John Price (1735–1813) was a Welsh

librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

and

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

, who was in charge of the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

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 ...

for 45 years.

Life

Price was born on 1 March 1735 in Llandegla,

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, Flintshire to the east, Wrexham to the southeast, Powys to the south, and Gwynedd and Conwy to the west. Rhyl is the largest town, and Ruthi ...

, Wales, where his father was the rector. He was educated in

Llangollen Llangollen () is a town and community (Wales), community, situated on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, in Denbighshire, Wales. Its riverside location forms the edge of the Berwyn range, and the Dee Valley section of the Clwydian Range and Dee Val ...

(his father having become the

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

there in 1737) and at

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

, where he

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...

in 1754, obtained a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1757 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in 1760, the year in which he was ordained. He was initially appointed janitor of the

Humphrey Owen Humphrey Owen (1702 – 26 March 1768) was the Principal of Jesus College, Oxford, from 1763 to his death. Owen studied at Jesus College from 1718 to 1722 and was elected as a Fellow in 1725. He was Rector of Tredington 1744–63. In ...

in 1757, becoming sub-librarian in 1761. He was acting librarian from 1765 to 1767 when Owen was Principal of Jesus College, succeeding as librarian upon Owen's death in 1768 after an election (in which he defeated

William Cleaver William Cleaver (1742–1815) was an English churchman and academic, Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford, and bishop of three sees. Life He was the eldest son of the Rev. William Cleaver, who w ...

, who later became Principal of

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

and

Bishop of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York. The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the ...

). He remained librarian until his death in the night of 11 to 12 August 1813, a period of 45 years, but was criticised during this period for neglecting his duty and the manner in which he organised the library. He also held various appointments as a parish priest in England and in Wales, and wrote some works such as a ''Short Account of Holyhead in the Isle of Anglesea'' (1783). His collection of books, manuscripts, maps and prints took five days to sell after his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Price, John (librarian) 1735 births 1813 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford Bodley's Librarians Welsh librarians 18th-century Welsh Anglican priests People from Denbighshire

Life

See also

References