Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/White, John Tahourdin
WHITE, JOHN TAHOURDIN (1809–1893), classical scholar, born in 1809, was the second son of John White of Selborne in Hampshire. He matriculated from Corpus Christi College, Oxford, on 28 Jan. 1830, was elected an exhibitioner in the same year, and graduated B.A. in 1834, M.A. in 1839, and B.D. and D.D. in 1866. He was ordained deacon in 1834 as curate at Swinnerton in Staffordshire. He was appointed reader at St. Stephen Walbrook in 1836, and acted as assistant master at Christ's Hospital from 1836 to 1869. In 1837 he became curate at St. Ann, Blackfriars, was ordained priest in 1839, and in 1841 was appointed curate at St. Martin Ludgate, serving until 1868, when he was instituted rector. He died at 17 Cambridge Road, Brighton, on 17 Dec. 1893.
White was an able classical scholar, and published numerous scholastic works and critical editions of Greek and Latin authors. He is best known perhaps for his ‘Grammar School Texts,’ a series of Latin and Greek authors most commonly read in schools. In conjunction with Joseph Esmond Riddle [q. v.] he brought out in 1862 ‘A Latin-English Dictionary,’ London, 8vo, founded on Ethan Allen Andrews's translation of Wilhelm Freund's ‘Wörterbuch der lateinischen Sprache.’ Freund's ‘Wörterbuch’ was published at Leipzig between 1834 and 1845, and Andrews's translation at New York in 1852. White and Riddle's ‘Dictionary’ was largely superseded by that by Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short in 1879. A ‘College Latin-English Dictionary’ of intermediate size appeared in 1865, and a ‘Junior Student's Complete Latin-English and English-Latin Dictionary’ in 1869. White also edited Robert Lynam's ‘History of the Roman Emperors’ (London, 1850, 2 vols. 8vo).
[Times, 21 Dec. 1893; Foster's Alumni Oxon. 1715–1886; Simms's Bibliotheca Stafford. 1894; Allibone's Dict. of Engl. Lit.]