1851 to 27 Aug. 1870; general 30 July 1860; col. Scots fusilier guards 27 Aug. 1870 to death; K.C.B. 21 June 1859; G.C.B. 13 March 1867. (m. 31 Oct. 1857 Ellen Elizabeth youngest dau. of Thomas Mayhew of Fairfield house, Suffolk). d. 4 Devonshire place, London 13 May 1875.
AITKEN, David. Educ. high school and univ. of Edinburgh; D.D. 8 July 1843; licensed by presbytery of Edin. 28 March 1821; minister of parish of Minto 14 Sep. 1827 to 16 Nov. 1864; lived in Edin. 1866 to death; corresponded with Georg Hegel the German philosopher; offered chair of church history in univ. of Edin. 1843; wrote an article on German literature in Edinb. Review, xlvi, 304–51 (1827); F.R.S. Edin. 1868. d. Charlotte square, Edin. 27 March 1875.
AITKEN, John. Member of Manchester geological society 1863, pres. twice; author of part of Thomas Newbigging’s History of the forest of Rossendale 1868, and of many papers in geological periodicals. d. Clifton villas, Urmston 29 July 1884 aged 64.
AITKEN, Rev. Robert (son of Robert Aitken). b. Crailing near Jedburgh 22 Jany. 1800; a schoolmaster in Sunderland; ordained deacon by Bishop Van Mildert 1823; minister of Wesleyan Zion chapel, Waterloo road, Liverpool to 20 Dec. 1840; C. of Perranuthnoe, Cornwall 1842–44; domestic chaplain to Earl of Caithness 1844–64; minister of Episcopalian church, Coatbridge about Oct. 1847 to 1848 or 1849; V. of Pendeen, Cornwall 1849 to death; the church, of which he was the architect, was built for him by his parishioners 1854; domestic chaplain to Earl of Seafield 1864 to death; well known throughout England as a preacher of almost unrivalled fervour; author of many sermons and pamphlets. d. on platform of Great Western railway station, Paddington 11 July 1873. bur. Pendeen 18 July. Boase and Courtney’s Bibliotheca Cornubiensis i, 2 and iii, 1025; John Smith’s Our Scottish clergy 2 Series 80–87 (1849); Church Times 6 Aug. to 24 Sep. 1875.
AITKEN, Robert Dickson. b. Hawick, Roxburghshire 8 May 1801; a gardener, then a horsebreaker; left Hawick 1857; purchased estate of Reston Mains, Berwickshire, worth many thousands; tried in the sheriff court at Greenlaw 31 May 1860, for making people of Dunse believe he was heir to a large estate, when found guilty and sentenced to 6 months imprisonment with hard labour; his career was dramatised by George Duckenfield, theatrical manager; he played the chief part in this drama at Berwick and other border towns; delivered a lecture in Hawick 31 May 1864 entitled “How I did the Dunse dunces.” d. the poor house, Hawick 30 April 1879.
AITKEN, William. b. Dunbar 1814; kept a school at Ashton-under-Lyne; went to the United States 1842; grand master of the Odd-fellows there 1846; author of A journey up the Mississipi river; and of articles in the Quarterly magazine of Odd-fellows; committed suicide at Ashton 27 Sep. 1869. Quarterly magazine of Odd-fellows i, 129–32 (1858) portrait.
AITKEN, William Costen. b. Dumfries 3 March 1817; worked for R. W. Winfield of Birmingham, brassfounder 1844–64; took out a patent for ornamenting cornice poles, &c. with porcelain or glass which was much used; manager at Skidmore’s Art manufacturing company, Coventry, retired 1872; chief organiser of Industrial Exhibition at Bingley house, Birmingham 1849, from which Prince Albert took the idea of Exhibition of 1851; contributed descriptive notes signed W.C.A. to Illustrated catalogue of Great Exhibition 1851; wrote about a third of Birmingham and the Midland hardware district 1865; wrote in the Art Journal. d. Birmingham 23 March 1875. Birmingham Daily Post 24 March 1875.
AITON, John (youngest son of Wm. Aiton 1760–1848, sheriff substitute of Lanarkshire). b. Strathaven, June 1797; studied theology at univ. of Edinburgh; licensed by presbytery of Hamilton 30 Nov. 1819; minister of parish of Dolphington 14 April 1825 to death; D.D. Glasgow, March 1836; author of Life and times of Alexander Henderson 1836; Clerical Economics 1842, 2 ed. 1846; The lands of the Messiah, Mahomet, and the Pope 1852; Manual of domestic economy 1857. d. Pyrgo park, Havering, Essex 15 May 1863.
AITON, John Townsend. Gardener at Kensington palace 1831 to death. d. Kensington palace 4 July 1851 aged 74.
