Joseph Hume was a Scottish politician and economist. He was born in 1777 at Montrose and died in 1855. After studying medicine at Edinburgh he was appointed marine assistant-surgeon in the service of the East India Company. Having qualified himself by a diligent study of the native languages he obtained several lucrative posts connected with the commissariat and the pay-office, and in 1808, when only 31 years old, he was able to return to Europe with a considerable fortune.
After making a tour in Southern Europe and Egypt in 1812 he became Tory member of Parliament for the 'rotten borough' of Weymouth; but losing his seat in 1813 began to take an active part in regard to Lancasterian schools, savings'-banks, and other measures of social reform. In 1818 he was again returned to parliament as member for the Aberdeen district of burghs. It was now that he began his career as an active advocate of reforms, such as the emancipation of the Catholics, the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, economy in public expenditure, etc.
He had no power as an orator, his strength lying in his handling of figures and the tenacity and energy with which he carried on his crusade against corruption. After representing Middlesex and Kilkenny county he was returned by the Montrose burghs in 1842, which he continued to represent until his death in 1855. Research Joseph Hume
Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton was an English philanthropist and abolitionist. He was born in 1786 and died in 1845. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, in 1811 he joined the firm of the celebrated brewers, Truman Hanbury, & Company, and took an active share in the business. The Spitalfields distress in 1816 was the occasion of his turning his attention to philanthropic efforts, and along with his sister-in-law, the celebrated Elizabeth Fry, he made inquiries which directed public attention to the system of prison discipline. In 1818 he was elected member of parliament for Weymouth, and was long the able coadjutor of William Wilberforce in his efforts for the abolition of slavery. He was created a baronet in 1840. Research Thomas Buxton
Thomas Love Peacock was an English novelist and poet. He was born in 1785 at Weymouth and died in 1866. A friend of the English poet Percy Shelley, he was Shelley's literary executor. The publication of ' Headlong Hall' in 1816 established Peacock's literary reputation. 'Nightmare Abbey' published in 1818, a humorous satire of the romantic movement in England, is his best- known work. Peacock was an employee of the British East India Company from 1819 to 1856, during which time he published two historical romances, 'Maid Marian' published in 1822 and 'The Misfortunes of Elfin' published in 1829, and the satiric 'CrotchetCastle' published in 1831. Almost 30 years later he published his last novel, 'Gryll Grange' in 1860. In most of Peacock's works the characters, many of them caricatures of famous writers of the time, reveal themselves through incidental dialogue at social gatherings. Research Thomas Peacock
Verney Lovett Cameron was an English exoplorer. He was born in 1844 near Weymouth and died in 1894. He entered the British navy in 1857, and in 1872 was chosen by the Royal Geographical Society of London to conduct an expedition for the relief of Dr David Livingstone. He was only in time to meet the remains of David Livingstone at Unyanyembe, but continued his journey west to Benguela, and was thus the first to cross Central Africa. Returning to England in 1876, he was made Companion of the Bath, and raised to the rank of a commander. In 1878 he made a journey through Asia Minor and Persia. He published accounts of both journeys in his Across Africa and Our Future Highway to India. Research Verney Cameron
Charles Alexander Calvert was an English actor. He was born in 1828 at London and died in 1879. He first appeared at Weymouth theatre in 1852 under Edward Sothern and three years later moved to the Surrey in London under Shepherd and Creswick. In 1859 he went to Manchester as stage manager and leading actor at the Theatre Royal. Research Charles Calvert
Oxford clay or the Oxfordian beds, are the lowest subdivision of the Upper Jurassic rocks. Their outcrop stretches from Weymouth, past Swindon, Oxford and Bedford, into North Yorkshire. In its typical development it is 150 meters or more in thickness, blue or grey in colour, and contains thin layers of limestone and many septarian nodules. Research Oxford Clay
Abbreviations
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