OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Riley, John

Significant differences in fact in this biography when compared with the modern ODNB
​RILEY or RYLEY, JOHN (1646–1691), portrait-painter, born in London in 1646, was one of the sons of William Riley or Ryley, Lancaster herald and keeper of the records in the Tower of London, who was created Norroy king-at-arms under the Commonwealth, but reverted to his herald's office at the Restoration. Another son, Thomas Riley, was an actor. Riley studied painting under Isaac Fuller [q.v.] and Gerard Soest [q.v.], and from the latter learnt a forcible, straightforward style of portraiture which rendered his portraits noteworthy. Riley did not attain much eminence until the death of Sir Peter Lely, when Thomas Chiffinch [q.v.] sat to him, and was so much pleased with his portrait that he showed it to the king. Charles II gave Riley some commissions, and eventually himself sat to him. During one sitting he is said to have remarked to Riley, 'Is this like me? Then oddsfish I'm an ugly fellow.' Riley also painted James II and his queen, and, on the accession of William and Mary, he was appointed court painter to their majesties. Riley was a quiet, modest man, very diffident of his own art, but his portraits are truthful and lifelike. With more self-confidence he might have attained to the position of Lely or Kneller. He was assisted in his draperies and accessories by John Closterman [q.v.], who finished several of Riley's pictures after his death. Riley, who suffered very much from gout, died in March 1691, and was buried in the church of St. Botolph, Bishopsgate. The registers of this church contain various entries relating to his family, including the burial, on 11 Jan. 1692–3, of his wife Jochebed. In the National Portrait Gallery there are portraits by Riley of James II, Edmund Waller the poet, Bishop Burnet, Lord Crewe, bishop of Durham, and William, lord Russell. Among his pupils was Jonathan Richardson (1665–1745) [q.v.], who married a niece of Riley, and, being himself the master of Hudson (who was in his turn the master of Sir Joshua Reynolds), transmitted a truly national strain in the art of portraiture. Portraits of Riley and his wife, drawn by Richardson, are in the print-room at the British Museum.
L. C.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Rimbault, Edward Francis

​RIMBAULT, EDWARD FRANCIS (1816–1876), musical author and antiquary, born in Soho on 13 June 1816, was the son of Stephen Francis Rimbault, organist to St. Giles's-in-the-Fields, a descendant from a Huguenot refugee family. After learning the elements of music from his father he became pupil of Samuel Wesley, and at the age of sixteen he was appointed organist to the Swiss Church, Soho. In 1838 he lectured in London on the history of music, a rare subject then, and two years later he, with Edward Taylor, Gresham professor of music [q.v.], and William Chappell, helped to found the Musical Antiquarian Society, of which he became secretary, and for which he edited a number of works. At the same time he assisted in the foundation of the Percy Society, of which likewise he was secretary. In 1841 he became editor of the Motet Society's publications; a year later he was elected F.S.A. and a member of the Academy of Music, Stockholm; he was also made Ph.D. by Göttingen University, and was offered, but declined, the chair of music at Harvard University, U.S.A. In 1842 he edited for the Percy Society 'Five Poetical Tracts of the Sixteenth Century.' In 1844 he joined the committee of the Handel Society, for whom he edited the 'Messiah,' 'Saul,' and 'Samson.' In 1848 he was given a degree by Oxford University in recognition of his services in the arrangement of the music in the music school; and in the same year he lectured at the Royal Institution. Subsequently he occupied himself with his duties as organist of various churches, including St. Peter's, Vere Street, and St. John's Wood presbyterian church, and in editing musical journals and arranging music. He died at 29 St. Mark's Terrace, Regent's Park, on 26 Sept. 1876. He was buried at Highgate cemetery.
Fétis gives a list of no fewer than thirty-nine works, original and arranged or edited by Rimbault. This includes two editions of Marbeck's Book of Common Prayer, a new edition of Arnold's 'Cathedral Music,' North's 'Memoirs of Music' (1846, 4to), the 'Bibliotheca Madrigaliana’ (1847, 8vo); with Dr. E. J. Hopkins, ‘The Organ, its History and Construction’ (1855, 8vo); 'A History of the Pianoforte’ (1865, 4to), 'Early English Organ Builders’ (1865, 8vo), and the ‘Old Cheque Book of the Chapel Royal’ (1872, 4to) for the Camden Society. His chief literary performances outside musical topics were an edition of Sir Thomas Overbury's ‘Works’ (1856, 8vo), and 'Soho and its Associations,’ edited by George Clinch (London, 1895, 8vo). Rimbault possessed a wide rather than deep knowledge of the history of music in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. His musical compositions are few and unimportant. They include an operetta, 'The Fair Maid of Islington,' produced in 1838, and a musical drama, 'The ​Castle Spectre,' which at one time enjoyed a great vogue. He made a large number of pianoforte scores of operas by Spohr, Wallace, Balfe, and others, and was an admirable harmonium player. His large library was sold, after his death, at Sotheby's for nearly 2,000l.
R. H. L.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Rigby, Edward (1804-1860)

