George Grote: Difference between revisions
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==Early life== |
==Early life== |
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He was born at [[Clay Hill, Kent|Clay Hill]] near [[Beckenham]] in [[Kent]].<ref> |
He was born at [[Clay Hill, Kent|Clay Hill]] near [[Beckenham]] in [[Kent]].<ref>{{citation |url=http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x030387561;view=1up;seq=116 |title=George Grote |journal=The Quarterly Review |volume=135 |year=1873 |page=101}}</ref> His grandfather, Andreas, originally a [[Bremen (city)|Bremen]] merchant, was one of the founders (on 1 January 1766) of the banking-house of Grote, Prescott & Company in [[Threadneedle Street]], London (the name of Grote did not disappear from the firm till 1879). His father, another George, married (1793) Selina, daughter of [[Henry Peckwell]] (1747–1787), minister of [[Selina, Countess of Huntingdon]]'s [[Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion|chapel in Westminster]], and his wife Bella Blosset (descended from a [[Huguenot]] officer [[Salomon Blosset de Loche]] who left the [[Dauphiné]] on the revocation of the [[Edict of Nantes]]), and had one daughter and ten sons, of whom George was the eldest. [[Arthur Grote]] was a brother.<ref name="Robertson 1890">{{cite DNB |last=Robertson |first=George Croom |authorlink=George Croom Robertson |wstitle=Grote, Arthur |volume=23}}</ref> ([[John Russell (painter)|John Russell]] RA painted portraits of Henry Peckwell and Bella Blosset.) |
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Educated at first by his mother, George Grote was sent to [[Sevenoaks, England|Sevenoaks]] [[grammar school]] (1800–1804) and afterwards to [[Charterhouse School]] (1804–1810), where he studied under Dr Raine in company with [[Connop Thirlwall]], [[George Waddington|George]] and [[Horace Waddington]] and [[Henry Havelock]]. In spite of Grote's school successes, his father refused to send him to university and sent him to work at the bank. He spent all his spare time in the study of classics, history, metaphysics and political economy and in learning [[German language|German]], [[French language|French]] and [[Italian language|Italian]]. Driven by his mother's [[Religious fanaticism|Puritanism]] and his father's contempt for academic learning, he sought other friends, one of whom was [[Charles Hay Cameron]], who strengthened him in his love of [[philosophy]]. Through another friend, George W Norman, he met his wife, [[Harriet Lewin]] (1792–1878), a writer and later the biographer of the artist [[Ary Scheffer]]. After various difficulties the marriage took place on 5 March 1820, and was a happy one.<ref>Grote |
Educated at first by his mother, George Grote was sent to [[Sevenoaks, England|Sevenoaks]] [[grammar school]] (1800–1804) and afterwards to [[Charterhouse School]] (1804–1810), where he studied under Dr Raine in company with [[Connop Thirlwall]], [[George Waddington|George]] and [[Horace Waddington]] and [[Henry Havelock]]. In spite of Grote's school successes, his father refused to send him to university and sent him to work at the bank. He spent all his spare time in the study of classics, history, metaphysics and political economy and in learning [[German language|German]], [[French language|French]] and [[Italian language|Italian]]. Driven by his mother's [[Religious fanaticism|Puritanism]] and his father's contempt for academic learning, he sought other friends, one of whom was [[Charles Hay Cameron]], who strengthened him in his love of [[philosophy]]. Through another friend, George W Norman, he met his wife, [[Harriet Lewin]] (1792–1878), a writer and later the biographer of the artist [[Ary Scheffer]]. After various difficulties the marriage took place on 5 March 1820, and was a happy one.<ref>{{citation |last=Grote |first=Harriet |year=1873 |url=https://archive.org/stream/personallifeofge00grot#page/n5/mode/2up |title=The Personal Life of George Grote |location=London |publisher=John Murray}}</ref> His wife's nephew was the actor [[William Terriss]], the father of [[Ellaline Terriss]].<ref name=Mirror>{{citation |title=The Terriss Tragedy |newspaper=[[New York Dramatic Mirror]] |date=21 December 1897}}</ref> |
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==Work and writing== |
==Work and writing== |
