Jonas Hanway
Jonas Hanway FRSA | |
---|---|
James Northcote, c. 1785 | |
Born | 12 August 1712 |
Died | 5 September 1786 |
Occupation(s) | Philanthropist, traveller |
Jonas Hanway
drinking.Life
Hanway was born in Portsmouth, on the south coast of England. Whilst still a child, his father, who had been a victualler, died, and the family subsequently moved to London.
In 1729, Jonas was apprenticed to a merchant in
His return journey was embarrassed by sickness (at
In 1756, Hanway founded
He died, unmarried, on 5 September 1786 aged 74 and was buried in the crypt at
Hanway was the first male Londoner, it is said, to carry an umbrella, (following women who had been using umbrellas since 1705) [4] and he lived to triumph over all the hackney coachmen who tried to hoot and hustle him down.[5] He attacked vail-giving, or tipping, with some temporary success; by his onslaught upon tea drinking he became involved in controversy with Samuel Johnson and Oliver Goldsmith. His last efforts were on behalf of child chimney-sweeps. He also advocated solitary confinement for prisoners and opposed naturalisation of non-British Jews.[6]
Opposition to tea
Hanway was a staunch opponent of tea drinking.[7] In 1756, he authored An Essay on Tea which argued that tea was "pernicious to health, obstructing industry and impoverishing the nation". Hanway stated that tea drinking caused bad breath, ugliness and weakened the nerves. Hanway was concerned about the nation's economic loss from the tea trade with China. He believed that Britain's national wealth was being given to other countries instead of being used in preparing the nation's defence and that excessive tea drinking was weakening the British population.[8]
In 1757, Samuel Johnson, a tea drinker, wrote an anonymous negative review of Hanway's essay for the Literary Magazine.[9] This led to a heated dispute between them.[7] Johnson's review was controversial as it criticised the Foundling Hospital. The governors of the hospital considered taking legal action against the publisher of the Literary Magazine.[10] However, the publishers of the magazine did not apologise or reveal Johnson's name but decided it was time for him to hand in his resignation as a reviewer.[11]
Publications
Hanway created seventy-four printed works, mostly pamphlets. Of literary importance is the Historical Account of British Trade over the Caspian Sea, with a Journal of Travels, etc. (London, 1753). He's also cited frequently for his work with the Foundling Hospital, particularly his pamphlets detailing the earliest comparative "histories" of the foundation versus similar institutions abroad.[12]
On his life, see also John Pugh, Remarkable Occurrences in the Life of Jonas Hanway (London, 1787); Gentleman's Magazine, vol. xxxii. p. 342; vol. lvi. pt. ii. pp. 812814, 1090, 1143-1144; vol. lxv. pt. ii. pp. 72 1722, 834-835; Notes and Queries, 1st series, i. 436, ii. 25; 3rd series, vii. 311; 4th series, viii. 416.
Sources
References
- ^ Trueman Wood, Henry (1913). A History of the Royal Society of Arts. London: John Murray.
- ^ Stanley, A.P., Historical Memorials of Westminster Abbey (London; John Murray; 1882), p. 248.
- ^ Dictionary of British Sculptors, 1660-1851
- ISBN 978-1-47112-918-6.
- Henry Frederick Turle, Joseph Knight, Vernon Horace Rendall, Florence Hayllar (1850) Notes and Queries: Umbrellas. Oxford University Press, pp.25. Retrieved 2006-10-30.
- ^ Hanway, Jonas (1776) Solitude in Imprisonment: With Proper Profitable Labour and a Spare Diet, the Most Humane and... J. Bew. Retrieved 2006-10-30.
- ^ ISBN 962-201-608-1
- ^ Jonas Hanway: Philanthropist and Founder of the Marine Society. Journal of the Johnson Society of London, 1987.
- ^ Murphy, Arthur. (1824). The Works of Samuel Johnson. London: Thomas Tegg. pp. 333-348
- ISBN 978-0859677004
- ISBN 0-87413-736-5
- ^ Hanway, Jonas (1759). A Candid Historical Account of the Hospital For the Reception of Exposed and Deserted Young Children; representing The present Plan of it as productive of many Evils, and not adapted to the Genius and Happiness of this Nation. London.
- Attribution
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hanway, Jonas". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 932. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
Further reading
- Roland Everett Jayne, Jonas Hanway: Philanthropist, Politician, and Author (1712–1786), London: Epworth Press, J. Alfred Sharp, 1929.