A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature/Wright, Thomas

by John William Cousin

Wright, Thomas (1810-1877).—Antiquary, b. near Ludlow, of Quaker parentage, was ed. at Camb. His first work was a History of Essex (1831-36). In 1836 he went to London, and adopted literature as a profession, devoting himself specially to archæology, history, and biography. He held office in various societies such as the "Camden," "Percy," and "Shakespeare," and ed. many works for them. In all he was the author of over 80 publications, of which some of the chief are The Celt, the Roman, and the Saxon, Biographia Britannica Literaria, Queen Elizabeth and her Times, and History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in England during the Middle Ages. He was superintendent of the excavation of the Roman city at Wroxeter in 1859.