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Meanwhile, Grote had finally decided his philosophic and political attitude. In 1817 he came under the influence of [[David Ricardo]], and through him of [[James Mill]] and [[Jeremy Bentham]]. He settled in 1820 in a house attached to the bank in [[Threadneedle Street]], where his only [[infant mortality|child died]] a week after its birth. During Mrs Grote's convalescence at [[Hampstead]], he wrote his first published work, the "Statement of the Question of Parliamentary Reform" (1821), in reply to Sir [[James Mackintosh]]'s article in the ''[[Edinburgh Review]]'', advocating [[popular representation]], [[secret ballot|vote by ballot]] and short parliaments. In April 1822 he published in the ''[[Morning Chronicle]]'' a letter against [[George Canning]]'s attack on [[John Russell, 1st Earl Russell|Lord John Russell]], and edited, or rather re-wrote, some discursive papers of Bentham, which he published under the title ''Analysis of the Influence of Natural Religion on the Temporal Happiness of Mankind by Philip Beauchamp'' (1822). The book was published in the name of [[Richard Carlile]], then in gaol at [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]]. Though not a member of [[John Stuart Mill]]'s [[Utilitarian Society]] (1822–1823), he took a great interest in a society for reading and discussion, which met from 1823 onwards in a room at the bank before business hours, twice a week. |
Meanwhile, Grote had finally decided his philosophic and political attitude. In 1817 he came under the influence of [[David Ricardo]], and through him of [[James Mill]] and [[Jeremy Bentham]]. He settled in 1820 in a house attached to the bank in [[Threadneedle Street]], where his only [[infant mortality|child died]] a week after its birth. During Mrs Grote's convalescence at [[Hampstead]], he wrote his first published work, the "Statement of the Question of Parliamentary Reform" (1821), in reply to Sir [[James Mackintosh]]'s article in the ''[[Edinburgh Review]]'', advocating [[popular representation]], [[secret ballot|vote by ballot]] and short parliaments. In April 1822 he published in the ''[[Morning Chronicle]]'' a letter against [[George Canning]]'s attack on [[John Russell, 1st Earl Russell|Lord John Russell]], and edited, or rather re-wrote, some discursive papers of Bentham, which he published under the title ''Analysis of the Influence of Natural Religion on the Temporal Happiness of Mankind by Philip Beauchamp'' (1822). The book was published in the name of [[Richard Carlile]], then in gaol at [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]]. Though not a member of [[John Stuart Mill]]'s [[Utilitarian Society]] (1822–1823), he took a great interest in a society for reading and discussion, which met from 1823 onwards in a room at the bank before business hours, twice a week. |
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Mrs Grote claimed to have first suggested the ''History of Greece'' in 1823; but the book was already in preparation in 1822. In April 1826 Grote published in the ''[[Westminster Review]]'' a criticism of [[William Mitford]]'s ''History of Greece'', which shows that his ideas were already in order. From 1826 to 1830 he was hard at work with [[John Stuart Mill]] and [[Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux|Henry Brougham]] in the organization of [[University College London]]. He was a member of the council which organized the faculties and the curriculum. In 1830, owing to a difference with Mill as to an appointment to one of the philosophical chairs (Grote objected to [[John Hoppus]]), he resigned his position. He rejoined the council in 1849 and was appointed Treasurer in 1860, then President in 1868. In his will Grote left ₤6000 as an endowment for the [[Grote Chair of the Philosophy of Mind and Logic|Chair of Philosophy of Mind and Logic]] at University College London |
Mrs Grote claimed to have first suggested the ''History of Greece'' in 1823; but the book was already in preparation in 1822. In April 1826 Grote published in the ''[[Westminster Review]]'' a criticism of [[William Mitford]]'s ''History of Greece'', which shows that his ideas were already in order. From 1826 to 1830 he was hard at work with [[John Stuart Mill]] and [[Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux|Henry Brougham]] in the organization of [[University College London]]. He was a member of the council which organized the faculties and the curriculum. In 1830, owing to a difference with Mill as to an appointment to one of the philosophical chairs (Grote objected to [[John Hoppus]]), he resigned his position. He rejoined the council in 1849 and was appointed Treasurer in 1860, then President in 1868. In his will Grote left ₤6000 as an endowment for the [[Grote Chair of the Philosophy of Mind and Logic|Chair of Philosophy of Mind and Logic]] at University College London.<ref name="Robertson 1890"/> |
