Editing Henry Liddell

{{Short description|British classical scholar and administrator (1811–1898)}}
{{other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2012}}
[[File:Portrait of Henry George Liddell.jpg|thumb|Henry Liddell, in an 1858 portrait by [[George Richmond (painter)|George Richmond]] ]]

'''Henry George Liddell''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|ɪ|d|əl}};{{efn|Naiditch quotes "a variant of the ''Balliol Rhymes'':<ref>[[Balliol rhyme|Balliol Rhymes]], p. 29.</ref> 'I am the Dean, and this is Mrs Liddell: / She plays the first, and I the second fiddle.'"<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Naiditch|first1=P. G.|title=On Pronouncing the Names of Certain British Classical Scholars|journal=The Classical Journal|date=1993|volume=89|issue=1|pages=57 |jstor=3297619 }}</ref>}} 6 February 1811{{nbsp}}– 18 January 1898) was [[Dean (college)|dean]] (1855–1891) of [[Christ Church, Oxford]], [[Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University]] (1870–1874), headmaster (1846–1855) of [[Westminster School]]<ref>[http://reference.allrefer.com/encyclopedia/L/Liddell.html Henry George Liddell, English Literature, 19th Century, Biographies] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070308055818/http://reference.allrefer.com/encyclopedia/L/Liddell.html |date=8 March 2007 }}</ref> (where a house is now named after him), author of ''A History of Rome'' (1855), and co-author (with [[Robert Scott (philologist)|Robert Scott]]) of the monumental work ''[[A Greek–English Lexicon]]'',<ref>{{Britannica|9048162}}</ref> known as "Liddell and Scott", which is still widely used by students of Greek. [[Lewis Carroll]] wrote ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'' for Henry Liddell's daughter [[Alice Liddell|Alice]].

{{anchor|Biography|History}}

==Life==
Liddell received his education at [[Charterhouse School|Charterhouse]] and Christ Church, Oxford. He gained a [[double first]] degree in 1833, then became a college tutor, and was ordained in 1838.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Liddell, Henry George|volume=16|page=588}}</ref>
[[File:HenryLiddell.jpg|thumb|180px|left|Henry Liddell, in an 1891 portrait by [[Hubert von Herkomer|Sir Hubert von Herkomer]]]]
Liddell was Headmaster of [[Westminster School]] from 1846 to 1855. Meanwhile, his life work, the great [[lexicon]] (based on the German work of [[Franz Passow]]), which he and [[Robert Scott (philologist)|Robert Scott]] began as early as 1834, had made good progress, and the first edition of ''Liddell and Scott's Lexicon'' appeared in 1843. It immediately became the standard Greek–English dictionary, with the 8th edition published in 1897.<ref name="EB1911"/>

As Headmaster of Westminster Liddell enjoyed a period of great success, followed by trouble due to the outbreak of fever and [[cholera]] in the school. In 1855 he accepted the deanery of Christ Church, Oxford. In the same year he brought out his ''History of Ancient Rome'' and took a very active part in the first Oxford University Commission. His tall figure, fine presence and aristocratic mien were for many years associated with all that was characteristic of Oxford life. Coming just at the transition period when the "old Christ Church," which [[Edward Bouverie Pusey|Pusey]] strove so hard to preserve, was inevitably becoming broader and more liberal, it was chiefly due to Liddell that necessary changes were effected with the minimum of friction.

In 1859 Liddell welcomed the then [[Edward VII of the United Kingdom|Prince of Wales]] when he matriculated at Christ Church, being the first holder of that title who had matriculated since [[Henry V of England|Henry V]].<ref name="EB1911"/> While Liddell was Dean of Christ Church, he arranged for the building of a new choir school and classrooms for the staff and pupils of [[Christ Church Cathedral School]] on its present site. Before then the school was housed within Christ Church itself.{{Citation needed|date=December 2016}}

In conjunction with Sir [[Henry Acland]], Liddell did much to encourage the study of art at Oxford, and his taste and judgment gained him the admiration and friendship of [[John Ruskin|Ruskin]]. In 1891, owing to advancing years, he resigned the deanery. The last years of his life were spent at [[Ascot, Berkshire|Ascot]], where he died on 18 January 1898.<ref name="EB1911"/> Two roads in Ascot, Liddell Way and Carroll Crescent honour the relationship between Henry Liddell and Lewis Carroll.

