Davies Gilbert

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Davies Gilbert (born Davies Giddy; 6 March 1767 – 24 December 1839) was a British engineer, author, and politician. He was President of the Royal Society from 1827 to 1830 [1].

Davies was High Sheriff of Cornwall from 1792 to 1793. He served in the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Helston in Cornwall from 1804 to 1806 and for Bodmin from 1806 to 1832.

The Dictionary of National Biography article says of him:

"Gilbert's importance to the development of science in the early nineteenth century lay in his faith that science provided the best means to tackle practical problems and in his facility as a parliamentary promoter of scientific ventures."

He also had a great respect for the history and culture of Cornwall. For instance, he moved a celtic cross from near Truro, on the Redruth Road (where it had found new use as a gatepost), to a place of respect in a Churchyard in his new home of Eastbourne [2] He assembled and published A Parochial History of Cornwall [3] and collected and published a number of Cornish Carols [4]. He edited for publication a Cornish Language poem about the Passion: Passyon agan Arluth, as Mount Calvary (1826)[5].

In 1808 he married Mary Ann Gilbert, and in 1817 he took his wife's surname, Gilbert, to perpetuate it. This enabled the couple to inherit the extensive property in Sussex of her uncle who had no male heir.

Three daughters and a son survived him. Their son, John Davies Gilbert (December 5, 1811 – April 16, 1854) was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in April, 1834 [6] but he does not seem to have published any scientific work. Their daughter Catherine married John Samuel Enys and was the mother of the notable New Zealand naturalist, John Davies Enys (October 11, 1837 – November 7, 1912) [7].

[edit] Publications

Books and publications written or edited by Davies Gilbert include:[8]

  • Plain Statement of the Bullion Question (1811)
  • Some ancient Christmas Carols, with the Tunes to which they were formerly sung in the West of England. Collected by D. Gilbert. London : J. Nichols and Son, 1822.
  • Some ancient Christmas Carols, with the tunes to which they were formerly sung in the west of England. pp. x. 79. J. Nichols and Son: London, 1823
  • Some Ancient Christmas Carols with Tunes to which they were Formerly Sung in the West of England (1822)[9]
  • "On the vibrations of heavy bodies in cycloidal and in circular arches, as compared with their descents through free space; including an estimate of the variable circular excess in vibrations continually decreasing." By Davies Gilbert, .. London : printed by William Clowes, [1823] 15,[3]p. 'Extracted from the Quarterly Journal, Vol. XV'.
  • A Cornish Cantata. [Names of places in Cornwall arranged in the form of verses.] [Privately printed? East-Bourn?] 1826.
  • Mount Calvary; or, the History of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, written in Cornish (as it may be conjectured) some centuries past. Interpreted in English, in ... 1682, by J. Keigwin . Edited by D. Gilbert. pp. xxii. 96. Nichols and Son: London, 1826.
  • "On the expediency of assigning Specific Names to all such Functions of Simple Elements as represent definite physical properties; with the suggestion of a new term in mechanics; illustrated by an investigation of the Machine moved by Recoil" ... From the Philosophical Transactions. pp. 14. [Privately printed:] London, 1827.
  • "Some Collections and Translations respecting St. Neot, and the former state of his Church." In : Hedgeland (J. P.) A Description ... of the ... decorations ... in the Church of St. Neot, etc. 1830.
  • A Cornish dialogue between Tom Pengersick and Dic. Trengurtha. East-Bourn : Davies Gilbert, [ca. 1835](In verse.)
  • The Parochial History of Cornwall, founded on, [or rather including,] the manuscript histories of Mr. Hals and Mr. Tonkin; with additions and various appendices, by D. G. [including copious extracts from J. Whitaker, D. and S. Lysons, &c. and geological notices by Dr. Boase]. 4 vol. London, 1838.

[edit] Notes and sources

  1. ^ See list of Sources below.
  2. ^ Website of Eastbourne Pagan Circle accessed 28 October 2006
  3. ^ This book provides the first written evidence of the use of Flag of Saint Piran
  4. ^ hymns and Carols for Christmas website
  5. ^ Kent, Alan M. (2000). The literature of Cornwall: Continuity, Identity, Difference 1000-2000. Redcliffe Press.  Pages 42 and Note 78 on Page 66.
  6. ^ List of Fellows of the Royal Society, 1660 – 2006. Royal Society Library & Information Services. Retrieved on 2006-10-06. . He was described as " a Gentleman much attached to Science being desirous of admission into the Royal Society ".
  7. ^ Dictionary of New Zealand Biography article, accessed November 7, 2006 .
  8. ^ Sources: British Library Integrated Catalogue and Cornwall County Library Catalogue
  9. ^ This collection and the second edition (1823) includes the first publication of the well-known carols: A Virgin Most Pure, Whilst Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night, The First Nowel That The Angel Did Say, Christians, Awake! Salute The Happy Morn.

Sources

[edit] External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
James Harris
John Penn		 Member of Parliament for Helston
2-seat constituency
(with James Harris, to 1805
Archibald Primrose, from 1805)
1804–1806		 Succeeded by
Sir John Shelley
Archibald Primrose
Preceded by
Josias du Pre Porcher
James Topping		 Member of Parliament for Bodmin
2-seat constituency
(with William Wingfield, 1806–1807
Sir William Oglander, 1807–1812
Charles Bragge Bathurst, 1812–1818
Thomas Bradyll, 1818–1820
John Wilson Croker, 1820–1826
Horace Beauchamp Seymour, 1826–1832)
1806–1832		 Succeeded by
William Peter
Samuel Thomas Spry
Persondata
NAME Gilbert,Davies
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Giddy, Davies
SHORT DESCRIPTION Scientist and mathematician. President of the Royal Society, M.P.
DATE OF BIRTH March 6, 1767
PLACE OF BIRTH St Erth, Cornwall
DATE OF DEATH December 24, 1839
PLACE OF DEATH Eastbourne
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