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He went abroad in 1830, and spent some months in Paris with the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] leaders. Recalled by his father's death (6 July), he became manager of the bank, and took a leading position among the City Radicals.<ref>Kinzer |
He went abroad in 1830, and spent some months in Paris with the [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] leaders. Recalled by his father's death (6 July), he became manager of the bank, and took a leading position among the City Radicals.<ref>{{citation |last=Kinzer |first=Bruce |year=2004 |chapter=George Grote, the Philosophical Radical and Politician |title=Brill's Companion to George Grote and the Classical Tradition |location=London |publisher=Brill |pages=16–45}}</ref> In 1831 he published his important ''Essentials of [[Reform Act 1832|Parliamentary Reform]]'' (an elaboration of his previous "Statement"), and, after refusing to stand as parliamentary candidate for the [[City of London (UK Parliament constituency)|City of London]] in 1831, changed his mind and was elected head of the poll, with three other Liberals, in December 1832. After serving in three parliaments, he resigned in 1841, by which time his party ("the [[Philosophical Radicals]]") had dwindled away. |
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[[File:Picture of George Grote.jpg|thumb|left|210px|Portrait of George Grote, by Maull & Fox.]] |
[[File:Picture of George Grote.jpg|thumb|left|210px|Portrait of George Grote, by Maull & Fox.]] |
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During these years of active public life, his interest in [[Greek history]] and philosophy had increased, and after a trip to Italy in 1842, he severed his connection with the bank and devoted himself to literature. In 1846 the first two volumes of the ''History'' appeared, and the remaining ten between 1847 and the spring of 1856. In 1845, with [[Sir William Molesworth, 8th Baronet|William Molesworth]] and [[Raikes Currie]], he gave money to [[Auguste Comte]], then in financial difficulties. The formation of the [[Sonderbund]] (20 July 1847) led him to visit Switzerland and study for himself a condition of things in some sense analogous to that of the [[Ancient greek city states|ancient Greek states]]. This visit resulted in the publication in ''[[The Spectator (1828)|The Spectator]]'' of seven weekly letters, collected in book form at the end of 1847 (see a letter to [[de Tocqueville]] in Mrs Grote's reprint of the ''Seven Letters'', 1876). |
During these years of active public life, his interest in [[Greek history]] and philosophy had increased, and after a trip to Italy in 1842, he severed his connection with the bank and devoted himself to literature. In 1846 the first two volumes of the ''History'' appeared, and the remaining ten between 1847 and the spring of 1856. In 1845, with [[Sir William Molesworth, 8th Baronet|William Molesworth]] and [[Raikes Currie]], he gave money to [[Auguste Comte]], then in financial difficulties. The formation of the [[Sonderbund]] (20 July 1847) led him to visit Switzerland and study for himself a condition of things in some sense analogous to that of the [[Ancient greek city states|ancient Greek states]]. This visit resulted in the publication in ''[[The Spectator (1828)|The Spectator]]'' of seven weekly letters, collected in book form at the end of 1847 (see a letter to [[de Tocqueville]] in Mrs Grote's reprint of the ''Seven Letters'', 1876). |
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In 1856, Grote began to prepare his works on [[Plato]] and [[Aristotle]]. ''Plato and the Other Companions of Sokrates'' (3 vols.) appeared in 1865. That work made him known by some as "the greatest nineteenth-century Plato scholar |
In 1856, Grote began to prepare his works on [[Plato]] and [[Aristotle]]. ''Plato and the Other Companions of Sokrates'' (3 vols.) appeared in 1865. That work made him known by some as "the greatest nineteenth-century Plato scholar".<ref>{{citation |first=M. |last=Schofield |title=Plato |editor-first=E, |editor-last=Craig |encyclopedia=Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy |publisher=Routledge |year=1998–2002 |url=http://www.rep.routledge.com/article/A088}}</ref> The work on Aristotle he did not complete. He had finished the ''[[Organon]]'' and was about to deal with the [[metaphysics|metaphysical]] and physical treatises when he died at his home in [[Mayfair]], London, and was buried in [[Westminster Abbey]]. The house, No. 12 [[Savile Row]], now has a commemorative brown plaque on it.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/discover/blue-plaques/search/grote-george-1794-1871|title=George Grote Plaque|publisher=[[English Heritage]]|accessdate=24 November 2013}}</ref> |