​RIGBY, EDWARD (1804–1860), obstetrician, son of Edward Rigby (1747–1821) [q. v.], was born with a twin-sister on 1 Aug. 1804. Educated at the grammar school, Norwich, under Valpy, he was a schoolfellow of Sir James Brooke [q. v.] (afterwards rajah of Sarawak) and Sir Archdale Wilson [q. v.] In 1821 he attended Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, and next year matriculated at Edinburgh University. He graduated M.D. 1 Aug. 1825, on his twenty-first birthday (the earliest age then possible). After graduation he spent some time in Dublin, and in 1826 went to Berlin University to study midwifery. From Berlin he passed to Heidelberg, and was kindly received by Naegele. In 1830 he translated Naegele's work ‘On the Mechanism of Parturition,’ which greatly advanced the science of midwifery in ​England. In 1830 he became a house pupil at the Lying-in Hospital in York Road, Lambeth, where he subsequently held the appointments of junior and senior physician successively. In 1831 he was admitted a licentiate of the College of Physicians, and in 1843 became a fellow. In 1831 he began to lecture on midwifery at St. Thomas's, and from 1838 to 1848 he lectured on the same subject at St. Bartholomew's. He was examiner in midwifery in London University from 1841 to 1860. He was regarded as the first obstetric physician in London after Sir Charles Locock [q. v.] retired from practice. When the Obstetrical Society was founded in 1859 he was elected its first president. He was a fellow of the Linnean Society, and a member of many foreign medical societies. Rigby died on 27 Dec. 1860 at 35 Berkeley Square, London.
He married, in September 1838, Susan, second daughter of John Taylor, F.R.S., F.G.S. She died in 1841, leaving a daughter. He married secondly, in 1851, Marianne, eldest daughter of S. D. Darbishire of Pendyffrin, North Wales. She died in 1853, leaving two daughters.
Rigby was author of: 1. ‘Memoranda for Young Practitioners in Midwifery,’ London, 1837, 24mo; 4th edit. 1868, 16mo. 2. ‘A System of Midwifery’ (vol. vi. of Tweedie's ‘Library of Medicine’), London, 1841, 8vo. 3. ‘On Dysmenorrhœa,’ London, 1844, 8vo. 4. ‘On the Constitutional Treatment of Female Diseases,’ London, 1857.
He also contributed ‘Midwifery Hospital Reports’ to the ‘Medical Gazette,’ and ‘Reports on Uterine Affections’ to the ‘Medical Times,’ and brought out the second edition of Hunter's ‘Anatomical Description of the Gravid Uterus,’ London, 1843, 8vo.
E. I. C.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Rigby, Joseph

​RIGBY, JOSEPH (d. 1671), parliamentarian, of Aspull, near Wigan, Lancashire, was third son of Alexander Rigby of Wigan, and brother of Alexander Rigby [q. v.], baron of the exchequer, and of George Rigby, one of the commanders at the siege of Lathom House. He was educated at Eton. At the outbreak of the civil war he joined the parliamentary army, and rose to be lieutenant-colonel, to which office he was appointed on 16 April 1650. In September 1644 he distinguished himself in the attack on Greenhaugh Castle. In April 1650 his offer to bring a regiment to the waterside for service in Ireland was under consideration by the council. Like many other members of his family, he held the office of clerk of the peace for Lancashire. In 1653 and afterwards there was much litigation concerning the profits of the office, part of which was claimed for the children of his brother George. He was in 1654 committed for contempt for refusing to deliver up his books and papers, but he regained his liberty, and continued in office until the Restoration.
He published in 1656 a duodecimo volume of verse, entitled ‘The Drunkard's Prospective, or Burning Glasse,’ directed against the evils of alcoholic drink. The volume contains a number of complimentary verses addressed to the author by Charles Hotham and other literary friends. He also wrote a poem on repentance, from which extracts are given in Heywood's ‘Observations in Verse’ (Chetham Society, 1869). The original manuscript is in the Wigan Free Library. Rigby died in November 1671. He married Margaret, daughter of Gabriel Haighton or Houghton of Knowsley, Lancashire.
C. W. S.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Rightwise, John