[[File:Liddell caricature.jpg|thumb|upright|Liddell as caricatured by [[Carlo Pellegrini (caricaturist)|'Ape']] in ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'' (1875)]]
Liddell was an Oxford "character" in later years. He figures in contemporary undergraduate [[doggerel]]:<ref>{{cite book| title=Lewis Carroll in Numberland: His Fantastical Mathematical Logical Life | first=Robin | last=Wilson | author-link=Robin Wilson (mathematician) | publisher=[[Penguin Books|Penguin]] | location= UK | year=2008 | isbn=978-0141016108 | page=83 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a7Pk1HLZkIwC&pg=PT83 }}</ref>

{{quote|
I am the Dean, this is Mrs Liddell.<br/>
She plays first, I, second fiddle.<br/>
She is the Broad,<br/>
I am the High –<br/>
We are the University.}}

The Victorian journalist, [[George W. E. Russell]] (1853–1919), conveys something of Liddell's image:<ref>{{cite book| title=Fifteen Chapters of Autobiography | year=1914 | page=84 }}</ref>

{{quote|The Vice-Chancellor who matriculated me [1872] was the majestic Liddell, who, with his six feet of stately height draped in scarlet, his 'argent aureole' of white hair, and his three silver maces borne before him, always helped me to understand what [[Sydney Smith]] meant when he said, of some nonsensical proposition, that no power on earth, save and except the Dean of Christ Church, should induce him to believe it.}}

==Works==
Henry George Liddell was the author of

* {{citation |last=Liddell |first=Henry George |author-link=Henry George Liddell |author2=Robert Scott |display-authors=0 |title=A Greek-English Dictionary Based on the German Work of Francis Passow |date=1843 |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press }}, and numerous editions of the same, including abridgments for student use, written with [[Robert Scott (philologist)|Robert Scott]]. 
* {{citation |last=Liddell |first=Henry George |author-link=Henry George Liddell |display-authors=0 |title=A History of Rome from the Earliest Times to the Establishment of the Empire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tGQBAAAAQAAJ |volume=I & II |location=London |publisher=John Murray |date=1855 }}
* {{citation |last=Liddell |first=Henry George |author-link=Henry George Liddell |display-authors=0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yIALAAAAYAAJ |title=Life of Julius Caesar |date=1860 |location=New York |publisher=Sheldon & Co. }}, excerpted from the Roman history.
* {{citation |last=Liddell |first=Henry George |author-link=Henry George Liddell |display-authors=0 |url=https://archive.org/details/studentsromehist00lidd/page/n7 |title=The Student's Rome: A History of Rome from the Earliest Times to the Establishment of the Empire |date=1865 |location=London |publisher=John Murray }}, excerpted from the Roman history and revised.

==Family==
His father was [[Henry Liddell (priest)|Henry Liddell]], [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|Rector]] of [[Easington, County Durham|Easington]] (1787–1872), the younger son of [[Sir Henry Liddell, 5th Baronet]] (1749–1791) and the former Elizabeth Steele. His father's elder brother, [[Sir Thomas Liddell, 6th Baronet]] (1775–1855), was raised to the [[Peerage]] as [[Baron Ravensworth]] in 1821.

His mother was the former Charlotte Lyon (1785–1871), a daughter of [[Thomas Lyon (MP)|Thomas Lyon]] (1741–1796) (who was the youngest son of the [[Thomas Lyon, 8th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne|8th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne]]) and the former Mary Wren (died 1811).

