John Bigland (175022 February 1832) was an English

schoolmaster A schoolmaster, or simply master, is a male school teacher. The usage first occurred in England in the Late Middle Ages and early modern period. At that time, most schools were one-room or two-room schools and had only one or two such teacher ...

and later a

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

Early life and education

He was born of poor parents at

Skirlaugh Skirlaugh is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in an area known as Holderness. It is situated approximately north-east of Hull city centre on the A165 road. Originally a farming community, it is now primarily ...

in the

Holderness Holderness is an area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, on the north-east coast of England. An area of rich agricultural land, Holderness was marshland until it was drained in the Middle Ages. Topographically, Holderness has more in common wit ...

area of the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...

Career

Bigland began his career as a village schoolmaster. In 1803, he published his first work occasioned, on his own account, by his

religious scepticism Religious skepticism is a type of skepticism relating to religion. Religious skeptics question religious authority and are not necessarily antireligious/clerical but rather are skeptical of either specific or all religious beliefs and/or practi ...

. His work was a success, and he became a professional author, publishing in rapid succession a series of popular books, mainly connected with geography and history.

Works

He was the author of articles in magazines; of a continuation to April 1808 of

George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton, (17 January 1709 – 22 August 1773), known between 1751 and 1756 as Sir George Lyttelton, 5th Baronet, was a British Politician, statesman. As an author himself, he was also a supporter of other writers a ...

's ''History of England in a Series of Letters from a Nobleman to his Son''; and of an addition of the period of George III to

Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish poet, novelist, playwright, and hack writer. A prolific author of various literature, he is regarded among the most versatile writers of the Georgian e ...

's ''History of England''. His other works include: * ''Reflections on the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ'' (1803) * ''Letters on the Study and Use of Ancient and Modern History'' (1804) * ''Letters on the Modern History and Political Aspect of Europe'' (1804) * ''Essays on Various Subjects'' (1805), two volumes * ''Letters on Natural History'' (1806) * ''A Geographical and Historical View of the World, Exhibiting a Complete Delineation of the Natural and Artificial Features of Each Country, &c.'' (1810), five volumes * ''A History of Spain from the Earliest Period to the Close of the Year 1809'' (1810); translated and continued by Le Comte Mathieu Dumas to the epoch of the Restoration (1814), two volumes * ''A Sketch of the History of Europe from the Year 1783 to the Present Time'' (1811); in a later edition continued to 1814 (translated, and augmented in the military part, and continued to 1819 by

Jacques W. MacCarthy Jacques or Jacq are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over one hundred identified noble families related t ...

, Paris, 1819), two volumes * ''The Philosophical Wanderers, or the History of the Roman Tribune and the Priestess of Minerva, Exhibiting the Vicissitudes That Diversify the Fortunes of Nations and Individuals'' (1811) * ''Yorkshire'', being the 16th volume of the ''

Beauties of England and Wales ''The Beauties of England and Wales'' (1801–1815) is a series of books describing the topography and local history of England and Wales. Produced by a variety of London publishers, the work appeared in 18 multi-part volumes arranged by county, ...

'' (1812) * ''A History of England from the Earliest Period to the Close of the War, 1814'' (1815) two volumes * ''A System of Geography for the Use of Schools and Private Students'' (1816) * ''An Historical Display of the Effects of Physical and Moral Causes on the Character and Circumstances of Nations, Including a Comparison of the Ancients and Moderns in Regard to Their Intellectual and Social State'' (1816) * ''Letters on English History for the Use of Schools'' (1817) * ''Letters on French History for the Use of Schools'' (1818) * ''A Compendious History of the Jews'' (1820) * ''Memoirs'' (1830)

Personal life

Towards the end of his life, Bigland resided at

Finningley Finningley is a village and civil parish in the City of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. Historically in Nottinghamshire, it lies on the A614 road between Bawtry and Thorne, about 6 miles south-east of Doncaster. In the 2011 census, it h ...

, near

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

, South Yorkshire. He died, age eighty-two, in Finningley.

References

*''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', "Bigland, John (1750–1832), schoolmaster and author", by

James Mew James Mew (1837 – 25 February 1913) was an English barrister and man of letters, a contributor to the ''Dictionary of National Biography''. Life He was the son of George Mew of Holborn, educated at Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, Merchant ...

. Published 1885. ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Bigland, John 1750 births People from Skirlaugh People from Nottinghamshire (before 1974) 1832 deaths 18th-century English historians 19th-century English historians English antiquarians Historians of England Historians of ancient Rome Historians of Jews and Judaism Historians of Spain Schoolteachers from Yorkshire

Early life and education

Career

Works

Personal life

See also

References