Charles Dickens was a 19th century English novelist whose powerful imagery brought to public attention the terrible conditions endured by the poor. He was born in 1812 at Landport, Portsmouth and died in 1870.
His father, John Dickens, was then in the employment of the Navy Pay Department, but subsequently became a newspaper reporter in London. Young Charles Dickens received a somewhat scanty education, was for a time a mere drudge in a blacking warehouse, and subsequently a clerk in an attorney's office. Having perfected himself in shorthand, however, he became a newspapercritic and reporter, was engaged on the Mirror of Parliament and the True Sun, and in 1835 on the Morning Chronicle. For some time previously he had been contributing humorous pieces to the Monthly Magazine; but at length, in 1835, appeared in the Morning Chronicle the first of that series of Sketches by Boz which brought Charles Dickens into fame. It was followed in quick succession by a pamphlet entitled Sunday under Three Heads, by Timothy Spark publsihed in 1836; the Tuggs of Barnsgate published in 1836; The Village Coquette, a comic opera published in 1836; and a farce called the Strange Gentleman published in 1836.
In the same year Chapman and Hall engaged the new writer to prepare the letterpress for a series of comic sketches on sporting subjects by Seymour, an artist who had already achieved fame, and suggested as a subject the adventures of an eccentric club. Seymourcommitted suicide soon after, and H K Browne joined Charles Dickens as illustrator, the result being the immortal Pickwick Papers.
The great characteristics of Charles Dickens' genius were now fully apparent, and his fame rose at once to the highest point it was possible for a writer of fiction to reach. A new class of characters, eccentric indeed, but vital representations of the humours and oddities of life, such as Mr. Pickwick, Sam Weller and his father, Mr. Winkle, and others, were made familiar to the public. Under the name of the Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club this work was published in two volumes in 1837.
In the same year Charles Dickens was engaged as editor of Bentley's Magazine, to which he contributed Oliver Twist, a work which opened up that vein of philanthropic pathos and indignant satire of institutions which became a distinguishing feature of his works. Before the completion of Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby was begun, being issued complete in 1839. As the special object of Oliver Twist was to expose the conduct of workhouses, that of Nicholas Nickleby was to denounce the management of cheap boarding-schools.
Master Humphrey's Clock, issued in weekly numbers, contained among other matter two other leading tales, The Old Curiosity Shop, and Barnaby Rudge, the latter a historical tale, going back to the times of the Gordon riots. It was published complete in 1840-41. In 1841 Dickens visited America, and on his return he wrote American Notes for General Circulation published in 1842.
His next novel, Martin Chuzzlewit published in 1844, dwelt again on his American experiences. This work also added a number of typical figures - Mr. Pecksniff, Mark Tapley, Sarah Gamp, and others - to English literature. The series of Christmas Tales, in which a new element of his genius, the power of handling the wierd machinery of ghostly legend in subordination to his own peculiar humour, excited a new sensation of wonder and delight. These enumerated consecutively were: A Christmas Carol published in 1843, The Chimes published in 1844, The Cricket on the Hearth published in 1845), The Battle of Life published in 1846, The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain published in 1847. The extraordinary popularity of these tales created for a time a new department in literature, that of the Sensational tale for the Christmas season.
In 1845 Charles Dickens went to Italy, and on his return the Daily News, started on the 1st of January, 1846, was intrusted to his editorial management; but, despite his early training, this was an occupation uncongenial to his mind, and in a few months the experiment was abandoned. His Pictures from Italy were published the same year. Next followed his novel of Dombey and Son published in 1848), and David Copperfield, a work which has a strong autobiographical element in it published in 1849-50.
In 1850 Charles Dickens became editor of the weekly serial Household Words, in which various original contributions from his own pen appeared. In 1853 his Bleak House came out. A Child's History of England, commenced in Household Words, was published in 1852-64. Hard Times appeared in Household Words, and was published in 1854. Little Dorrit, commenced in 1856, dealt with imprisonment for debt, the contrasts of character developed by wealth and poverty, and executive imbecility, idealized in the Circumlocution Office. In 1859, in consequence of a disagreement with his publishers, All the Year Round superseded Household Words; and in the first number of this periodical, 28th May, was begun A Tale of Two Cities. Great Expectations followed in the same paper, on the 1st of December, 1860. Both were soon. republished, and are generally considered as the poorest of Charles Dickens' works.
In All the Year Round also appeared a series of disconnected sketches, called the Uncommercial Traveller, published in 1868. Our Mutual Friend, completed in 1865, and published in the usual monthly numbers, with illustrations by Marcus Stone, was the last great serial work which Charles Dickens lived to finish. It contained some studies of characters of a breadth and depth unusual with Charles Dickens, and is distinguished among his works by its elaborate plot. The first number of his last work, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, was issued on the 1st of April, 1870, and only three numbers had appeared when he died somewhat suddenly, at his residence, Gad's Hill Place, near Rochester, on the 9th of June. He had considerably overtaxed his strength during his later years, more especially by his successive series of public readings from bis own works, one series being delivered in America in 1867-68. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Charles Dickens' work as a novelist is firmly based upon a wide and keen observation of men. It is true that most of his characters suffer from being created to exhibit little more than one trait or quality alone, and thus receive an air of grotesqueness and exaggeration which approaches caricature. But the single trait or quality which they embody is so truly conceived, and exhibited with such vitality and humour, as to place Charles Dickens, in spite of all that is grotesque and overstrained in his work, amongst the great artists. Research Charles Dickens
Charles Francis Hall was an American explorer. He was born in 1821 at Rochester, New Hampshire and died in 1871. He began life as a blacksmith, became a journalist in Cincinnati; in 1860 organized an Arctic expedition in search of Franklin, and remained amongst the Esquimaux two years, acquiring their language and habits. In 1864 he undertook a second expedition to the same regions, where he remained until 1869.