​RIGHTWISE or RITWYSE, JOHN (d. 1532?), grammarian, was a native of Sall, a village near Deepham, Norfolk. After being educated at Eton, he was admitted of King's College, Cambridge, in 1508, and graduated B.A. in 1513. In 1517 he was appointed surmaster (second master) of the newly founded St. Paul's School under William Lily. In 1522, on the death of Lily, Rightwise succeeded him as high master. He appears to have been in holy orders. On 18 Dec. 1517 (?) Colet wrote on his behalf to Wolsey asking for some ecclesiastical benefice for him (Ellis, Original Letters, 3rd ser. i. 190). Although, according to Colet, Rightwise was a man of good learning and high character, no preferment reached him. He ​became unsettled, and in 1531 was removed from the high mastership for neglect of duty (Gardiner, Admission Registers of St. Paul's School, p. 20). He is said to have died in 1532 (Tanner, Bibliotheca Brit.-Hib.) There are some verses upon him by Leland (Poemata Varia, p. 18).
He married Dionysia, daughter of William Lily, who survived him and afterwards married James Jacob, surmaster from 1532 to 1560.
Rightwise made some additions to Lily's Grammar under the title of ‘De nominum et verborum interpretamentis.’ But he is chiefly remembered as a composer of plays and interludes. One of them, the ‘Tragedy of Dido, out of Virgil,’ was acted by the boys of St. Paul's School under his superintendence, on 10 Nov. 1527, before Henry VIII and his court at Greenwich (Brewer, Letters and Papers, iv. pt. ii. 1604; Collier, English Dramatic Poetry, 1831, i. 105; Notes and Queries, 2nd ser. ii. 24, 78).
[Stow's Survey, ed. Strype, i. 167; Cooper's Athenæ Cantabr. 1858, i. 46, 529; Cole MSS. vol. xiii. f. 150; Harwood's Alumni Etonenses, 1797, p. 132.]
J. H. L.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Riley, Charles Reuben

​RILEY, CHARLES REUBEN (1752–1798), painter. [See Ryley.]
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Wilkinson, William

​WILKINSON, WILLIAM (d. 1613), theological writer, matriculated as a sizar of Queens' College, Cambridge, on 12 Nov. 1568, proceeded B.A. in 1571–2, and commenced M.A. in 1575. In 1579, while acting as a schoolmaster in Cambridge, he published ‘A Confutation of certaine articles delivered unto the Familye of Love, with the exposition of Theophilus, a supposed Elder in the sayd Familye,’ London, 4to, a treatise directed against Henry Nicholas [q. v.], the founder of the ‘Family of Love.’ Some criticisms of notes collected out of their gospel by John Young (d. 1605) [q. v.], bishop of Rochester, were prefixed, and Wilkinson himself added a sketch of the history of the movement. The book was dedicated to Richard Cox (1500–1581) [q. v.], bishop of Ely, who prefixed a commendatory note. In 1580, while residing in London in the parish of St. Botolph, he published ‘A very godly and learned treatise of the Exercise of Fastyng, described out of the word of God, very necessarye to bee applyed unto our churches in England in these perillous dayes,’ London, 8vo, dedicated to Lady Paget and Edward Carey, one of her majesty's privy chamber. On 3 May 1588 he received a dispensation to hold, though a layman, the prebend of Fridaythorpe in York Cathedral, in which he had been installed on 31 Jan. 1587–8. He died in 1613. To Wilkinson may also be ascribed an undated translation by ‘W. W.’ of ‘M. Luther's Preface on the Epistle to the Romans,’ London, 8vo.
E. I. C.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Wilks, Samuel Charles

