Samuel Henry Butcher - The illustrated London news

Samuel Henry Butcher DCL LLD (; 16 April 1850 – 29 December 1910) was an Anglo-Irish

classical scholar Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

and politician. Prof Samuel Butcher's grave, Dean Cemetery

Life

Samuel Henry Butcher was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

to Samuel Butcher,

Bishop of Meath The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric. History Unt ...

and Mary Leahy. He was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

in Wiltshire and then received a place at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, attending between 1869 and 1873 where he was Senior Classic and Chancellor's medalist. Elected fellow of Trinity in 1874, he left the college on his marriage, in 1876, to the daughter of

Archbishop Trench Richard Chenevix Trench (Richard Trench until 1873; 9 September 1807 – 28 March 1886) was an Anglican archbishop and poet. Life He was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Richard Trench (1774–1860), barrister-at-law, and the Dublin write ...

. From 1876 to 1882 he was a fellow of

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

, and tutored there. From 1882 to 1903 he was Professor of Greek at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

succeeding Prof

John Stuart Blackie John Stuart Blackie FRSE (28 July 1809 – 2 March 1895) was a Scottish scholar and man of letters. Biography He was born in Glasgow, on Charlotte Street, the son of Kelso-born banker Alexander Blackie (d.1846) and Helen Stodart. He was ed ...

. During this period he lived at 27 Palmerston Place in Edinburgh's West End. He was succeeded at the University of Edinburgh by Prof

Alexander William Mair Alexander William Mair (9 June 1875–13 November 1928) was a 20th century Scottish scholar who was Professor of Greek at the University of Edinburgh. He was an authority on the works of the Greek poet Hesiod. Life He was born in Edinburgh o ...

. He was one of the two Members of Parliament for

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, between 1906 and his death, representing the Unionist Party. He was President of the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

, 1909–1910. He died in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 29 December 1910, and his body was returned to Scotland and interred at the

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and o ...

in Edinburgh with his wife, Rose Julia Butcher (1840-1902). His grave has a pale granite Celtic cross and is located near the northern path of the north section in the original cemetery.

Family

John Butcher, 1st Baron Danesfort John George Butcher, 1st Baron Danesfort, KC (15 November 1853 – 30 June 1935), known as Sir John Butcher, Bt, between 1918 and 1924, was a British barrister and Conservative Party politician. Background and education Butcher was the second ...

was his younger brother. He married Rose Julia Trench (1840-1902) in 1876. They had no children.

Publications

His many publications included, in collaboration with

Andrew Lang Andrew Lang (31 March 1844 – 20 July 1912) was a Scottish poet, novelist, literary critic, and contributor to the field of anthropology. He is best known as a collector of folk and fairy tales. The Andrew Lang lectures at the University ...

, a prose translation of

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the '' Iliad'' and the '' Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of ...

's ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

'' which appeared in 1879 and the OCT edition of

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; el, Δημοσθένης, translit=Dēmosthénēs; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual pro ...

, ''Orationes,'' vol. I (Or. 1–19, Oxford, 1903), II.i (Or. 20–26, Oxford, 1907).

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Butcher, Samuel Henry 1850 births 1910 deaths Politicians from Dublin (city) Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Academics of the University of Edinburgh Burials at the Dean Cemetery Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Scholars of Greek language English classical scholars Irish classical scholars Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the University of Cambridge UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 Fellows of the British Academy Irish people of English descent People educated at Marlborough College Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies Irish translators English translators Presidents of the British Academy Classical scholars of the University of Cambridge Classical scholars of the University of Oxford Classical scholars of the University of Edinburgh 20th-century British translators 19th-century British translators Translators of Homer Writers from Dublin (city)