Lewis Hippolytus Joseph Tonna (3 September 1812 – 2 April 1857) was an English

polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

and campaigner on behalf of

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. He served as a secretary of the Royal United Services Institution and had antiquarian and numismatic interests.

Life and work

Born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, son of the Spanish vice-consul and consul for the

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by popula ...

, his father died in 1828 while he was a student in

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

and he was compelled to find employment as an interpreter aboard the '' Hydra''. His mother was the daughter of H.S. Blanckley consul-general in the Balearic Islands. He served as interpreter and 'acting schoolmaster' on various ships until returning to England in 1835. A period of employment aboard the ''Britannia'' brought him in contact wit Sir

Pulteney Malcolm Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm (20 February 1768 – 20 July 1838) was a British naval officer. He was born at Douglan, near Langholm, Scotland, on 20 February 1768, the third son of George Malcolm of Burnfoot, Langholm, in Dumfriesshire, a sheep ...

who helped him obtain a position as acting director and later secretary of the

Royal United Services Institute The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI, Rusi) is a defence and security think tank with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1831 by the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley ...

.Laughton (2004) Tonna was married to Charlotte Elizabeth Browne, widow of Captain George Phelan, in 1841 and the two were prolific pamphleteers for the evangelical Protestant cause. When

Giacinto Achilli Giovanni Giacinto Achilli (; ''c.'' 1803 – ''c.'' 1860) was an Italian Roman Catholic Dominican friar and Jesuit conspiracy theories, anti-Jesuit who was discharged from priesthood and imprisoned by the Roman Inquisition after being accused o ...

was interned following the fall of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

, Tonna was prominent in the campaign for his release and return to England.Gilley (2004) Following Charlotte's death in 1846, in 1848 he married Mary Anne Dibdin, daughter of Charles Dibdin (the younger). Neither marriage produced children and Tonna died in London. Tonna wrote several small books and pamphlets including ''Erchomena, or Things to Come'' (1847), ''Nuns and Nunneries: Sketches compiled entirely from Romish Authorities'' (1852), ''The Real Dr. Achilli: a few more words with Cardinal Wiseman'' (1850), and added a biographical memoir in the third edition of the book by his first wife ''Life of Charlotte Elizabeth'' (1848).

Honours

*Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries; *Fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

(1855).

References

Bibliography

*Gilley, S. (2004) "Achilli, (Giovanni) Giacinto (b. c.1803)", ''

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'') ...

'', Oxford University Press
accessed 22 July 2007
(subscription required) * Laughton, J. K. (2004) "Tonna, Lewis Hippolytus Joseph (1812–1857)", rev. Stephen Gregory, ''

'', Oxford University Press
accessed 23 July 2007
(subscription required) *

External links

* :s:Tonna, Lewis Hippolytus Joseph {{DEFAULTSORT:Tonna, Lewis Hippolytus Joseph 1812 births 1857 deaths 19th-century English translators British religious writers English evangelicals English people of Spanish descent Writers from Liverpool