James Bass Mullinger (1834 or 1843 – 22 November 1917), sometimes known by his pen name Theodorus, was a British author, historian, lecturer and scholar. A longtime university librarian and lecturer at St. John's College, Cambridge, Mullinger was the author of several books detailing the college's history and similar academic subjects. He was also a contributor to many periodicals of the Victorian era, most especially, Cambridge History of Modern Literature, the Dictionary of National Biography and Encyclopædia Britannica.
James Bass Mullinger | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1834 or 1843 Bishop's Stortford, England, UK |
| Died | 22 November 1917 (aged 74–75 or 83–84) Cambridge, England, UK |
| Pen name | J. Bass Mullinger, Theodorus |
| Occupation | Writer, librarian, historian, lecturer |
| Nationality | British |
| Genre | non-fiction, academic history, religious history |
| Notable works | History of the University of Cambridge Down to the Decline of the Platonists |
His best known effort, History of the University of Cambridge Down to the Decline of the Platonists (1873), was a three-volume history of the university and was considered the definitive work on the subject at the turn of the 20th century. It is today considered a landmark publication in British university history.
Biography
editJames Mullinger was born in Bishop's Stortford and educated at University College, London, and then admitted as a sizar at St. John's College, Cambridge in 1862.[1] He graduated with double honours in 1866, having taken both the Classical and Moral Science Triposes, and subsequently won the Le Bas, the Hulsean, and the Kaye Prizes.[2]
For a time he was a lecturer at Bedford College, London but eventually decided to teach at his alma mater. Returning to Cambridge, he became Birkbeck lecturer on Ecclesiastical History at Trinity College, and was a lecturer to the Teachers' Training Syndicate on the "History of Education" for ten years.[3] He held a university lectureship in history and was librarian of the historic Library of St. John's College for a number of years.[2][4][5]
He authored a number of books while at Cambridge, many of which related to the history of the institution, including Cambridge Characteristics in the 17th Century (1867), The Ancient African Church: Its Rise, Influence, and Decline (1869), The New Reformation, A Narrative of the Old Catholic Movement from 1870 to the Present Time (1875) and The Schools of Charles the Great and the Restoration of Education in the Ninth Century (1877).[3] In 1881, he and Professor Samuel R. Gardiner co-authored Introduction to the Study of English History[5] and, in 1897, collaborated with Rev. J. Howard B. Masterman a treatise on "The Age of Milton," which passed through seven editions. His last two books were History of St. John's College, Cambridge (1901) and Was Ben Jonson Ever a Member of Our College? (1904).[2]
His best known work, however, is the three-volume History of the University of Cambridge Down to the Decline of the Platonists.[3] This project took him well over three decades,[1] Mullinger being devoted to his academic responsibilities as well as being a regular contributor to many encyclopaedias, and journals of the period,[5] with the first volume of the History of Cambridge being published in 1873, the second in 1888 and the final one in 1911.[4] The following year, he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Literature from the university.[2]
Among the publications he worked on included the Cambridge History of Modern Literature, Cambridge Modern History, the Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, Dictionary of National Biography and Encyclopædia Britannica.[5] Although he lived much of his life as "somewhat of a retired scholar", Mullinger enjoyed travelling abroad and compiled a collection of "fine photographs of buildings of architectural value". He died at Cambridge on 22 November 1917,[3][4] at the age of 74.[2][5]
Bibliography
edit- Cambridge Characteristics in the 17th Century: Or the Studies of the University and Their Influence on the Character and Writings of the Most Distinguished Graduates during that Period (1867)
- The Ancient African Church: Its Rise, Influence, and Decline (1869)
- The University of Cambridge from the Earliest Times to the Royal Injunctions of 1535 (1873)
- The New Reformation, A Narrative of the Old Catholic Movement from 1870 to the Present Time (1875)
- The Schools of Charles the Great and the Restoration of Education in the Ninth Century (1877)[6]
- Introduction to the Study of English History (1881, co-written with S.R. Gardiner)
- The Age of Milton (1897, co-written with Rev. J. Howard B. Masterman)
- History of St. John's College, Cambridge (1901)
- Was Ben Jonson Ever a Member of Our College? (1904)
References
edit
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Cousin, John William (1910). A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London: J. M. Dent & Sons – via Wikisource.
- ^ a b "Mullinger, James Bass (MLNR862JB)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ a b c d e "Death of Dr. Mullinger. Historian of Cambridge University." The Times. 23 November 1917: 8.
- ^ a b c d The Journal of Education. Vol. 39 (1917): 720+.
- ^ a b c Cattell, J. McKeen, ed. "Educational Notes And News." School and Society. Vol. VII No. 158 (January–June 1918): 16+.
- ^ a b c d e Pollard, A.F., ed. "News And Notes." History: The Quarterly Journal of the Historical Association. Vol. II (January 1918): 230–31.
- ^ "Mullinger's Schools of Charles the Great". The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art. 44: 216–217. 18 August 1877.
External links
edit- Works by or about James Bass Mullinger at Wikisource
- Janus: Papers of James Bass Mullinger