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He is said, in some estimations, to have been a man of strong character and self-control, unfailing courtesy and unswerving devotion to what he considered the best interests of the nation. Other historians, such as [[Guy MacLean Rogers]], consider he can reasonably be accused of [[anti-clerical]] bias. Grote's time on the Council at University College, London was characterised by his contentious approach to two liberal [[nonconformists]]: [[John Hoppus]] and [[James Martineau]], both of whom found ways to work around his opposition. Grote's life has attracted a wide variety of biographical comment due to his strong views. |
He is said, in some estimations, to have been a man of strong character and self-control, unfailing courtesy and unswerving devotion to what he considered the best interests of the nation. Other historians, such as [[Guy MacLean Rogers]], consider he can reasonably be accused of [[anti-clerical]] bias. Grote's time on the Council at University College, London was characterised by his contentious approach to two liberal [[nonconformists]]: [[John Hoppus]] and [[James Martineau]], both of whom found ways to work around his opposition. Grote's life has attracted a wide variety of biographical comment due to his strong views.{{efn|Charles Darwin remembered that he was pleased by the simplicity and absence of all pretension (Grote's ''manners'' cited in {{citation |editor-last=Barlow |editor-first=Nora |year=1958 |title=The Autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809-1882 |location=London |publisher=Collins |page=[http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?pageseq=115&itemID=F1497&viewtype=side 111]}}</ref> |
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==Principal works== |
==Principal works== |
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* 1821 – ''Statement of the Question of Parliamentary Reform'' |
* 1821 – ''Statement of the Question of Parliamentary Reform'' |
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* 1822 – ''Analysis of the Influence of Natural Religion On the Temporal Happiness, of Mankind'' (From Jeremy Bentham's notes)<ref> |
* 1822 – ''Analysis of the Influence of Natural Religion On the Temporal Happiness, of Mankind'' (From Jeremy Bentham's notes)<ref>{{citation|author1=George Grote|author2=Jeremy Bentham|title=Analysis of the Influence of Natural Religion: On the Temporal Happiness, of Mankind|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=EZdAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR1|year=1822|publisher=R. Carlile}}</ref> |
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* 1831 – ''Essentials of Parliamentary Reform''<ref> |
* 1831 – ''Essentials of Parliamentary Reform''<ref>{{citation|author=George Grote|title=Essentials of parliamentary reform|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=RDUKAQAAMAAJ&pg=PR4|year=1831|publisher=Baldwin and Gradock|page=4}}</ref> |
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* 1831 - ''Speech of George Grote, Esq. M.P., delivered April 25th, 1833, in the House of Commons, on moving for the introduction of the vote by ballot at elections'' |
* 1831 - ''Speech of George Grote, Esq. M.P., delivered April 25th, 1833, in the House of Commons, on moving for the introduction of the vote by ballot at elections'' |
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* 1846–1856 – ''A History of Greece; from the Earliest Period to the Close of the Generation Contemporary with Alexander the Great'' (12 vols.)<ref> |
* 1846–1856 – ''A History of Greece; from the Earliest Period to the Close of the Generation Contemporary with Alexander the Great'' (12 vols.)<ref>{{citation|author=George Grote|title=A History of Greece|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=4X_1rlaND0IC|date=1 April 2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-108-00951-5}}</ref> |
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* 1847 – ''Seven Letters on the Recent Politics of Switzerland'' |
* 1847 – ''Seven Letters on the Recent Politics of Switzerland''<ref> |
