John Wilson (historian)
Encyclopedia
John Wilson was one of the ideological architects of British Israelism
alongside Richard Brothers
.
Wilson commenced studying at great length in the Library
of Trinity College
, Dublin in 1837. Within a year, he was giving a series of lectures which developed an audience. He published a book of his lectures in 1840 with the title Our Israelitish Origin. There he claimed that the peoples of Israel
made their way across the continent of Europe
to the British Isles
. He brought evidence to bear from works by Diodorus and from Ptolemy
, supporting the earlier history of the Israelites. He studied the works of Rawlinson
, Herodotus
and Josephus
and quotes extensively from Sharon Turner
.
His lectures attracted the attention of Charles Piazzi Smyth
(Astronomer Royal for Scotland
and one of the first Pyramidologists
) amongst others.
It was in John Wilson's house in St Pancras, London
that the Anglo-Israel Association was founded in 1874.
On the death of Wilson's daughter in 1804, his MSS passed into the possession of Rev. A. B. Grimaldi.
He was also known to be a homosexual.
British Israelism
British Israelism is the belief that people of Western European descent, particularly those in Great Britain, are the direct lineal descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. The concept often includes the belief that the British Royal Family is directly descended from the line of King David...
alongside Richard Brothers
Richard Brothers
Richard Brothers was born in Port Kirwan, Newfoundland and Labrador and became well known as both an early believer and teacher of Anglo-Israelism...
.
Wilson commenced studying at great length in the Library
Trinity College Library, Dublin
Trinity College Library Dublin, the centrally-administered library of Trinity College, Dublin, is the largest library in Ireland. As a "copyright library", it has legal deposit rights for material published in the Republic of Ireland; it is also the only Irish library to hold such rights for the...
of Trinity College
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, Dublin in 1837. Within a year, he was giving a series of lectures which developed an audience. He published a book of his lectures in 1840 with the title Our Israelitish Origin. There he claimed that the peoples of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
made their way across the continent of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
to the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
. He brought evidence to bear from works by Diodorus and from Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
, supporting the earlier history of the Israelites. He studied the works of Rawlinson
Rawlinson
Rawlinson may refer to:* Sir Alfred Rawlinson, 3rd Baronet , English soldier, aviator and olympic sportsman* Edward Rawlinson , Canadian businessman* George Rawlinson , 19th century English scholar and historian...
, Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
and Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
and quotes extensively from Sharon Turner
Sharon Turner
Sharon Turner was an English historian.-Life:Born in Pentonville, Turner was the eldest son of William and Ann Turner, Yorkshire natives who had settled in London upon marrying. He left school at fifteen to be articled to an attorney in the Temple...
.
His lectures attracted the attention of Charles Piazzi Smyth
Charles Piazzi Smyth
Charles Piazzi Smyth , was Astronomer Royal for Scotland from 1846 to 1888, well-known for many innovations in astronomy and his pyramidological and metrological studies of the Great Pyramid of Giza....
(Astronomer Royal for Scotland
Astronomer Royal for Scotland
Astronomer Royal for Scotland was the title of the director of the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh until 1995. It has since been an honorary title.The following have served as Astronomers Royal for Scotland:* 1834–1844 Thomas Henderson...
and one of the first Pyramidologists
Pyramidology
Pyramidology is a term used, sometimes disparagingly, to refer to various pseudoscientific speculations regarding pyramids, most often the Giza Necropolis and the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt...
) amongst others.
It was in John Wilson's house in St Pancras, London
St Pancras, London
St Pancras is an area of London. For many centuries the name has been used for various officially-designated areas, but now is used informally and rarely having been largely superseded by several other names for overlapping districts.-Ancient parish:...
that the Anglo-Israel Association was founded in 1874.
On the death of Wilson's daughter in 1804, his MSS passed into the possession of Rev. A. B. Grimaldi.
He was also known to be a homosexual.