​WILKS, SAMUEL CHARLES (1789–1872), evangelical divine, born in 1789, was son of Samuel Wilks of Newington, Surrey. His grandfather, Samuel Wilks, like many other members of the family, ​entered the service of the East India Company, rose high in the confidence of the directors, and for many years conducted the secret correspondence of the company with Indian princes and others; he was consulted on Indian affairs by Burke and Lord North, corresponded with Warren Hastings (cf. Add. MS. 29139, ff. 367, 368), and was subpœnaed as a witness at his trial. He retired in 1782, when the directors granted him a liberal pension for life.
Samuel Charles was educated for the church, matriculated from St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, on 8 June 1810, aged 21, and graduated B.A. in 1814 and M.A. in 1816. While an undergraduate he won in 1813 the premium of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge for an ‘Essay on the Signs of Conversion and Unconversion in Ministers of the Church,’ which was published in 1814 (London, 8vo), and reached a third edition in 1830. He took holy orders, attaching himself to the ‘Clapham sect,’ and in 1816 succeeded Zachary Macaulay [q. v.] as editor of the ‘Christian Observer,’ the organ of the ‘sect.’ In 1817 he dedicated to his ‘friend’ Hannah More [q. v.] two volumes of ‘Christian Essays’ (London, 12mo). Another friend was Charles Simeon [q. v.] In 1835 he published a new edition of Lord Teignmouth's ‘Memoirs of Sir W. Jones,’ to which he prefixed a life of Teignmouth [see Shore, John, first Baron Teignmouth]. He continued to edit the ‘Christian Observer’ until 1850, when he was succeeded by John William Cunningham [q. v.], and retired to the living of Nursling, near Southampton, to which he had been presented in 1847. He was the author of many tracts, essays, and letters of a religious and theological character, mostly reprinted from the ‘Christian Observer;’ he also acquired considerable scientific knowledge, and maintained against prevalent religious opinion many of the new views propounded by geologists. He died at Nursling on 23 Dec. 1872, in his eighty-fourth year, leaving several children.
[Works in Brit. Mus. Libr.; Foster's Alumni Oxon. 1714–1886; Trevelyan's Life of Macaulay, ii. 228; private information.]
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Wilks, John

​WILKS, JOHN (d. 1846), swindler, was the only son of John Wilks, by his wife Isabella (d. 19 Jan. 1846).
His father, John Wilks (1765?–1854), attorney, born in 1764 or 1765, was son of Matthew Wilks, minister at Whitefield's tabernacle in Moorfields. He was an attorney by profession, and on 31 July 1830 was returned ​to parliament for Boston in Lincolnshire in the radical interest, retaining his seat until 1837. He formed collections of books, works of art, and autographs, which were sold after his death by Messrs. Sotheby & Wilkinson. For more than twenty years he was honorary secretary of ‘The Protestant Society for the Protection of Religious Freedom.’ He was a member of the Statistical and Zoological societies. He died in London, at his residence in Finsbury Square, on 25 Aug. 1854, and was buried in Kensal Green cemetery. Besides his son John he left three daughters. He was the author of ‘An Apology for the Missionary Society,’ London, 1799, 8vo (Gent. Mag. 1854, ii. 629).
The son John followed his father's profession as an attorney. In 1825 he earned the name of ‘Bubble Wilks’ by floating a number of joint-stock companies, all of which were financial failures. On 13 June 1826 he was returned to parliament for the borough of Sudbury in Suffolk in the whig interest. In April 1828 he resigned his seat, and shortly afterwards he was charged before the lord mayor with forgery, but was acquitted on the non-appearance of the prosecutor. On his release he obtained the post of Paris correspondent to the ‘Standard,’ and signed his contributions to the London papers ‘O. P. Q.,’ Desirous of retrieving his fortunes, he spread false reports on the Paris bourse, and in consequence was ordered by the head of the police to leave France within four days. His friends, however, obtained the revocation by their intercession, and he next formed a joint-stock company to establish a newspaper entitled ‘The London and Paris Courier.’ After the journal had appeared for a few months Wilks fled, leaving the debts of the enterprise to be paid by an English partner. Shortly after he exploited a second company, to finance a monthly magazine called ‘La Revue Protestante,’ a project which proved more profitable to its author than to the cause of religion. After forming an unsuccessful Paris Parcels Delivery Company, he returned to London, and, settling in Surrey Street, Strand, attempted to found an Authors' Institute. His last project was the establishment of a fraudulent clerical registry office. Before his latest dishonesty was detected he died suddenly at Chelsea, on 17 Jan. 1846, leaving no property to compensate his victims.
Wilks was the author of:
* ‘A Christian Biographical Dictionary,’ London, 1821, 12mo.
* ‘Memoirs of Queen Caroline,’ London, 1822, 2 vols. 8vo.
* ‘Bianca: a Fragment,’ London, 1823, 8vo.
After his return to England he was a constant contributor to ‘Fraser's Magazine,’ supplying reminiscences of Louis-Philippe and other notable Frenchmen.
[Gent. Mag. 1846, i. 649; Notes and Queries, 5th ser. vii. 180.]
E. I. C.
# Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Horse-shoe-head