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{{citation|title=Seven letters concerning the politics of Switzerland, pending the outbreak of the civil war in 1847 |year=1876 |last=Grote |first=George |location=London |publisher=John Murry |url=https://archive.org/details/sevenlettersconc00grotrich}}</ref> |
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* 1859 – ''Life, Teachings, and Death of Socrates. From Grote's History of Greece'' |
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* 1860 – ''Plato's Doctrine Respecting the Rotation of the Earth, and Aristotle's Comment upon that Doctrine.'' |
* 1860 – ''Plato's Doctrine Respecting the Rotation of the Earth, and Aristotle's Comment upon that Doctrine.'' |
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* 1865 – ''Plato, and the Other Companions of Sokrates'' (4 vols.)<ref> |
* 1865 – ''Plato, and the Other Companions of Sokrates'' (4 vols.)<ref>{{citation |title=Plato and the Other Companions of Sokrates |edition=4 volumes, 3rd |volume=1 |first=George |last=Grote |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40435 |publisher=Project Gutenberg |origyear=1885 |date=7 August 2012}}</ref> |
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* 1868 – ''Review of the Work of Mr. John Stuart Mill Entitled 'Examination of Sir William Hamilton's philosophy'''<ref> |
* 1868 – ''Review of the Work of Mr. John Stuart Mill Entitled 'Examination of Sir William Hamilton's philosophy'''<ref>{{citation |title=Review of the work of Mr. John Stuart Mill, entitled, 'Examination of Sir William Hamilton's philosophy |first=Grote |last=George|year=1868 |url=https://archive.org/details/reviewofmill00grotuoft}}</ref> |
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* 1872 – ''Poems, 1815-1823'' |
* 1872 – ''Poems, 1815-1823'' |
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* 1872 – ''Aristotle'' (ed. by [[Alexander Bain]] and [[George Croom Robertson]])<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/aristotle04grotgoog#page/n4/mode/2up |
* 1872 – ''Aristotle'' (ed. by [[Alexander Bain]] and [[George Croom Robertson]])<ref>Aristotle'' (ed. by [[Alexander Bain]] and [[George Croom Robertson]], volumes [https://archive.org/stream/aristotle04grotgoog#page/n4/mode/2up 1] and [https://archive.org/stream/grotesaristotle02grotuoft#page/n3/mode/2up 2]</ref> |
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* 1873 – ''The Minor Works of George Grote''<ref> |
* 1873 – ''The Minor Works of George Grote''<ref>{{citation |title=The minor works of George Grote. With critical remarks on his intellectual character, writings and speeches |last=Grote |first=George |last2=Bain |first2=Alexander |year=1873 |location=London |publisher=J. Murray |url=https://archive.org/details/minorworksofgeor00grotuoft}}</ref> |
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* 1876 – ''Fragments on Ethical Subjects, a Selection from his Posthumous Papers''<ref> |
* 1876 – ''Fragments on Ethical Subjects, a Selection from his Posthumous Papers''<ref>{{citation |title=Fragments on ethical subjects, a selection from his posthumous papers |
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|last=Grote |first=George |year=1876 |location=London |publisher=J. Murray |url=https://archive.org/details/fragmentsonethic00grot}}</ref> |
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==Recognition== |
==Recognition== |
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[[Grote Street, Adelaide|Grote Street]], a principal business strip in the city of [[Adelaide, South Australia]] was named for him.<ref>{{ |
[[Grote Street, Adelaide|Grote Street]], a principal business strip in the city of [[Adelaide, South Australia]] was named for him.<ref>{{citation |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article35313956 |title=The Founding of South Australia |newspaper=[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)|The Advertiser]] |location=Adelaide |date=28 December 1928 |accessdate=3 June 2015 |page=11 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
Revision as of 22:45, 29 February 2016
George Grote | |
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![]() An early portrait of George Grote. | |
Born | Clay Hill, Kent | 14 November 1794
Died | 18 June 1871 Mayfair, London | (aged 76)
Nationality | English |
Signature | |
![]() |
George Grote (/ɡroʊt/; 17 November 1794 – 18 June 1871) was an English political radical and classical historian. He is now best known for his major work, the voluminous History of Greece.
