Edward Rowe Mores, FSA (; 24 January 1731 OS: 13 January 1730">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki> OS: 13 January 1730/nowiki> – 22 November 1778) was an English antiquarian">English people">English antiquarian and scholar">antiquarian.html" ;"title="English people">English antiquarian">English people">English antiquarian and scholar, who wrote works on history and typography. He was also instrumental in the founding of The Equitable Life Assurance Society, The Society for Equitable Assurances on Lives and Survivorships (now commonly known as Equitable Life), and is credited with being the first person to use the professional title ''

actuary An actuary is a professional with advanced mathematical skills who deals with the measurement and management of risk and uncertainty. These risks can affect both sides of the balance sheet and require investment management, asset management, ...

'' in relation to

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to protect ...

Early life and education

Edward Rowe Mores was born on 24 January 1731 S/small> at Gore Court in Tunstall near

Sittingbourne Sittingbourne is an industrial town in the Swale district of Kent, southeast England, from Canterbury and from London, beside the Roman Watling Street, an ancient trackway used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons. The town stands next to th ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. His father Edward Mores (1681–1740) was a member of the gentry, and had been rector of Tunstall for twenty years. His mother was Sarah Windsor, the daughter of a

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

. He had one sister, Ann-Catherine. In 1740, Mores's father died leaving a considerable

inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

, and later the same year he entered the Merchant Taylors' School in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. His mother soon remarried, to Richard Bridgman, a

grocer A grocery store (American English, AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop (British English, BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food Product (business), products, which may be Fresh food, fresh or Food p ...

Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...

, London, who was of increasing importance in the Grocers' Company. Mores entered

Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault, queen of England. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassi ...

in 1746, obtaining a BA in 1750, and MA in 1753.

Antiquarianism

At Oxford, he was renowned for the range and depth of his learning and for his

idiosyncrasies An idiosyncrasy is a unique feature of something. The term is often used to express peculiarity. Etymology The term "idiosyncrasy" originates from Greek ', "a peculiar temperament, habit of body" (from ', "one's own", ', "with" and ', "blend ...

. He studied

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 ...

, and spoke it almost exclusively to his daughter when she was young. Besides

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

, he was interested in such diverse studies as

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

and architecture. He was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1752, and the following year was elected a member of the society's council.Makala 2004. He published his first work, ''Nomina et insignia gentilitia nobilium equitumque sub Edoardo primo rege militantium'' (a study of the heraldry of the knights of

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...

), in 1749, at the age of 19 and when he was still at Oxford. He spent some years working on a projected county history of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

: it remained unfinished, but the manuscript was eventually published posthumously in 1783 by Richard Gough as ''Collections toward a Parochial History of Berkshire''. In 1754–55 he assisted his friend Andrew Ducarel (who had limited eyesight) in compiling a manuscript history of Croydon Palace and the town of

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

for presentation to Thomas Herring,

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

: however, the work led to a virulent rift between the two when Mores discovered that he was not given due credit on the title page. This work was eventually also published in 1783.

The Equitable Society

After James Dodson's death, Mores became the leader of the group which eventually became the Society for Equitable Assurances on Lives and Survivorship in 1762. He specified that the chief official should be called the actuary, which is the earliest known reference to the position as a business concern.

Personal life and death

Mores married Susannah Bridgman (1730–1767) in 1753. She was the daughter of Richard Bridgman, Mores's stepfather. The couple had two children: a daughter, Sarah, who predeceased her father; and a son, Edward Rowe (1757 - 1846) who was an active magistrate, and deputy Lieutenant for the counties of Middlesex and Essex.The Monumental Inscriptions of Middlesex Vol III - Cansick 1875.
/ref> Mores, who believed firmly in the superiority of

, spoke exclusively in Latin to his children. Mores died on 28 November 1778 at Etlow House, Low Leyton, Essex, of a "mortification" of the leg (i.e.

gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

). He was buried with his wife (who had died eleven years earlier) in the churchyard of St Mary the Virgin,

Walthamstow Walthamstow ( or ) is a town within the London Borough of Waltham Forest in east London. The town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and South Woodford to the east, Leyton and Leytonstone to the south, and Tottenham to the west. At ...

References

External links