William Mitford
| William Mitford | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Newport, Cornwall |
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In office 1785–1790 |
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| Member of Parliament for Bere Alston |
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In office 1796–1806 |
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| Member of Parliament for New Romney |
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In office 1812–1818 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
10 February 1744 Exbury, Hampshire |
| Died | 10 February 1827 (aged 83) Exbury, Hampshire |
| Resting place | The Church of St. Katherine, Exbury |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Tory |
| Spouse(s) | Fanny Molloy (1766-1776, her death) |
| Alma mater | Queens College, Oxford |
| Occupation |
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| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
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| Service/branch |
 British Army
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| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | South Hampshire Militia |
William Mitford (10 February 1744 in Exbury – 10 February 1827 in Exbury) was an English Member of Parliament and historian, best known for his The History of Greece (1784-1810).
Mitford was the elder of the two sons of John Mitford, a barrister (died 1761) and his wife Philadelphia Reveley. The Mitford family lived at Exbury near Beaulieu, at the edge of the New Forest. Here, at Exbury House, his father John's property, Mitford was born. He was educated at Cheam School, under the picturesque writer William Gilpin, but at the age of fifteen a severe illness led to his being removed, and after two years of idleness Mitford was sent, in July 1761, as a gentleman commoner to Queen's College, Oxford. In this year his father died, and left him the Exbury property and a considerable fortune. Mitford, therefore, being "very much his own master, was easily led to prefer amusement to study." He left Oxford (where the only sign of assiduity he had shown was to attend the lectures of Blackstone) without a degree, in 1763, and proceeded to the Middle Temple.
Mitford married Miss Fanny Molloy in 1766, the daughter of James Molloy of Dublin. He retired to Exbury for the rest of his life, and made the study of the Greek language his hobby and occupation. After 10 years his wife died, and in October 1776 Mitford went abroad. He was encouraged by French scholars whom he met in Paris, Avignon and Nice to give himself systematically to the study of Greek history. But it was Edward Gibbon, with whom he was closely associated when they both were officers in the South Hampshire Militia, who suggested to Mitford the form which his work should take. In 1784 the first of the volumes of his History of Greece appeared, and the fifth and last of these quartos was published in 1810, after which the state of Mitford's eyesight and other physical infirmities, including a loss of memory, forbade his continuation of the enterprise, although he painfully revised successive new editions.
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Wikipedia