Early life
He was born at Clay Hill near Beckenham in Kent.[1] His grandfather, Andreas, originally a Bremen merchant, was one of the founders (on 1 January 1766) of the banking-house of Grote, Prescott & Company in Threadneedle Street, London (the name of Grote did not disappear from the firm till 1879). His father, another George, married (1793) Selina, daughter of Henry Peckwell (1747–1787), minister of Selina, Countess of Huntingdon's chapel in Westminster, and his wife Bella Blosset (descended from a Huguenot officer Salomon Blosset de Loche who left the Dauphiné on the revocation of the Edict of Nantes), and had one daughter and ten sons, of whom George was the eldest. Arthur Grote was a brother.[2] (John Russell RA painted portraits of Henry Peckwell and Bella Blosset.)
Educated at first by his mother, George Grote was sent to Sevenoaks grammar school (1800–1804) and afterwards to Charterhouse School (1804–1810), where he studied under Dr Raine in company with Connop Thirlwall, George and Horace Waddington and Henry Havelock. In spite of Grote's school successes, his father refused to send him to university and sent him to work at the bank. He spent all his spare time in the study of classics, history, metaphysics and political economy and in learning German, French and Italian. Driven by his mother's Puritanism and his father's contempt for academic learning, he sought other friends, one of whom was Charles Hay Cameron, who strengthened him in his love of philosophy. Through another friend, George W Norman, he met his wife, Harriet Lewin (1792–1878), a writer and later the biographer of the artist Ary Scheffer. After various difficulties the marriage took place on 5 March 1820, and was a happy one.[3] His wife's nephew was the actor William Terriss, the father of Ellaline Terriss.[4]
Work and writing

Meanwhile, Grote had finally decided his philosophic and political attitude. In 1817 he came under the influence of David Ricardo, and through him of James Mill and Jeremy Bentham. He settled in 1820 in a house attached to the bank in Threadneedle Street, where his only child died a week after its birth. During Mrs Grote's convalescence at Hampstead, he wrote his first published work, the "Statement of the Question of Parliamentary Reform" (1821), in reply to Sir James Mackintosh's article in the Edinburgh Review, advocating popular representation, vote by ballot and short parliaments. In April 1822 he published in the Morning Chronicle a letter against George Canning's attack on Lord John Russell, and edited, or rather re-wrote, some discursive papers of Bentham, which he published under the title Analysis of the Influence of Natural Religion on the Temporal Happiness of Mankind by Philip Beauchamp (1822). The book was published in the name of Richard Carlile, then in gaol at Dorchester. Though not a member of John Stuart Mill's Utilitarian Society (1822–1823), he took a great interest in a society for reading and discussion, which met from 1823 onwards in a room at the bank before business hours, twice a week.
Mrs Grote claimed to have first suggested the History of Greece in 1823; but the book was already in preparation in 1822. In April 1826 Grote published in the Westminster Review a criticism of William Mitford's History of Greece, which shows that his ideas were already in order. From 1826 to 1830 he was hard at work with John Stuart Mill and Henry Brougham in the organization of University College London. He was a member of the council which organized the faculties and the curriculum. In 1830, owing to a difference with Mill as to an appointment to one of the philosophical chairs (Grote objected to John Hoppus), he resigned his position. He rejoined the council in 1849 and was appointed Treasurer in 1860, then President in 1868. In his will Grote left ₤6000 as an endowment for the Chair of Philosophy of Mind and Logic at University College London.[2]
He went abroad in 1830, and spent some months in Paris with the Liberal leaders. Recalled by his father's death (6 July), he became manager of the bank, and took a leading position among the City Radicals.[5] In 1831 he published his important Essentials of Parliamentary Reform (an elaboration of his previous "Statement"), and, after refusing to stand as parliamentary candidate for the City of London in 1831, changed his mind and was elected head of the poll, with three other Liberals, in December 1832. After serving in three parliaments, he resigned in 1841, by which time his party ("the Philosophical Radicals") had dwindled away.

