DNB update

The wonderful Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (DNB) releases its latest update today. It includes new entries of around 40 noteworthy Londoners, as follows:

Belville, (Elizabeth) Ruth Naomi (1854–1943), horologist and merchant
Belville, John Henry (1795?–1856), horologist and assistant astronomer [see under Belville, (Elizabeth) Ruth Naomi (1854–1943)]
Belville, Maria Elizabeth (1811/1812–1899), school teacher [see under Belville, (Elizabeth) Ruth Naomi (1854–1943)]
Bludworth, Sir Thomas (b. in or before 1623, d. 1682), merchant and mayor of London
Cakebread, Jane (1827/1828–1898), inebriate and subject of medical enquiry
Causton, John (d. 1353), merchant
Cowper, Agnes (b. c.1559, d. after 1619), servant and vagrant
Croft, Henry (1861–1930), road sweeper and founder of the pearly tradition
Cummings, Ivor Gustavus (1913–1992), civil servant
Dixey, Phyllis Selina (1914–1964), variety and striptease artiste
Elsyng, William (d. 1349), mercer and hospital founder
Eve, (Arthur) Malcolm Trustram, first Baron Silsoe (1894–1976), public servant
Gonson, Sir John (1676/7–1765), magistrate
Gregg, Hubert Robert Harry (1914–2004), songwriter, actor, and broadcaster
Hampton, Alice (d. 1516), vowess and benefactor
Hampton, Sir William (d. 1482d. 3), mayor of London [see under Hampton, Alice (d. 1516)]
Kersh, Gerald (1911–1968), novelist and short-story writer
Kinnear, William Nicoll Duthie (1880–1974), oarsman
Knight, John Peake (1828–1886), railway manager and promoter of traffic signals
Layton, (John) Turner (1894–1978), composer, singer, and pianist
Logsdail, William (1859–1944), artist
Losse, Hugh (d. 1555), administrator and property speculator
Mabot, Richard (c.1487–1539), cleric
Maiden, Geoffrey Basil [pseud. James Curtis] (1907–1977), novelist
Mallin, Henry William (1892–1969), boxer
Morris, Olive Elaine (1952–1979), political activist
Peach, (Clement) Blair (1946–1979), schoolteacher and victim of police brutality
Pearse, Innes Hope (1889–1978), medical practitioner and biologist [see under Williamson, George Scott (1883–1953)]
Pinkhurst, Adam (fl. 1385–1410), scribe to Geoffrey Chaucer
Scorey, George Albert (1882–1965), policeman
Severs, Dennis Lee (1948–1999), collector and museum creator
Shields, Ella (1879–1952), music-hall performer and male impersonator
Smith, Gavin (b. c.1550, d. in or after 1604), engineer and projector
Smith, Henry (1549–1628), benefactor
Tildesley, Christopher (fl. 1384–1414), goldsmith
Tubbs, Ralph Sydney (1912–1996), architect and exhibition designer
Wallace, (David) Euan (1892–1941), army officer and politician
Williamson, George Scott (1883–1953), medical practitioner and biologist
Young, Edward Preston (1913–2003), designer and submariner

Look out for PC George Scorey the policeman atop the horse of “White Horse Final” fame at Wembley in 1923; Henry Croft, recognised as the original pearly king; Henry “Dog” Smith, beggar turned philanthropist; Geoffrey Chaucer’s scribe, Adam Pinkhurst; Southall riots activist and victim Blair Peach; and possibly London’s most notorious alcoholic, Jane Cakebread.

Access to the DNB is by subscription. But you can get free access via most library services. I do this via my membership of Hounslow libraries and I use it all the time: reaches parts that Wikipedia could only dream about.

Our thanks to DNB publication editor Dr Philip Carter for all the information in this post and his lovely essay on some of the above Londoners in our May Members’ Newsletter.

Update
Philip Carter has just sent us these links, which are open access. The final outer London map one is great fun.

Selected ‘highlights’ (free public access) http://www.oup.com/oxforddnb/info/freeodnb/shelves/may2012/

• Full list of 108 new biographies http://www.oup.com/oxforddnb/info/newupdates/contents12b/newlives12b/
• Introduction to the new content http://www.oup.com/oxforddnb/info/newupdates/contents12b/preface12b/
• London maps which include new people (Henry Croft, George Scorey, Olive Morris, Dennis Severs, Henry ‘Dog’ Smith, Ruth Belville) http://www.oup.com/oxforddnb/info/freeodnb/libraries/outerlondon/