IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 0103 MS OGDEN 62
Held at: University College London
Title: Bowring Albums
Date(s): c1790-c1900
Level of description: Collection (fonds)
Extent: Originally 2 albums, now disbound and stored in 2 folders
Name of creator(s): Bowring | Sir | John | 1792-1872 | Knight | linguist, writer and traveller
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
John Bowring was born in Exeter on 17 October 1792 and educated in Moretonhampstead. After leaving school, he entered a merchant's house at Exeter where he started to learn languages from people of different nationalities whom he met there. He showed a great aptitude for languages and learned a great many in his lifetime. In 1811 he became a clerk at Milford and Co in London. Later he started his own business and in 1819 travelled abroad for commercial purposes. Bowring was friend and adviser to Jeremy Bentham, who in 1824 founded the Westminster Review, a publication for philosophical radicals. Bowring was one of its first editors and wrote many of the political articles and some of the literary ones. In 1824 he issued some volumes of poetry and volumes about poetry. He travelled a great deal. In 1831 he was appointed Commissioner to investigate commercial relations between England and France. He wanted a seat in parliament and stood for election several times; he was elected for Bolton in 1841. He later travelled in China after resigning his seat. In 1854 he was knighted. He died in Exeter on 23 November 1872.
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Letters from various eminent persons, c1790-c1900, collected by Sir John Bowring, including some to or concerning Jeremy Bentham.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English
System of arrangement:
Conditions governing access:
Open.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Normal copyright restrictions apply.
Physical characteristics:
Finding aids:
Name index.
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:
Accruals:
Archival history:
Part of the library of Charles Kay Ogden (1889-1957), linguistic psychologist, founder of the Orthological Institute and originator of the language system Basic English, whose interests in language systems are reflected in the subject matter of his collection, which comprised individual manuscripts and manuscript collections dating from the 14th to the 20th century.
Immediate source of acquisition:
Part of the C K Ogden Library purchased by University College London in 1953 with a grant from the Nuffield Foundation.
ALLIED MATERIALS
Existence and location of originals:
Existence and location of copies:
Related material:
University College London Special Collections also holds correspondence and papers of Sir John Bowring among the Bentham Papers (Ref: BENTHAM); six letters to the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, 1828-1842 (Ref: SDUK); three letters to Sir Edwin Chadwick, 1840-1868 (Ref: CHADWICK); three letters to Henry Brougham, Lord Brougham, 1835-1839, concerning France and Egypt (Ref: BROUGHAM); three letters to Sir Isaac Goldsmid, 1828-1830 (Ref: GOLDSMID); three letters concerning the University of London (later University College London), 1826-1833 (Ref: COLLEGE CORRESPONDENCE); a letter to Joseph Parkes, 1853 (Ref: PARKES); four letters from Joseph Hume, 1823-1834 (Ref: MS ADD 175); an undated letter from George Grote (Ref: MS MISC 3G).
For correspondence and papers of Sir John Bowring held elsewhere, see the National Register of Archives.
Publication note:
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Note:
Archivist's note: Revised by Rachel Kemsley as part of the RSLP AIM25 project.
Date(s) of descriptions: 1999, revised Aug 2001, Nov 2001