Marsden was elected fellow of the Royal Society 23 Jan. 1783, became treasurer and vice-president, and often presided during the illness of Sir Joseph Banks. He had made the acquaintance of Banks in March 1780, and from that time till 1795 was a constant guest at his 'philosophical breakfasts ' in Soho Square, at which ne met, among others, Dr. Solander, Dr. Maskelyne, Major Rennell, Sir William Herschel, Planta, and Bishop Horsley. He was elected fellow of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta in November 1784, and fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1786. He was an original member of the Royal Irish Academy (May 1785), member and treasurer of the Royal Society Club 1787), and a member of the Literary Club 26 Feb. 1799). In June 1786 he received the honorary degree of D.C.L. Oxford.
After his retirement Marsden took a house named Edge Grove at Aldenham, Hertfordshire, where he henceforth chiefly lived. In 1833 he suffered from apoplexy, and an attack proved fatal on 6 Oct. 1836. He was buried in the cemetery at Kensal Green.
On 22 Aug. 1807 Marsden married Elizabeth Wray, eldest daughter of his friend Sir Charles Wilkins. His wife survived him, and afterwards married Lieutenant-colonel W. M. Leake [q. v.], the classical topographer and numismatist. Marsden had written about 1828 an autobiography, which was edited and privately printed by his widow in 1838 as 'A Brief Memoir of . . . William Marsden,' London, 4to. The obituary of Marsden in the 'Gentleman's Magazine' for 1837 (pt. i. pp. 212-13) mentions a portrait of him drawn by S. Cousins in 1820, and engraved by him under the name of his master, Mr. Reynolds. Marsden's collection of oriental books and manuscripts he presented in 1835 to King's College, London.
Marsden's literary reputation was first assured in 1783 by the publication of his 'History of Sumatra,' a work bearing the peculiar impress of his mind, 'strong sense, truthfulness, and caution.' It was welcomed in the 'Quarterly Review' (lxiv. 99) by Southey as a model of descriptive composition, and was highly praised in other English periodicals (Allibone, Dict. Engl. Lit. s.v. 'Marsden'). His 'Dictionary and Grammar of the Malayan Language,' begun in 1786 and published in 18 12, added still further to his reputation, while the publication of his 'Numismata Orientalia ' in 1823-5 established his fame as a numismatist. The last-named valuable and original work describes Marsden's collection of oriental coins, at that time unique in England. The Cufic coins were purchased by Marsden in September 1805 of G. Miles, a coin-dealer, who had acquired them from Sir Robert Ainslie [q. v.] Marsden arranged and deciphered the specimens, and afterwards added other coins, chiefly Indian, to his cabinet. The whole collection was presented by him to the British Museum on 12 July 1834. It consists of about 3,447 oriental coins, including 618 specimens in gold and 1,228 in silver (manuscript note by E. Hawkins in copy of Num. Orient. in department of coins, British Museum).
Marsden's chief publications are : 1. 'The History of Sumatra,' London, 1783, 4to ; 2nd edit. 1784 ; 3rd edit. 1811, 4to ; German translation, Leipzig, 1785, 8vo ; French translation, 1788, 8vo. 2. 'A Catalogue of Dictionaries, Vocabularies, Grammars, and Alphabets,' 2 pts. London, 1796, 4to, privately printed (Martin, Priv. Printed Books). 3. 'A Dictionary of the Malayan Language ; to which is prefixed a Grammar, with an Introduction and Praxis,' 2 pts. London, 1812, 4to (a Dutch translation, Haarlem, 1825, 4to). 4. 'A Grammar of the Malayan Language,' London, 1812, 4to. 5. 'the Travels of Marco Polo,' translated from the Italian, with notes, 1818, 4to ; also 1847, 8vo, in Bonn's 'Antiquarian Library.' Colonel Yule, preface to 'Marco Polo,' i. p. viii, says that Marsden's edition must always be spoken of with respect, though much elucidatory matter has since come to light . 6. 'Numismata Orientalia Illustrata,' with plates, London, pt. i. 1823, pt, ii. 1825, 4to. 7. 'Bibliotheca Marsdeniana Philologica et Orientalis, a Catalogue of Works and Manuscripts collected with a view to the general comparison of Languages and to the study of Oriental Literature,' London, 1827, 4to. 8. 'Nakhoda Muda, Memoirs of a Malayan Family,' 1830, 8vo (Oriental Translation Fund). 9. 'Miscellaneous Works,' London, 1834, 4to (containing three tracts, on the Polynesian languages, on a conventional Roman alphabet applicable to Oriental languages, and on a national English dictionary). Marsden also contributed papers to periodicals, among which may be mentioned, 'The Era of the Mahometans,' in the 'Philosophical Transactions,' 1788, and one on the language and Indian origin of the gipsies, in the 'Archæologia,' vol. vii.
[Brief Memoir of Marsden, by his widow. 1838 ; Gent. Mag. 1837, pt. i. pp. 212-13; Brit. Mus. Cat.]
MARSDEN, WILLIAM (1796–1867), doctor of medicine, descended from a family of yeomen belonging to Cawthorne in Yorkshire, was born in August 1796 at Sheffield, where he spent the early years of his life.
