Editing Edmund Barton (section)

==Early life==
[[File:EBarton1866.jpg|thumb|upright|Barton, aged 17|left]]
{{Edmund Barton sidebar}}
Barton was born on 18 January 1849 in [[Glebe, New South Wales|Glebe, Sydney, New South Wales]].{{sfn|Bolton|2000|p=5}} He was the eleventh of twelve children born to Mary Louisa (née Whydah) and William Barton. He had seven sisters and four brothers, including the writer [[George Burnett Barton]].{{sfn|Bolton|2000|pp=6–7}} Three of his siblings died during his childhood.{{efn|Edmund's younger brother Sydney was born in 1852 but lived only nine months.{{sfn|Bolton|2000|p=6}} His older sister Ellen was killed in a fire in 1860,{{sfn|Bolton|2000|p=7}} and his oldest brother William Jr. died in 1863.{{sfn|Bolton|2000|p=8}}}} His given name had not previously been used in the family, and may have been in honour of the recently deceased explorer [[Edmund Kennedy]].{{sfn|Bolton|2000|p=5}} Barton's parents were both born in London, England, although his father's family was originally from [[Devon]]. They arrived in the Colony of New South Wales in 1827, and all but two of their children were born in Australia. William Barton worked variously as an accountant, bazaar proprietor, stockbroker, and real estate agent. His business ventures were not always successful, and he went bankrupt on one occasion.{{sfn|Bolton|2000|pp=2–5}}

===Childhood and education===
Barton spent his early years in Glebe, but in 1851 the family moved into the inner city, living on Cumberland Street in [[The Rocks, New South Wales|The Rocks]].{{sfn|Bolton|2000|p=5}} He had a relatively comfortable upbringing, although his father faced financial difficulties on a number of occasions. To support the family during those periods, his mother ran a boarding school for girls.{{sfn|Bolton|2000|p=4}} His parents were both highly literate, and his mother in particular "provided much of the direction and encouragement for Edmund's impressive academic achievement".{{sfn|Bolton|2000|p=15}} Barton began his formal education at what is now the [[Fort Street Public School]]. He later attended [[Sydney Grammar School]], possibly as one of the first students after the school's opening in 1857.{{sfn|Bolton|2000|p=6}} One of his close friends in his youth was [[Richard Edward O'Connor|Richard O'Connor]], who would eventually join him on the High Court. Barton was the [[Dux#Education|dux]] and school captain at Sydney Grammar in 1863 and 1864. He [[matriculated]] at the [[University of Sydney]] in 1865, aged 16, and was awarded a special prize by the university senate.{{sfn|Bolton|2000|p=9}} Barton failed to win one of the three entrance scholarships to the University, owing to "an insufficiency of mathematics".<ref>William Coleman,''Their Fiery Cross of Union. A Retelling of the Creation of the Australian Federation, 1889-1914'', Connor Court, Queensland, 2021, p.106.</ref>

At university, Barton specialised in [[classics]] but also studied English literature, mathematics, physics, and French.{{sfn|Bolton|2000|p=9}} He became fluent in Ancient Greek and Latin, and retained a command of both later in life.{{efn|In a speech to the Parliament of New South Wales in 1879, Barton quoted [[Homer]] in the original Greek.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Edmund Barton|first=David|last=Ash|url=http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/NSWBarAssocNews/2007/55.pdf|journal=Bar News|publisher=[[New South Wales Bar Association]]|year=2007|page=47|access-date=1 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102050415/http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/NSWBarAssocNews/2007/55.pdf|archive-date=2 January 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> As prime minister in 1902, he met with [[Pope Leo XIII]] in Rome and conversed in Latin.{{sfn|Ash|2007|p=52}}}} A new professor, [[Charles Badham]], arrived in 1867 and was a "profound influence". Barton won scholarships in his second and third years. He graduated Bachelor of Arts in 1868 with first-class honours, and was awarded the equivalent of the [[University Medal]] as well as a prize of £20. He proceeded to Master of Arts by examination in 1870.{{sfn|Bolton|2000|p=10}}

===Sporting activities===
Barton was a member of the [[Sydney University Cricket Club]] and a founding member of the [[Sydney Rowing Club]].<ref>{{cite web |title=History of the Sydney Rowing Club |url=http://www.sydneyrowingclub.com.au/Rowing/about-history.php |publisher=Sydneyrowingclub.com.au |access-date=24 September 2012 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121229140647/http://sydneyrowingclub.com.au/Rowing/about-history.php |archive-date=29 December 2012}}</ref> On a cricketing trip to [[Newcastle, New South Wales|Newcastle]] in 1870 he met [[Jane Barton|Jane Mason Ross]], whom he married in 1877.<ref name=austfirstpm>{{cite web|title=Fast facts: Edmund Barton|url=http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/Barton/fast-facts.aspx|website=Australia's Prime Ministers|access-date=31 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109050443/http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/Barton/fast-facts.aspx|archive-date=9 November 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=adb>{{Australian Dictionary of Biography |first=Martha |last=Rutledge |title=Barton, Sir Edmund (Toby) (1849–1920) |id2=barton-sir-edmund-toby-71 |access-date=10 June 2020}}</ref>

In 1879, Barton [[Umpire (cricket)|umpired]] a cricket match at [[Sydney Cricket Ground]] between [[New South Wales]] and an English touring side captained by [[George Harris, 4th Baron Harris|Lord Harris]]. After a controversial decision by Barton's colleague [[George Coulthard]] against the home side, the crowd spilled onto the pitch and assaulted some of the English players, leading to [[Sydney Riot of 1879|international cricket's first riot]]. In the subsequent public controversy, George Reid censured Coulthard and absolved the crowd, while Barton defended Coulthard and did not spare the crowd.<ref>William Coleman,''Their Fiery Cross of Union. A Retelling of the Creation of the Australian Federation, 1889-1914'', Connor Court, QLD, 2021, pp 92-93.</ref> The publicity that attended the young Barton's presence of mind in defusing that situation reputedly helped him take his first step towards becoming Australia's first prime minister, winning a state lower house seat later that year.<ref>{{cite news |title=For our PMs, there's just no avoiding the follow-on |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/12/27/1198345162006.html |url-status=live |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=28 December 2007 |access-date=29 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071228184028/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/12/27/1198345162006.html |archive-date=28 December 2007}}</ref>