During these years of active public life, his interest in Greek history and philosophy had increased, and after a trip to Italy in 1842, he severed his connection with the bank and devoted himself to literature. In 1846 the first two volumes of the History appeared, and the remaining ten between 1847 and the spring of 1856. In 1845, with William Molesworth and Raikes Currie, he gave money to Auguste Comte, then in financial difficulties. The formation of the Sonderbund (20 July 1847) led him to visit Switzerland and study for himself a condition of things in some sense analogous to that of the ancient Greek states. This visit resulted in the publication in The Spectator of seven weekly letters, collected in book form at the end of 1847 (see a letter to de Tocqueville in Mrs Grote's reprint of the Seven Letters, 1876).
In 1856, Grote began to prepare his works on Plato and Aristotle. Plato and the Other Companions of Sokrates (3 vols.) appeared in 1865. That work made him known by some as "the greatest nineteenth-century Plato scholar".[6] The work on Aristotle he did not complete. He had finished the Organon and was about to deal with the metaphysical and physical treatises when he died at his home in Mayfair, London, and was buried in Westminster Abbey. The house, No. 12 Savile Row, now has a commemorative brown plaque on it.[7]
He is said, in some estimations, to have been a man of strong character and self-control, unfailing courtesy and unswerving devotion to what he considered the best interests of the nation. Other historians, such as Guy MacLean Rogers, consider he can reasonably be accused of anti-clerical bias. Grote's time on the Council at University College, London was characterised by his contentious approach to two liberal nonconformists: John Hoppus and James Martineau, both of whom found ways to work around his opposition. Grote's life has attracted a wide variety of biographical comment due to his strong views.{{efn|Charles Darwin remembered that he was pleased by the simplicity and absence of all pretension (Grote's manners cited in Barlow, Nora, ed. (1958), The Autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809-1882, London: Collins, p. 111</ref>
Principal works
- 1821 – Statement of the Question of Parliamentary Reform
- 1822 – Analysis of the Influence of Natural Religion On the Temporal Happiness, of Mankind (From Jeremy Bentham's notes)[8]
- 1831 – Essentials of Parliamentary Reform[9]
- 1831 - Speech of George Grote, Esq. M.P., delivered April 25th, 1833, in the House of Commons, on moving for the introduction of the vote by ballot at elections
- 1846–1856 – A History of Greece; from the Earliest Period to the Close of the Generation Contemporary with Alexander the Great (12 vols.)[10]
- 1847 – Seven Letters on the Recent Politics of Switzerland[11]
- 1859 – Life, Teachings, and Death of Socrates. From Grote's History of Greece
- 1860 – Plato's Doctrine Respecting the Rotation of the Earth, and Aristotle's Comment upon that Doctrine.
