Sharon Turner

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Sharon Turner (1768 - 1847), historian. Born in London, Turner was a solicitor who left the profession after he became interested in the study of Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon literature. He settled himself in the area of the British Museum for sixteen years. The results of his researches were published in his History of the Anglo-Saxons (1799 - 1805). Thereafter he continued the narrative in History of England (1814-29), concluding with the end of the reign of Elizabeth.

These histories, especially the former, though somewhat marred by an attempt to emulate the grandiose style of Gibbon, were works of real research opening up and to a considerable extent developing a new field of inquiry in the area of Anglo-Saxon history. Turner also wrote a Sacred History of the World, a translation of Beowulf and a poem on Richard III.

Turner's place as a historian has been debated by later generations of academics.

This article incorporates public domain text from: Cousin, John William (1910). A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. London, J.M. Dent & sons; New York, E.P. Dutton.