Joseph Crabtree (polymath)
Encyclopedia
Joseph Crabtree is the name of a late 18th / early 19th century poet and polymath
revealed in the early 1950s by scholars at University College London. In February 1954 Professor James Sutherland, delivered an oration to a group of interested scholars which was entitled “Homage to Crabtree”. The meeting was presided over by Professor Hugh Smith
, Quain Professor of English Language and Literature at UCL, and twenty-four scholars were present. The proceedings of the "Crabtree Foundation" thus founded have been collected together and were published as the Crabtree Orations in 1997. Aside from its home at University College London, the Crabtree Foundation has also opened chapters at Monash University
in Victoria, Australia, in Lisbon, Portugal and in Florence, Italy.
, South Gloucestershire
, and died in 1854, at Haworth
, Yorkshire) was a British poet, polymath and sometime banker and brewer whose life and career have been developed through the research of the scholars and orators of the Crabtree Foundation at University College London
from 1954 to the present day. Crabtree met and influenced William Wordsworth
, Samuel Johnson
, William Blake
, and Alfred Lord Tennyson, among others. Notionally well known before the twentieth century, his reputation was eclipsed until Professors Hugh Smith and James Sutherland brought him to the attention of University College London during the centenary of his death. Crabtree's contributions to philosophy, science, art, mathematics, literature, publishing, criminology and brewing, among many others, would have placed him at a pivotal position in the history of the Age of Enlightenment
.
in 1754. His early life is marked by a number of interactions with key philosophical and luminary figures of the age, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau
, who sent the eight-year-old Crabtree's mother a copy of his work on education, Emile. Aged 14, in 1768, Crabtree accompanied Captain James Cook on his first voyage in the Endeavour as a "flute boy". In 1770, he attended Eton College
under the pseudonym of Burke, only to be expelled the following year for lampooning the headmaster. At the age of nineteen, he was sent down from Oxford University, after writing satirical verses aimed at his tutor, Jacob Jefferson, who subsequently expunged young Crabtree's name from the matriculation list.
, whom he met in Rome in 1785 while travelling under the name of Tischbein. This meeting led Crabtree into an affair with Emma Harte, about whom he wrote love poems which Goethe published in German
in 1795 under the title of Erotica Romana. With William Wordsworth
, he appears to have had a rapport which saw him invited to stay at Porlock
in 1798, where he also met Samuel Taylor Coleridge
at the time of the latter's supposed composition of Kubla Khan, a stay which
ultimately led to his persuading Wordsworth to quantify certain lines in Tintern Abbey and The Thorn.
, for instance, adduced Crabtree's Theorem as the solution of a quintic equation that cannot be expressed through a formula involving a finite number of additions, multiplications, divisions and extractions of roots.
There are now over 400 scholars of the Foundation, and scholars, in the first President’s words, “scattered as they are over the face of the world”, have established overseas chapters in Australia, Portugal, Italy and Southern Africa each of which holds its own annual celebration of Joseph Crabtree. Their findings have established the international scope and diversity of Crabtree’s life and achievements.
Polymath
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...
revealed in the early 1950s by scholars at University College London. In February 1954 Professor James Sutherland, delivered an oration to a group of interested scholars which was entitled “Homage to Crabtree”. The meeting was presided over by Professor Hugh Smith
Albert Hugh Smith
Albert Hugh Smith OBE was a scholar of Old English and Scandinavian languages and played a major part in the study and publication of English place-names....
, Quain Professor of English Language and Literature at UCL, and twenty-four scholars were present. The proceedings of the "Crabtree Foundation" thus founded have been collected together and were published as the Crabtree Orations in 1997. Aside from its home at University College London, the Crabtree Foundation has also opened chapters at Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
in Victoria, Australia, in Lisbon, Portugal and in Florence, Italy.
Biography
Joseph Crabtree (born in 1754, at Chipping SodburyChipping Sodbury
Chipping Sodbury is a market town in the county of South Gloucestershire, south-west England, founded in the 12th century by William Crassus . The villages of Old Sodbury and Little Sodbury are nearby...
, South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire is a unitary district in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, in South West England.-History:The district was created in 1996, when the county of Avon was abolished, by the merger of former area of the districts of Kingswood and Northavon...
, and died in 1854, at Haworth
Haworth
Haworth is a rural village in the City of Bradford metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is located amongst the Pennines, southwest of Keighley and west of Bradford. The surrounding areas include Oakworth and Oxenhope...
, Yorkshire) was a British poet, polymath and sometime banker and brewer whose life and career have been developed through the research of the scholars and orators of the Crabtree Foundation at University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
from 1954 to the present day. Crabtree met and influenced William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
, Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
, William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
, and Alfred Lord Tennyson, among others. Notionally well known before the twentieth century, his reputation was eclipsed until Professors Hugh Smith and James Sutherland brought him to the attention of University College London during the centenary of his death. Crabtree's contributions to philosophy, science, art, mathematics, literature, publishing, criminology and brewing, among many others, would have placed him at a pivotal position in the history of the Age of Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
.
Early life
Joseph Crabtree's story begins with his birth into a Methodist family by breech birthBreech birth
A breech birth is the birth of a baby from a breech presentation. In the breech presentation the baby enters the birth canal with the buttocks or feet first as opposed to the normal head first presentation....
in 1754. His early life is marked by a number of interactions with key philosophical and luminary figures of the age, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
, who sent the eight-year-old Crabtree's mother a copy of his work on education, Emile. Aged 14, in 1768, Crabtree accompanied Captain James Cook on his first voyage in the Endeavour as a "flute boy". In 1770, he attended Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
under the pseudonym of Burke, only to be expelled the following year for lampooning the headmaster. At the age of nineteen, he was sent down from Oxford University, after writing satirical verses aimed at his tutor, Jacob Jefferson, who subsequently expunged young Crabtree's name from the matriculation list.
Literary influences
Crabtree purportedly influenced a number of literary luminaries, including GoetheJohann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
, whom he met in Rome in 1785 while travelling under the name of Tischbein. This meeting led Crabtree into an affair with Emma Harte, about whom he wrote love poems which Goethe published in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
in 1795 under the title of Erotica Romana. With William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
, he appears to have had a rapport which saw him invited to stay at Porlock
Porlock
Porlock is a coastal village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated in a deep hollow below Exmoor, west of Minehead. The parish, which includes Hawkcombe and Doverhay, has a population of 1,377....
in 1798, where he also met Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
at the time of the latter's supposed composition of Kubla Khan, a stay which
ultimately led to his persuading Wordsworth to quantify certain lines in Tintern Abbey and The Thorn.
Notable achievements
As a polymath, Crabtree is credited with a great number of achievements in many fields, literary, scientific and artistic. Orations by eminent scholars in their field have demonstrated how important Crabtree has been to their own research. Sir James Lighthill, formerly Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, for instance, adduced Crabtree's Theorem as the solution of a quintic equation that cannot be expressed through a formula involving a finite number of additions, multiplications, divisions and extractions of roots.
Dinner and oration
Scholars (members) of the Crabtree Foundation meet annually to venerate his life. Scholars are admitted to the Foundation when it is deemed that they possess the potential for revelation concerning Crabtree's life. In one notable case, a scholar was even spoken to by the spirit of Joseph Crabtree.There are now over 400 scholars of the Foundation, and scholars, in the first President’s words, “scattered as they are over the face of the world”, have established overseas chapters in Australia, Portugal, Italy and Southern Africa each of which holds its own annual celebration of Joseph Crabtree. Their findings have established the international scope and diversity of Crabtree’s life and achievements.