John Paradise (1743–1795) was an

Anglo Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people of British d ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

linguist, known as a friend of

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

and

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

Life

He was born at

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area) and the capital city, capital of the geographic reg ...

in April 1743, the son of Peter Paradise (died 1 February 1779), who was the English consul there, and of a half-Greek half-English mother. Paradise was a member of the

Greek Orthodox Church Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Christianity in Greece, Greek Christianity, Antiochian Greek Christians, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christian ...

, and apparently not a convert but born into it. He was educated at

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, then lived in London for most of his life in London. He knew ancient and modern Greek, Latin, Turkish, French, Italian, and English.

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

and

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

encouraged him to come to America. In correspondence with the latter in the 1780s, Paradise assisted Jefferson in studying the Greek language. On 14 April 1769 Paradise was created M.A. of Oxford University, and on 3 July 1776 the degree of D.C.L. was conferred on him. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society on 2 May 1771. His house was open to men of letters, and he entertained leading literary figures. Samuel Johnson dined with him, and on one occasion met

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, Unitarian, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher, English Separatist, separatist theologian, Linguist, grammarian, multi-subject educator and Classical libera ...

there at dinner. When Johnson started an evening club at the Essex Head Tavern in Essex Street, London, in December 1783, Paradise was one of the regular attendants.

Sir Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell (art critic), John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, while Lucy P ...

, when discussing the club, enumerated him among the "very learned". He was one of the mourners at Johnson's funeral. Paradise, a friend of

Sir William Jones Sir William Jones (28 September 1746 – 27 April 1794) was a British philologist, orientalist, Indologist and judge. Born in Westminster, London to Welsh mathematician William Jones, he moved to the Bengal Presidency where Jones served as ...

, was described as very silent, modest, and amiable. He lived at one time in Charles Street, Cavendish Square; he died at Great Titchfield Street, London, on 12 December 1795. He left money to buy mourning rings to nine: Isaac Hawkins Browne, Nathaniel Burwell,

Bennet Langton Bennet Langton ( – 1801) was an England, English writer and a founding member of the The Club (Literary Club), Literary Club. He is best known for his close friendship with writer Samuel Johnson and his numerous appearances in James Boswell's bo ...

, Samuel Horsley,

, Richard Warburton Lytton, Frederick North, William Windham, and Semyon Romanovich Woronzow.

Family

On 18 May 1769, he married Lucy Ludwell (1751–1814), daughter of Philip Ludwell III, a plantation owner from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. Lucy, like John, was a member of the

. Around 1805, after the death of her husband and two daughters she returned to Williamsburg, where she lived in the

Ludwell–Paradise House The Ludwell–Paradise House, often also called the Paradise House, is a historic home along Duke of Gloucester Street and part of Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia. The home was built in 1752–1753 for Philip Ludwell III, Philip ...

Notes

External links

;Attribution
John Paradise: The First Naturalized U.S. Citizen and Thomas Jefferson’s Greek-Language Tutor, Ludwell.org

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paradise, John 1743 births 1795 deaths Linguists from the United Kingdom Fellows of the Royal Society