- 1865 – Plato, and the Other Companions of Sokrates (4 vols.)[12]
- 1868 – Review of the Work of Mr. John Stuart Mill Entitled 'Examination of Sir William Hamilton's philosophy'[13]
- 1872 – Poems, 1815-1823
- 1872 – Aristotle (ed. by Alexander Bain and George Croom Robertson)[14]
- 1873 – The Minor Works of George Grote[15]
- 1876 – Fragments on Ethical Subjects, a Selection from his Posthumous Papers[16]
Recognition
Grote Street, a principal business strip in the city of Adelaide, South Australia was named for him.[17]
Notes
![]() | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (February 2014) |
- ^ "George Grote", The Quarterly Review, 135: 101, 1873
- ^ a b Robertson, George Croom (1890). . In Stephen, Leslie; Lee, Sidney (eds.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 23. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ^ Grote, Harriet (1873), The Personal Life of George Grote, London: John Murray
- ^ "The Terriss Tragedy", New York Dramatic Mirror, 21 December 1897
- ^ Kinzer, Bruce (2004), "George Grote, the Philosophical Radical and Politician", Brill's Companion to George Grote and the Classical Tradition, London: Brill, pp. 16–45
- ^ Schofield, M. (1998–2002), "Plato", in Craig, E, (ed.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Routledge
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) - ^ George Grote Plaque, English Heritage, retrieved 24 November 2013
- ^ George Grote; Jeremy Bentham (1822), Analysis of the Influence of Natural Religion: On the Temporal Happiness, of Mankind, R. Carlile
- ^ George Grote (1831), Essentials of parliamentary reform, Baldwin and Gradock, p. 4
- ^ George Grote (1 April 2010), A History of Greece, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-1-108-00951-5
- ^ Grote, George (1876), Seven letters concerning the politics of Switzerland, pending the outbreak of the civil war in 1847, London: John Murry
- ^ Grote, George (7 August 2012) [1885], Plato and the Other Companions of Sokrates, vol. 1 (4 volumes, 3rd ed.), Project Gutenberg
- ^ George, Grote (1868), Review of the work of Mr. John Stuart Mill, entitled, 'Examination of Sir William Hamilton's philosophy
- ^ Aristotle (ed. by Alexander Bain and George Croom Robertson, volumes 1 and 2
- ^ Grote, George; Bain, Alexander (1873), The minor works of George Grote. With critical remarks on his intellectual character, writings and speeches, London: J. Murray
- ^ Grote, George (1876), Fragments on ethical subjects, a selection from his posthumous papers, London: J. Murray
- ^ "The Founding of South Australia", The Advertiser, Adelaide: National Library of Australia, p. 11, 28 December 1928, retrieved 3 June 2015
References
- "Grote, George." British Authors of the Nineteenth Century H.C. Wilson Company, New York, 1936.
Attribution
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Grote, George". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
Further reading
- Calder, William M., ed. (1996). George Grote Reconsidered: A 200th Birthday Celebration. Hildesheim: Weidmann. ISBN 3-615-00180-X.
- Clarke, Martin L. (1962). George Grote: A Biography. London: Athlone Press.
- Davies, James (1873). "George Grote," The Contemporary Review, Vol. 22, pp. 393–411.
- Demetriou, Kyriacos N. (1999). George Grote on Plato and Athenian Democracy, a Study in Classical Reception. Frankfurt am Main; Berlin; Bern; Bruxelles; New York; Wien: Lang. ISBN 3-631-32739-0; ISBN 0-8204-3554-6
- Dow, Elizabeth Flagg (1956). "George Grote, Historian of Greece: Some Notes for the Centennial", The Classical Journal, Vol. 51, No. 5, pp. 211–219.
- Hamburger, Joseph (1965). Intellectuals in Politics: John Stuart Mill and the Philosophical Radicals. New Haven: Yale University Press.
- Johnson, W. (1994). "Edward Gibbon and George Grote: A Bicentenary in Common", Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 221–226.
- Jones, Tom B. (1935). "George Grote and His History of Greece", The Classical Weekly, Vol. 29, No. 8, pp. 59–61.
- "Modern Historians," Part II, The British Controversialist, Vol. 1, 1869, pp. 1–19, 161–186.
- Momigliano, Arnaldo (1952). George Grote and the Study of Greek History. London: H.K. Lewis and Co., Ltd.
- Robertson, G. Croom (1890). "George Grote." In: Dictionary of National Biography, Vol. XXIII. New York: Macmillan & Co., pp. 284–293.
- Stephen, Leslie (1900). "George Grote." In: The English Utilitarians. London: Duckworth & Co., pp. 336–344.
- Thomas, William (1979). "George Grote and the Ballot." In: The Philosophic Radicals: Nine Studies in Theory and Practice, 1817–1841. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Tritle, Lawrence (1999). "The Athens of George Grote: Historiography and Philosophic Radicalism." In: Text and Tradition: Studies in Greek History and Historiography. Claremont, California.: Regina Books.
- Whedbee, Karen E. (2004). "Reclaiming Rhetorical Democracy: George Grote's Defense of Cleon and the Athenian Demagogues", Rhetoric Society Quarterly, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 71–95.
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