Richard Busby (; 22 September 1606 – 6 April 1695) was an English
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 who served as head master of
Westminster School
Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...
for more than fifty-five years. Among the more illustrious of his pupils were
Christopher Wren
Sir Christopher Wren FRS (; – ) was an English architect, astronomer, mathematician and physicist who was one of the most highly acclaimed architects in the history of England. Known for his work in the English Baroque style, he was ac ...
,
Robert Hooke
Robert Hooke (; 18 July 16353 March 1703) was an English polymath who was active as a physicist ("natural philosopher"), astronomer, geologist, meteorologist, and architect. He is credited as one of the first scientists to investigate living ...
,
Robert South,
John Dryden
John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate.
He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration (En ...
,
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...
,
Matthew Prior,
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...
,
Thomas Millington and
Francis Atterbury
Francis Atterbury (6 March 1663 – 22 February 1732) was an English man of letters, politician and bishop. A High Church Tory and Jacobite, he gained patronage under Queen Anne, but was mistrusted by the Hanoverian Whig ministries, and ban ...
.
Early life and education
Busby was born at
Lutton in Lincolnshire, and educated at Westminster, where he first showed his academic promise by gaining a
King's Scholar
A King's Scholar, abbreviated KS in the United Kingdom, is the recipient of a scholarship from a foundation created by, or under the auspices of, a British monarch. The scholarships are awarded at certain Public school (United Kingdom), public ...
ship. From Westminster, Busby duly proceeded to
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 in 1628. In his thirty-third year he had already become renowned for the obstinate zeal with which he supported the falling dynasty of the
Stuarts, and was rewarded for his services with the prebend and rectory of Cudworth, with the chapel of Knowle annexed, in
Somerset
Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
.
Career at Westminster
In 1638, Busby became headmaster of Westminster, where his reputation as a teacher was soon established. Dr. Busby prayed publicly for
King Charles I on the morning of his execution nearby, but remained in office throughout the political changes of the
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
and the
Restoration. Despite his unapologetic royalism, a popular anecdote held that one day the school was visited by
Charles II and Busby refused to doff his hat to the king, explaining that if the boys saw him doing so, it might lead them to believe there was "a greater man on earth than himself."
As a headmaster, Busby was as famous for liberally administering
corporal punishment
A corporal punishment or a physical punishment is a punishment which is intended to cause physical pain to a person. When it is inflicted on Minor (law), minors, especially in home and school settings, its methods may include spanking or Padd ...
as he was for his abilities as a teacher and mentor. Though it was said he once boasted of having birched sixteen of the bishops on the
bench, many of his students would later speak affectionately of the role he played in their education. The
nonconformist Anglican priest
Philip Henry attributed his strong religious convictions to Busby's lessons and recalled being flogged as a student only once, and "deservedly", for lying.
John Dryden
John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate.
He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration (En ...
dedicated his translation of the Fifth Satire of
Persius
Aulus Persius Flaccus (; 4 December 3424 November 62 AD) was a Roman poet and satirist of Etruscan origin. In his works, poems and satire, he shows a Stoic wisdom and a strong criticism for what he considered to be the stylistic abuses of his ...
to Busby in fond memory of his days at Westminster and sent his two sons to study under Busby as well.
In the next century, however, Busby's reputation as a disciplinarian had eclipsed that of his scholarship and pedagogy.
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...
satirised Busby in the 1743 edition of ''
The Dunciad''. The ghost of Busby comes forward, carrying a birch rod "dripping with Infants' blood, and Mothers' tears" (''The Greater Dunciad'' IV 142) and proclaims the virtues of rote memorisation for placing a "jingling padlock" on the mind.
Busby built and stocked a library that is still the classroom of the School's Head of Classics, and he wrote and edited many works for the use of his scholars. His original treatises (the best of which are his Greek and Latin
grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of rules for how a natural language is structured, as demonstrated by its speakers or writers. Grammar rules may concern the use of clauses, phrases, and words. The term may also refer to the study of such rul ...
s), as well as those he edited, remained in use for centuries. Busby also knew Arabic and Hebrew and wrote grammars in those languages for use in the school, though he does not appear to have published them.
Busby died, still in office, aged 88. Sir Charles Lyttelton relates an old story, that "ye people in ye street, when he was expiring, saw flashes and sparks
of fire come out of his window, which made them run into ye house to put it out, but when they were there saw none, nor did they of ye house." He is buried in
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...
, where his memorial by the sculptor
Francis Bird is located in the south transept of the building.
[Gunnis, Rupert. ''Dictionary of British Sculptors, 1660-1851.'' New revised edition. London: Abbey Library, 1968.]
He left his considerable fortune to various charitable causes, and the Busby Trustees still administer his wishes.
References
Further reading
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External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Busby, Richard
1606 births
1695 deaths
17th-century Anglican theologians
17th-century English Anglican priests
Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford
Burials at Westminster Abbey
English theologians
Head Masters of Westminster School
People from South Holland (district)
Schoolteachers from Lincolnshire