[[File:King Lear allotting his Kingdom to his three daughters, by Julia Margaret Cameron.jpg|thumb|180px|Three of Liddell's children (l to r) Lorina, Edith and Alice, photographed by [[Julia Margaret Cameron]] in 1872. The central figure is [[Charles Hay Cameron]] as King Lear.]]
On 2 July 1846, Henry married Lorina Reeve (3 March 1826 – 25 June 1910). They were parents of ten children:

* Edward Henry Liddell – also known as Harry (6 September 1847 – 14 June 1911).
* Lorina Charlotte 'Ina' Liddell (11 May 1849 – 29 October 1930); married [[William Baillie Skene]] in 1874.
* James Arthur Charles Liddell (28 December 1850 – 27 November 1853).
* [[Alice Pleasance Liddell]] (4 May 1852 – 16 November 1934), who was the inspiration for the children's book ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]''. She married Reginald Gervis Hargreaves, a former student from Christ Church and an English cricketer, had three sons with two being killed in World War I.
* Edith Mary Liddell (Spring, 1854 – 26 June 1876).
* Rhoda Caroline Anne Liddell (1859 – 19 May 1949); she was appointed a Member of the [[Order of the British Empire]] (MBE) in 1920 for her orthopaedic work at [[Netley Red Cross Hospital]].<ref name=Gazette>{{London Gazette|issue=31840|supp=3|page=3844|date=30 March 1920}}</ref>
* Albert Edward Arthur Liddell (1863 – 28 May 1863); he died in infancy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.myheritage.com/names/albert_liddell|title=Albert Liddell – Historical records and family trees – MyHeritage|website=myheritage.com|access-date=4 April 2018}}</ref>
* Violet Constance Liddell (10 March 1864 – 9 December 1927); like her sister appointed MBE in 1920 for orthopaedic work at Netley.<ref name=Gazette/>
* Sir [[Frederick Francis Liddell]] (7 June 1865 – 19 March 1950): First [[Parliamentary Counsel]] and [[Ecclesiastical Commissioner]].  His son, Maurice Arthur Liddell, married [[Alix Liddell|Alix Kerr]] OBE (May 1907 – 6 July 1981), British writer who contributed to the Guiding and Girl Scouting.
* Lionel Charles Liddell (22 May 1868 – 21 March 1942); he was British Consul to [[Lyons]] and [[Copenhagen]].<ref>Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003</ref><ref>The Foreign Office List and Diplomatic and Consular Year Book for 1908, edited by Godfrey E.P. Hertslet<br>''Liddell, Lionel C.'' .. Consul at Lyons ''Transferred to Copenhagen''</ref>

==Notes==
{{noteslist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|bullet=none|Henry George Liddell}}
{{Wikiquote|Henry George Liddell}}
{{wikisource author}}
* [http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/person.asp?LinkID=mp02731 Two portraits], [[National Portrait Gallery (London)|National Portrait Gallery]]

{{s-start}}
{{s-aca}}
{{succession box
| title=[[Christ Church, Oxford|Dean of Christ Church, Oxford]]
| years=1855–1891
| before=[[Thomas Gaisford]]
| after=[[Francis Paget]]
}}
{{succession box
| title=[[Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University]]
| years=1870–1874
| before=[[Francis Knyvett Leighton]]
| after=[[James Edwards Sewell]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{White's Professor of Moral Philosophy, Oxford}}
{{Deans of Christ Church, Oxford}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liddell, Henry}}
[[Category:1811 births]]
[[Category:1898 deaths]]
[[Category:People educated at Charterhouse School]]
[[Category:Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford]]
[[Category:Fellows of Christ Church, Oxford]]
[[Category:Deans of Christ Church, Oxford]]
[[Category:Head Masters of Westminster School]]
[[Category:British classical scholars]]
[[Category:19th-century English Anglican priests]]
[[Category:Vice-chancellors of the University of Oxford]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Girls' Day School Trust]]
[[Category:White's Professors of Moral Philosophy]]
[[Category:Burials at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford]]
[[Category:Classical scholars of the University of Oxford]]
[[Category:Liddell family|Henry]]
[[Category:19th-century British lexicographers]]