first Australian professor to secure the degree of Doctor of Literature. During Professor Kelly's final illness (he died 21 March 1894) Boulger added to his own duties those of Kelly's Chair of Classics. His own health began to suffer, perhaps as a result of taking stimulants, and in December 1894 Boulger resigned his position as Professor of Classics and Comparative Philology and Literature at the
University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...
. Thomas Slaney Poole was appointed to take over his Classics lectures for the months of March to May 1895.


Melbourne

He left for Melbourne, where he embarked on the life of a journalist. Then he was associated with two fledgling educational enterprises that met with little or no success: *Some time before 1900 Robert Jones founded, with Boulger and W. L. Bowditch, the Central College, Queensberry Street, Carlton *In 1901 Boulger and W. L. Bowditch founded the University Lyceum at 238 Palmerston St., Carlton, as a university college for Catholic students. He also advertised private tuition from his home, 57 Rose Street, Armadale. One reference asserts he was made Professor of Classics and English literature at the Loreto Training College at
Albert Park, Victoria Albert Park is an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District. The suburb is named after Albert Park, a large lakeside urban park located within the City of Port Phillip local government are ...
, which position he held till his death.


Conversion and death

During his years in Adelaide he became disenchanted with the
Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
and
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
generally, and became interested in
Pantheism Pantheism can refer to a number of philosophical and religious beliefs, such as the belief that the universe is God, or panentheism, the belief in a non-corporeal divine intelligence or God out of which the universe arisesAnn Thomson; Bodies ...
. His deep study of
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...
and
Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...
, he claimed, prevented him from becoming an atheist, and the majesty of the Catholic traditions, reinforced by his study of
Tertullian Tertullian (; ; 155 – 220 AD) was a prolific Early Christianity, early Christian author from Roman Carthage, Carthage in the Africa (Roman province), Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive co ...
's ''Apology'' informed him that if any form of Christianity were true it would be Roman Catholicism. The lovable, energetic, outgoing polymath had become quiet, reserved and reclusive: he publicly accepted the Catholic teachings and attended mass whenever he could, and
Holy Communion The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...
on occasion. He died of heart failure at St. Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, fortified by the last rites of the Church, and a funeral service was held at St. Brigit's Church, North Fitzroy.


Recognition

*One of Lurgan College's four
houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
is named "Boulger" after their first headmaster.


Family

Boulger married Elizabeth "Lizzie" Denham around June 1871. She was a daughter of Dr.
John Denham John Denham may refer to: * John Denham (died 1556 or later), English MP for Shaftesbury * John Denham (judge), (1559–1639), father of the poet below, and one of the Ship Money judges * John Denham (poet) (1615–1669), English poet * John Denh ...
, later President of the
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is a not-for-profit medical professional and educational institution, which is also known as RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences. It was established in 1784 as the national body ...
. His wife, Elizabeth, survived him. Apart from her membership of the
Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society is the organizational body of Theosophy, an esoteric new religious movement. It was founded in New York City, U.S.A. in 1875. Among its founders were Helena Blavatsky, a Russian mystic and the principal thinker of the ...
in its early days in Adelaide, little is known. Of their children, nothing has yet come to light. One, unnamed, has been mentioned as an aspiring playwright.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boulger, Edward 1846 births 1910 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin People educated at Rathmines School Academic staff of the University of New Brunswick Converts to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism Academic staff of the University of Adelaide