BARKER, EDMUND HENRY (17881839)

This article appears in Volume V03, Page 403 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: BAI-BAR

BARKER, EDMUND HENRY (17881839) , English classical scholar, was born at Hollym in Yorkshire. He entered Trinity College,

Cambridge

, as a scholar in 1807, but left the university without a degree, being prevented by religious scruples from taking the oath then required. He had previously obtained (in 1809) the Browne medal for Greek and Latin epigrams. After acting as amanuensis to the famous Samuel Parr, the vicar of Hatton in Warwickshire, he married and settled down at Thetford in Norfolk, where he lived for about twenty-five years. He was in the habit of adding the initials O.T.N. (of Thetford, Norfolk) to the title-page of his published works. In later life he became involved in a law-suit in connexion with a will, and thus exhausted his means. In 18371838 he was a prisoner for debt in the king's bench and in the

Fleet

FLEET

. He died in London on the 21St of March 1839. Barker was a prolific writer on classical and other subjects. In addition to contributing to the Classical Journal, he edited portions of several classical authors for the use of schools. He was one of the first commentators to write notes in English instead of Latin. In a volume of letters he disputed the claims of Sir Philip Francis to the authorship of the Letters of Junius; his Parriana (1828) is a vast and ill-digested compilation of literary anecdotes and criticisms. He also saw through the press the English edition of Lempriere's Classical Dictionary (revised by Anthon) and of

Webster

's English Dictionary. It is as a lexicographer, however, that Barker is chiefly known. While at Hatton, he conceived the design of a new edition of Stephanus's Thesaurus Graecae Linguae. The work was undertaken by A. J. Valpy, and, although not expressly stated, it was understood that Barker was the responsible editor. When a few parts had appeared, it was severely criticized in the Quarterly Review (xxii., 182o) by Blomfield; the result was the curtailment of the

original

ORIGINAL

plan of the work and the omission of Barker's name in connexion with it. It was completed in twelve volumes (1816-1828). The strictures of the Quarterly were answered by Barker in his Aristarchus Anti-Blomfieldianus, which, although unconvincing, was in turn answered by Bishop Monk. He also published notes on the Etymologicum Gudianum, and collaborated with Professor Dunbar of Edinburgh in a Greek and English Lexicon (1831). Theeditio princeps (1820) of the treatise attributed to Arcadius, Ilepi rovwv, was published by him from a Paris MS. Continental scholars entertained a more favourable

opinion

OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

of him than those of his own country. He expressed contempt for the minute verbal criticism of the Porsonian school, in which he was himself deficient.
An account of his life will be found in the

Gentleman

GENTLEMAN (from Lat. gentilis, " belonging to a race or gens," and " man "; Fr. gentilhomme, Span. gentil hombre, Ital. gentil huomo, in its
original
- ORIGINAL
and strict signification, a term denoting a man of good family, the Lat. generosus (its invariable transl

's Magazine for May 1839 ; see also Notes and Queries (6th

series

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

, xii. p. 443), where a full

list

LIST (O.E.
lisle
- LISLE, ALICE (c. 1614-1685)
, a Teutonic word, cf. Dut. lust, Ger. Leiste, adapted in Ital. lista and Fr.
lisle
- LISLE, ALICE (c. 1614-1685)
)
LIST, FRIEDRICH (1789-1846)

of his works is given.
BARKER'S MILL, a mechanical contrivance invented by a Dr Barker about the end of the 17th century. It consisted of a hollow vertical cylinder, provided with a number of

horizontal

HORIZONTAL

arms fitted with lateral apertures; the contrivance is mounted so as to rotate about the vertical axis. By allowing water to enter the vertical tube, a rotation, due to the discharge through the lateral orifices, is set up.

End of Article: BARKER, EDMUND HENRY (17881839)

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/BAI_BAR/BARKER_EDMUND_HENRY_17881839_.html">
BARKER, EDMUND HENRY (17881839)
</a>

(Previous)
BARIUM (symbol Ba, atomic weight 137'37 [0=16])

(Next)
BARKING

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email