AKERMAN, John Yonge (son of John Akerman of St. Mary Newington, Surrey who d. 2 Nov. 1835 aged 50). b. London 12 June 1806; F.S.A. 16 Jany. 1834; started the Numismatic Journal June 1836, the first English periodical devoted to the illustration of coins; one of the secretaries of Numismatic society 1836–60, the first regular meeting was held 22 Dec. 1836; edited Journal of Numismatic Society 1837–60; and Numismatic Chronicle 1838–60; gold medallist of French Institute; joint sec. with Sir Henry Ellis of Society of Antiquaries 2 May 1848 and sole sec. 1853–24 June 1860; lived at Abingdon 1860 to death; author of Numismatic Manual 1832; Descriptive catalogue of rare Roman coins, 2 vols. 1834; Legends of old London 1853 and 18 other books; author of many papers in the Archæologia and Numismatic Journal. d. Abingdon 18 Nov. 1873. Numismatic Chronicle xiv, 13–19 (1874).
AKHURST, William. b. Hammersmith 29 Dec. 1822; went to Australia 1850; sub-editor and musical critic on the Argus daily paper in Melbourne; wrote 14 pantomimes; wrote The siege of Troy burlesque which was performed 60 nights, a run without precedent in Australia; returned to England 1870; wrote pantomimes for Astley’s, Pavilion, and Elephant and Castle theatres. d. on board the “Patriarch” on his voyage to Sydney 7 June 1878.
ALABASTER, Harry. Interpreter in consulate Bangkok Siam 30 Nov. 1864 to 31 Dec. 1871; author of The modern Buddhist, translated by H.A. 1870; The wheel of the law, Buddhism, illustrated from Siamese sources 1871. d. Bangkok Siam 8 Aug. 1884.
ALBANO, Benedetto. b. in kingdom of Naples about 1796; fled to England at the Bourbon restoration 1815; employed by Messrs. Rennie in London; naturalised by 1 & 2 Vict. cap. 42, 9 May 1838; converted Covent garden theatre into an opera house at a cost of nearly £30,000, 1846; A.I.C.E. 1831, M.I.C.E. 1840. d. 75 Welbeck st. Cavendish sq. 7 Nov. 1881.
ALBANY, Leopold George Duncan Albert, 1 Duke of (8 child and 4 son of Queen Victoria). b. Buckingham palace 7 April 1853. K.G. 24 May 1869, K.T. 24 May 1871; matric. at Univ. of Ox. (Ch. Ch.) 1872; D.C.L. 1876; P.C. 1874; admitted by patrimony to freedom of city of London 25 Oct. 1875; a younger brother of the Trinity House 1875; an elder brother 1878; G.C.S.I. 25 Jany. 1877; a bencher of Lincoln’s Inn 18 June 1877; G.C.M.G. 24 May 1880; created Duke of Albany, Earl of Clarence, and Baron Arklow 24 May 1881. d. Villa Nevada, Cannes at 2 a.m. 28 March 1884. bur. royal tomb, St. George’s chapel, Windsor 5 April. Graphic, xxix, 317–22 and 341–61 (1884) 2 portraits; I.L.N. lxxxiv, 313–29 (1884), 4 portraits.
ALBEMARLE, Augustus Frederick Keppel, 5 Earl of. b. 2 June 1794; M.P. for Arundel (whig) as Viscount Bury 8 March 1820 to 2 June 1826; succeeded as 5 Earl 30 Oct. 1849, but never took his seat in House of Lords; declared to be of unsound mind on an inquisition Dec. 1849. d. Blacklands house asylum, King’s Road, Chelsea 15 March 1851.
ALBERT, Prince Consort of Queen Victoria. b. the Rosenau near Coburg 26 Aug. 1819; baptised in the Marble hall at the Rosenau 19 Sep. 1819 when he received the following names in the order in which they are given, Franz Karl August Albrecht Immanuel; ed. at Brussels and Bonn 1836–38; invested with the order of the Garter at Gotha 23 Jany. 1840; received the title of Royal Highness by patent 6 Feb. 1840; naturalized by act of parliament 3 and 4 Vict. cap. 2, 7 Feb. 1840; Field Marshal 8 Feb. 1840. m. at the chapel royal, St. James’s Palace, London 10 Feb. 1840 Queen Victoria; G.C.B. 6 March 1840, acting great master 31 May 1843; Colonel 11 Hussars 30 April 1840 to 25 April 1842; appointed Regent 4 Aug. 1840; admitted to the freedom of city of London 28 Aug. 1840; P.C. 11 Sep. 1840; ranger of Windsor park 6 April 1841; pres. of fine arts commission 22 Nov. 1841; lord warden of the Stannaries, and chief steward of the Duchy in Cornwall and Devon 16 April 1842; colonel Scots Fusilier guards 25 April 1842 to 25 Sep. 1852; governor and constable of Windsor castle 18 May 1843 to death; captain general and colonel of the Artillery company 20 Sep. 1843; elected chancellor of Univ. of Cam. 27 Feb. 1847, by a majority of 112 over Earl Powis, installed chancellor 6 July 1847; organised the Great Exhibition of 1851; colonel in chief of 60th or King’s Royal rifle corps 15 Aug. 1850 to 23 Sep. 1852; of the Rifle brigade 23 Sep. 1852 to death; master of the Trinity house 19 Oct. 1852 to death; colonel of Grenadier guards 23 Sep. 1852 to death; created Prince