Editing Bunhill Fields (section)

===Daniel Defoe===
[[File:Daniel Defoe monument Bunhill Fields.jpg|thumb|right|upright|1870 obelisk to Daniel Defoe]]
[[Daniel Defoe]], author of ''[[Robinson Crusoe]]'', died in April 1731 and was buried in Bunhill Fields: his wife, Mary, died in December 1732 and was laid to rest beside him. His daughter-in-law was also buried in the same grave. Defoe died in poverty, and the grave was marked with a simple headstone. In the winter of 1857/8 – at a time when the burial ground was closed and neglected—the grave was struck by lightning and the headstone broken. In 1869, James Clarke, editor of the ''Christian World'' children's newspaper, launched an appeal for subscriptions to place a more suitable memorial on the grave. He encouraged his readers to make donations of [[Sixpence (British coin)|sixpence]] each; and to stimulate enthusiasm opened two lists, one for boys and one for girls, to encourage a spirit of competition between them. Many adults also made donations. In the end, some 1,700 subscriptions raised a total of about £200. A design for a marble [[obelisk]] (or "Cleopatric pillar") was commissioned from C. C. Creeke; and the sculptor [[Samuel Horner (sculptor)|Samuel Horner]] of [[Bournemouth]] was commissioned to execute it. In late 1869, when the foundations were being dug, skeletons were disinterred, and there was an unseemly rush for souvenirs by the crowd of onlookers: the police had to be called before calm was restored. The monument was unveiled at a ceremony attended by three of Defoe's great-granddaughters on 16 September 1870.<ref>{{National Heritage List for England |num=1396492 |desc=Monument to Daniel Defoe, Central Broadwalk |access-date=28 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Frank |first=Katherine |url=https://archive.org/details/crusoedanieldefo0000fran_g6g8/page/287 |title=Crusoe: Daniel Defoe, Robert Knox and the creation of a myth |publisher=Bodley Head |year=2011 |isbn=9780224073097 |location=London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/crusoedanieldefo0000fran_g6g8/page/287 287–291] |url-access=registration}}</ref>