Edition of 1802.
​HORSE-SHOE-HEAD, an affection of the heads of infants, in which the sutures of the skull are too open, or too great a space occurs between them; so that the aperture is frequently not closed, or the cranium in that part does not become hard and firm, till the age of puberty. This opening increases as often as the child takes cold; and, if it continue for a long series of years, it is generally regarded as a sign of weakness, or short life. In this case, the usual practice is to rub the head occasionally with warm rum or brandy, mixed with the white of an egg, or a little palm-oil: it will also be advisable to wear a small cushion over such aperture, by which it will not only be protected from the cold air, but likewise from receiving sudden injury; and consequently the closing of it will be promoted. Such infants ought to be watched with additional care, to prevent any accidental falls, or blows, on the head, which to them would be fatal.—See also Food.
# Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Hydrophobia

Edition of 1802.
​Hydrophobia. See Bite of a Mad Dog.
# Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Hykes

Edition of 1802.
​HYKES, a species of blankets, commonly used by the inhabitants of Barbary. They consist of a light woollen cloth, woven by women, who conduct every thread with their fingers, and without the aid of a shuttle. This manufacture appears to be a coarse kind of shawl, and is the more remarkable, as each of such hykes is from five to six yards in length, and breadth: it forms the whole apparel of the wretched natives, and serves them as a covering for their beds during the night.
# Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Horse-tail

Edition of 1802.
​HORSE-TAIL, or Equisetum, L. a genus of perennial plants, comprising eight species, six of which are indigenous: of these, the following are the principal:
1. The sylvaticum, or Wood-horse-tail, which grows in moist woods, shady places in the vicinity of rivers, and on boggy soils: it flowers in the months of April and May. Horses eat this plant with avidity; and, in some parts of Sweden, it is collected for the purpose of serving them as winter-food.
2. The arvense, Common, or Corn-horse-tail, growing in wet meadows and moist corn-fields. It is a most troublesome weed in pastures, and is seldom touched by cows, unless pressed by hunger, ​when it occasions an incurable diarrhœa: it is eaten with impunity by horses, but is noxious to sheep. This rough grass is employed for cleaning and polishing tin vessels. According to Gleditsch, this species, as well as the fluviatile, or River-horse-tail, are of considerable service in tanning or dressing leather.
3. The palustre, Marsh-horse-tail, or Paddock-pipe, which flourishes in marshy and watery places; flowers in the months of June and July. It is not so strong as the preceding species, but is equally prejudicial to cows: farther, it is very troublesome in drains, within which it vegetates, and forms both stems and roots, several yards in length: thus the course of the water is interrupted, and the drains are totally obstructed. To remedy this inconvenience, the reader will consult p. 165 of this volume, the article Draining.
4. The hyemale, Rough Horse-tail, Shave-grass, Pewterwort, or Dutch Rushes, is found in marshy, watery soils, and flowers in the months of July and August. This species is wholesome for horses, by which it is eaten; but it is hurtful to cows, and disagreeable to sheep. It is chiefly employed by turners and cabinet-makers, for polishing their work; as well as by dairy-maids, for cleaning pails and other wooden utensils.
# Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Horse-worm

Edition of 1802.
​Horse-worm. See Botts.
# Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Hospital

Edition of 1802.
​HOSPITAL, a building properly endowed, or otherwise maintained by voluntary contributions, for the reception and support of the poor, sick, infirm, or helpless.
Few countries abound with a greater number ot these humane institutions than Britain; yet they are often calculated to generate disease rather than to cure it, on account of their crowded wards, or from their confined situation in populous cities, where the most pestilential vapours are in a manner condensed; and thus, in too many instances, the victims of poverty, age, infirmity, or sickness, eventually perish by mutual contagion.
Much, we are convinced, has already been done towards remedying an evil of so serious a nature; but still more remains to be accomplished, before salutary changes produce the desired effect in this neglected department of medical police. We mention these few circumstances, in order to excite a greater degree of attention to this important object, in which the salubrity of the metropolis is particularly concerned. Those of our benevolent readers who wish to acquire further information, ought to read the Extracts from an Account of the Institution for the Cure and Prevention of Contagious Fevers in London, lately published; as well as Mr. Aikin's Thougthts on Hospitals (8vo. 1s. 6d. Johnson, 1771): both pamphlets equally abound with interesting facts and observations.