Edward Lhuyd was a noted scientist in the latter part of the 17th century. Although his life was brief , he accomplished many great things in the fields of anthropology and linguistics. He was well known for his expertise in botany and geology. He was born in South Wales; his father died young and he was an illegitimate child. He studied at the Jesus College at Oxford University in 1682 and intended to become a lawyer. Because of monetary considerations, he never actually completed his degree. He did, however, study natural history with Dr. Plot, the first keeper of the Ashmolean Museum.
Lhuyd was appointed Under-keeper of the Museum in 1684, and became the Head Keeper of the Museum in 1690 when Dr. Plot stepped down. While he was Keeper of the Museum, he catalogued many of the artifacts there. He published this catalogue, the "Lithophylacii Britannici Iconographia" in 1699; a hand-written copy of this work that still exists in the Museum.
During the 1690’s, he traveled around Britain, traveling through Cornwall, Wales, Bas-Bretagne, Ireland and Scotland. He financed this trip in two ways, first, he was hired by Dr. Gibson to collect materials in Wales for a new edition of Camden’s Britannia and second, he sold subscriptions to a book he intended to publish about his travels and what he found. This book became an Irish-English dictionary, and is still regarded as a great undertaking in the field of linguistics.
He was well-respected in his time. Sir Isaac Newton paid for one of his books to be published. He corresponded with many eminent scientists of the time, and copies of the letters still exist in some private libraries. As further proof of his esteem, in 1701 he was granted an honorary Masters Degree from Oxford University. In 1708, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society and in 1709 he was elected to be an Esquire Beadle of Divinity.
He died in 1709, partly due to his habit of sleeping in the poorly ventilated rooms of the Museum. The Museum refused to publish any of his writings that were left, and sold them at an auction. In subsequent years, much of his work was lost. A majority of his unpublished works were bought after his death and placed into a private library which was later destroyed by a fire. The keepers of the Ashmolean Museum who succeeded him let the Museum fall into disrepair. During this period, many valuable artifacts (including some he collected) and many manuscripts were damaged beyond repair.
The writings which he published that are still possible to see in some form include: "A Catalogue of Irish Manuscripts" in Archaelogia Britannica (Oxford, 1707) Lithophylacii Britannici Iconographia (Oxford, 1699) De Stellis Marinis (collection of his lectures on natural history) (Oxford, 1705) Manuscript of Irish-English dictionary (never published, but incorporated into other later dictionaries).
To find out more about Lhuyd:
Campbell, John Lorne; Thomson, Derick. Edward Lhuyd in the Scottish Highlands 1699-1700. Oxford, 1963.
http://www.britannia.com/backs/celtic/wales/timeline/tl07.html
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/science/hist.htm
http://www.mindspring.com/~pcgraves/llais5.htm#A14
http://www.britannia.com/backs/celtic/wales/timeline/tl07.html
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/science/hist.htm
http://www.mindspring.com/~pcgraves/llais5.htm#A14
Stephen, Sir Leslie; and Lee, Sir Sidney. Dictionary of National Biography, Vol. XI Kennett – Lluelyn. Oxford University Press, London 1917. P 1096-1098.
Chalmers, Alexander. General Biographical Dictionary, Vol XX. Reprinted AMS Press, Inc. / Krauss Reprint Co. New York, 1969. P232-236.
Thomson, R. L. "Edward Lhuyd in the Isle of Man?" Carney, James and Greene, David (Ed.). Celtic Studies: Essays in Memory of Angus Matheson. Routledge&Kegan Paul. London, 1968.170-182.
Written by: Elizabeth Jordan-Prince
Edited by: David Gardner 2007