William Linley (1771–1835) was one of seven musical siblings born to

Thomas Linley the elder Thomas Linley (17 January 1733 – 19 November 1795) was an English bass and musician active in Bath, Somerset. Born in Badminton, Gloucestershire, Linley began his musical career after he moved to Bath at age 11 and became apprentice to the or ...

and his wife Mary Johnson.

Early life

Born in

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

, on 27 January 1771 Linley was the youngest child of Thomas Linley and Mary Johnson (1729–1820). Educated at Harrow and then St Paul's School, additional tutoring in musical disciplines was provided by his father and

Carl Friedrich Abel Carl Friedrich Abel (22 December 1723 – 20 June 1787) was a German composer of the pre-Classical period (music), Classical era. He was a renowned player of the viol, viola da gamba, and produced significant compositions for that instrument ...

. He joined the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

and was in India from 1790 to 1795 and from 1800 to 1805, holding a writership at their College in

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

. He retired from the company in 1810 and devoted himself to singing, composing

glee Glee may refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album) * ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album) * Gle ...

s and songs and writing literature. He bequeathed his collection of

family portrait Family Portrait may refer to: Portraiture painting * Family Portrait (Hals, four persons), ''Family Portrait'' (Hals, four persons), a 1635 painting by Frans Hals * Family Portrait (Hals, five persons), ''Family Portrait'' (Hals, five persons), ...

s to

Dulwich Picture Gallery Dulwich Picture Gallery is an art gallery in Dulwich, south London. It opened to the public in 1817 and was designed by the Regency architect Sir John Soane. His design was recognized for its innovative and influential method of illumination f ...

The Linley portrait collection: seven musical siblings

Image:Gainsborough, Thomas - Thomas Linley the younger - Google Art Project.jpg ,

Thomas Linley the younger Thomas Linley the younger (7 May 1756 – 5 August 1778), also known as Thomas Linley, Junior or Tom Linley, was the eldest son of the composer Thomas Linley the elder, Thomas Linley and his wife Mary Johnson. He was one of the most precocious c ...

, William's elder brother Image:SamLinley.jpg,

Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

, William's brother File:Ozias Thurston Linley by Archer James Oliver.jpg, Ozias, William's brother File:Ozias Linley as a boy.jpg, Ozias as a boy Image:MariaLinley.jpg,

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

, William's sister File:Gainsborough, Thomas - Elizabeth and Mary Linley - Google Art Project.jpg ,

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

(left) and

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

(right), William's elder sisters File:Thomas Gainsborough - Mrs. Richard Brinsley Sheridan .jpg, Elizabeth

References

External links

* English classical composers Glee composers People educated at Harrow School British East India Company people 1771 births 1835 deaths

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

English male classical composers Dulwich Picture Gallery {{UK-composer-stub