George Bullen (1816,17 or 18 - 1894) was a librarian and Keeper of Printed Books at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

Early life

George Bullen was born in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, probably at

Clonakilty Clonakilty (; ), sometimes shortened to Clon, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. The town is at the head of the tidal Clonakilty Bay. The rural hinterland is used mainly for dairy farming. The town's population was 5,112 at the 2022 census. T ...

, one of three known sons (and three daughters) of Walter Bullen, a customs officer, and his wife, Anne. He is recorded as being born on 27 November 1816 or 1817, however the inscription on his gravestone has him dying in October 1894, aged 76. He was educated at St Saviour's Grammar School,

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, 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 ...

and after initially giving private tuition he joined the British Museum in 1838 as a supernumerary assistant in the Department of Printed Books, where he would work for over fifty years. His arrival coincided with the Library's move into its new building in

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

and one of his earliest tasks was to assist in arranging the books on the shelves.

Career

Bullen became a Permanent Assistant in 1849, in 1866 he became one of two Assistant Keepers of the Department of Printed Books (also becoming superintendent of the Reading Room) and in 1875 he became Keeper of Printed Books, a post he was to hold for fifteen years. On his retirement as Keeper in 1890 he was succeeded by Richard Garnett. Bullen was said to have had a genial temper. He was a regular contributor to ''The Athenaeum'' and was a vice-president of the

Library Association The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP, pronounced ) is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers in the United Kingdom. It was established in 2002 as a merger of th ...

, taking a prominent part in many of its annual congresses. He was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1877 and received an honorary degree from the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

in 1889. He was created CB in 1890.

Personal life

Family grave of George Bullen in Highgate Cemetery

He married Eliza Mary Martin (1823/4-1887) on 10 May 1851 at

St George's, Bloomsbury St George's, Bloomsbury, is a parish church in Bloomsbury, London Borough of Camden, United Kingdom. It was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and consecrated in 1730. The church crypt houses the #Museum of Comedy, Museum of Comedy. History The C ...

and they had at least two sons, one of whom,

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(1857-1920), became a successful editor of Elizabethan works and a publisher. The year after Eliza's death he married Amy Reynolds (1862/3-1954), the daughter of a Bristol iron merchant. Bullen died at his house, 62 Abingdon Road,

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, on 10 October 1894, and was buried with his first wife and one of his sisters on the east side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in North London, England, designed by architect Stephen Geary. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East sides. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for so ...

References

Sources

Sidney Lee's article, revised by P. R. Harris, in the ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (2004)Lee, S., & Harris, P. Bullen, George (1816x18–1894), librarian. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 30 Jan. 2022, from https://www-oxforddnb-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-3912/version/0. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bullen, George 1894 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery Employees of the British Library Librarians from London British academics of English literature 1810s births