In 1871, at the instigation of Charles Hall, the US government fitted out the Polaris for an expedition to the North Pole, and placed Captain Francis Hall in command. The Polaris sailed from New York on June the 29th, 1871, and on the 30th of August reached latitude 82 degrees 16 minutes North, and then turned back to winter in a sheltered bay at latitude 81 degrees 38 minutes, where Francis Hall died on November the 8th. The Polaris was ultimately abandoned by her crew, who reached home only after experiencing many privations and adventures. An account of his first expedition was given by Captain Francis Hall in his Arctic .Researches and Life amongst the Esquimaux. Research Charles Hall
Francis Atterbury was an English prelate. He was born in 1662 and died in 1731. Educated at Westminster and Oxford. In 1687 he took his degree of MA and appeared as a controversialist in a defence of the character of Luther, entitled, Considerations on the Spirit of MartinLuther, etc. He also assisted his pupil, the Honourable Mr. Boyle, in his famous controversy with Bentley on the Epistles of Phalaris. Having taken orders in 1691 he settled in London, became chaplain to William and Mary, preacher of Bridewell, and lecturer of St Bride's.
Controversy was congenial to him, and in 1706 he commenced one with Dr. Wake, which lasted four years, on the rights, privileges, and powers of convocations. For this service he received the thanks of the lower house of convocation and the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Oxford. Soon after the accession of Queen Anne he was made Dean of Carlisle, aided in the defence of the famous Sacheverell, and wrote A Representation of the Present State of Religion.
In 1712 he was made Dean of Christ Church, and in 1713 Bishop of Rochester and Dean of Westminster. After the death of the queen in 1714 he distinguished himself by his opposition to George I and having entered into a correspondence with the Pretender's party was apprehended in August, 1722, and committed to the Tower. Being banished the kingdom, he settled in Paris, where he chiefly occupied himself in study and in correspondence with men of letters. But even here, in 1725, he was actively engaged in fomenting discontent in the Scottish Highlands. He died in 1731, and his body was privately interred in Westminster Abbey. His sermons and letters are marked by ease and grace; but as a critic and a controversialist he is rather dexterous and popular than accurate and profound. Research Francis Atterbury
Henry Russell was an English composer. He was born in 1813 at Sheerness and died in 1900. For a time he was chorus-master at Her Majesty's Theatre, London. In 1833 he settled at Rochester, New York, as a music teacher, afterwards giving vocal entertainments in the United States and Canada, as he did on his return to England in 1841. The success of his tours was unprecedented. He composed more than 800 songs, including 'To The West', ' The Ivy Green', 'The Old Armchair', 'A Life on the Ocean Waves', 'Cheer, boys, cheer' and 'Woodman, spare that tree'. Research Henry Russell
Isaac Butts was an American journalist. He was born in 1816 and died in 1874. He edited the 'Rochester Advertiser' from 1845 until 1849 and the 'Rochester Union' from 1857 until 1864. He was known as a writer on politics and economics and originated, and promulgated the doctrine known as 'Squatter Sovereignty' or 'Popular Sovereignty', that the people of each territory should decide the question of slavery for themselves. Research Isaac Butts
John Fisher was Bishop of Rochester. He was born in 1459, at Beverley, in Yorkshire, and died in 1535. He graduated MA at Cambridge in 1491. In 1501 he received the degree of DD, and was made chancellor of the university. In 1504 he was promoted to the see of Rochester. He opposed Henry VIII.'s divorce; listened to the pretended prophecies of ElizabethBarton, the Maid of Kent; opposed the royal supremacy, and was imprisoned in 1534 and attainted. His appointment as cardinal by Paul III led to his execution after trial by a special commission. Research John Fisher
John P Hale was an American politician and abolutionist. He was born in 1806 at Rochester, New Hampshire and died in 1873. He was admitted to the bar in 1830. He was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1832, and was appointed US Attorney for the district of New Hampshire from 1834 to 1840. He represented New Hampshire in the US Congress from 1843 to 1845. He was a US Senator from 1847 to 1853, being the first zealous opponent of slavery in that body, and was nominated in 1852 as the Presidential candidate of the Free-Soil party. He was again a US Senator from 1855 to 1865, and was appointed Minister to Spain by President Abraham Lincoln, serving from 1865 to 1869. Research John Hale
John Wilmot (2nd Earl of Rochester) was an English courtier, poet and wit. He was born in 1647 and died in 1680. Educated at Wadham College, Oxford, he served in the navy and travelled in France and Italy before settling at the court of Charles II where his wit made him popular, and his debauchery the talk of the town. Research John Wilmot
Lewis Henry Morgan was an American anthropologist. He was born in 1818 at Aurorar, New York and died in 1881. He became a lawyer at Rochester, and was an authority on the American aborigines. Research Lewis Morgan
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