Ichabod Charles Wright (11 April 1795 – 14 October 1871) was an English scholar, translator, poet and accountant. He is best known for his translation of important works of

Italian literature Italian literature is written in the Italian language, particularly within Italy. It may also refer to literature written by Italians or in other languages spoken in Italy, often languages that are closely related to modern Italian, including ...

, notably the works of

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

's ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...

''.

Biography

He was born in

Mapperley Hall Mapperley Hall is a country house located at 51 Lucknow Avenue in the Mapperley Park conservation area of Nottingham, England. Built by Ichabod Wright in 1792, it was the home of the Wright family of bankers until the end of the nineteenth centu ...

in 1795, the first child of Ichabod Wright (1767–1862) and Harriet Maria Day (d.1843) and the eldest of their three sons and ten daughters.Ichabod Charles Wright

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

The grandfather of Ichabod Snr., another Ichabod Wright (1700–1777), was an ironmonger who founded a bank in Long Row, Nottinghamshire in 1761. He was a second cousin of industrialist and philanthropist Francis Wright. Wright studied at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

(1808–14) and pursued further education in

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, graduating with second-class BA honours in 1817 and MA in 1820, holding an open fellowship at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

, from 1819 to 1825. In 1825, he joined his father in the banking profession and shortly after he began working he married Theodosia (1806–1895) on 21 December 1825, the daughter of Thomas Denman, the first Lord Denman, who later became

Lord Chief Justice of England The Lord or Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales. Until 2005 the lord chief justice was the second-most senior judge of the English an ...

. Wright indulged in much scholarly study alongside his profession and in the 1830s developed a passion for

and a thirst for the language. He translated the works of

, notably ''

Divina commedia The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest wor ...

'' in three instalments, ''

Inferno Inferno may refer to: * Hell, an afterlife place of suffering * Conflagration, a large uncontrolled fire Film * ''L'Inferno'', a 1911 Italian film * ''Inferno'' (1953 film), a film noir by Roy Ward Baker * ''Inferno'' (1980 film), an Italian ...

'', ''

Purgatorio ''Purgatorio'' (; Italian for "Purgatory") is the second part of Dante's ''Divine Comedy'', following the ''Inferno (Dante), Inferno'' and preceding the ''Paradiso (Dante), Paradiso''; it was written in the early 14th century. It is an alleg ...

'', and '' Paradiso'', which earned him critical acclaim. These were published by Messrs. Longmans in 1833, 1836, and 1840 respectively and reprinted in a second edition in 1845. They were dedicated respectively to Lord Brougham, Archbishop Howley, and his father-in-law Lord Denman who also shared an interest in Italian literature. He proceeded to publish works related to his profession and in 1841 he published ''Thoughts on Currency'', and in 1847, ''Evils of the Currency''. In 1855 he published ''The War and our Resources'', and in 1865 he published a translation of the

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books 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 ...

in blank verse, translated between 1859 and 1864. In 1864 he wrote ''A letter to the Dean of Canterbury, on the Homeric lectures of Matthew Arnold'';

Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold (academic), Tom Arnold, literary professor, and Willi ...

was a distinguished professor of poetry at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. His final work ''A Selection of Psalms in Verse'' was written in 1867, although many of his poems were printed privately after his death in 1873. Ichabod Charles Wright died on 14 October 1871 at

Heathfield Hall Heathfield Hall (sometimes referred to as Heathfield House) was a house in Handsworth, Staffordshire (the area became part of Birmingham in 1911), England, built for the engineer James Watt. In 1790, Watt's business partner Matthew Boulton r ...

Burwash Burwash, archaically known as Burghersh, is a rural village and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England. Situated in the High Weald of Sussex some inland from the port of Hastings, it is located south-west of Hurst Gre ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. He had resided in Stapleford Hall but died in the home of his eldest son, Charles Ichabod Wright (born 1828), a politician and Conservative Party MP.

External links

* Archival material at

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Ichabod 1795 births 1871 deaths Wright family (Nottingham) English accountants English translators Writers from Nottingham People educated at Eton College Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford 19th-century English translators People from Stapleford, Nottinghamshire Translators of Dante Alighieri Translators of Homer 19th-century English businesspeople