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BUSBY, RICHARD, second son of Richard Busby, Lutton, otherwise Sutton St. Nicholas, Lincs., and ---, sister of Henry Robinson, Westminster ; b. 22 Sep 1606 ; adm. ; KS (Capt.) ; elected to Christ Church, Oxford 1624, matr. 10 Feb 1625/6, Westminster Student to 1661, Tutor 1632-7 ; BA 1628 (incorp.Camb.1628) ; MA 1631 ; DD 1660 ; acted the part of Cratander in Cartwright’s Royal Slave before the King and Queen at Christ Church 30 Aug 1636, with great success ; ordained ; appointed Head Master of the School in the place of Lambert Osbaldeston (qv) in 1638/9, but not confirmed in that office until 23 Dec 1640 ; Prebendary of Wells and Rector of Cudworth, Somerset, 1 Jul 1639 ; ejected from his stall and rectory during the Commonwealth, but was allowed to retain his Studentship at Christ Church and his post at Westminster ; there is no evidence that he took either the Covenant or the Engagement, and of his loyalty both to Church and King there is no question ; Robert South (qv) relates that “the King was publicly prayed for in this school but an hour or two (at most) before his sacred head was struck off”, while John Owen, Dean of Christ Church, used often to say that “it would never be well with the nation till this School was suppressed” (Sermons preached upon several occasions by Robert South, 1865, i, 420-32) ; his chief trouble during the Commonwealth seems to have been with the Under Master, Edward Bagshaw (qv), who was eventually dismissed from the School by the Governors, May 1658 ; restored as Prebendary of Wells on the Restoration, also Canon Residentiary and Treasurer from 11 Aug 1660 ; Proctor in Convocation, Diocese of Bath and Wells ; Prebendary of Westminster from 5 Jul 1660, Treasurer 1660-72, Archdeacon from 1672 ; carried the ampulla at the Coronation of Charles II, 23 Apr 1661, and the orb and cross at the Coronation of James II, 23 Apr 1685 ; a great schoolmaster and a most successful teacher ; “the soil”, says Steele, “which he manured, always grew fertile” ; gained the respect and veneration of his pupils in spite of his excessive use of the birch ; his chair is preserved up School, and many of the books which he bequeathed to the School are still in the Busby Library, built by him at his own expense ; the Busby Trustees, thirteen in number and always OWW, still carry out the charitable trusts of his will for the benefit of the poorer clergy and others ; author, Graecae Grammaticae Rudimenta, 1663, and other books for the use of the School ; d. unm. 5 Apr 1695 ; buried in the Choir, Westminster Abbey, in front of the steps leading to the Sacrarium, under the black and white marble pavement of which he was the donor ; monument by Bird in Poet’s Corner. DNB ; see also G.F.Russell Barker, Memoir of Richard Busby, 1695.

HOBART, ROBERT, 4TH EARL OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, second son of George Hobart, 3rd Earl of Buckinghamshire (qv); b. 6 May 1760; adm. 13 Jun 1770; left 1776; Lieut., 7th Foot 23 Jul 1778; Capt., 30th Foot 25 Jul 1778; 5th Dragoons 17 Nov 1780; Maj., 18th Dragoons 15 Aug 1783; retd. 2 Nov 1784; served in American war; ADC to Duke of Rutland, Lord Lieut. Ireland, 1784-7, and to Marquis of Buckingham, Lord Lieut. Ireland, 1787-9; MP (I) Portarlington 1784-90, Armagh 1790-7; MP Bramber 15 Dec 1788-90, Lincoln 1790-6; Chief Secretary for Ireland Apr 1789 – Dec 1793; Privy Councillor (I) 21 Apr 1789; Privy Councillor (GB) 1 May 1793; Governor of Madras Oct 1793- Aug 1798, arriving in India summer 1794; summoned to House of Lords in father’s barony as Lord Hobart 30 Nov 1798; Secretary of State for War and the Colonies Mar 1801- Jan 1805; succeeded father as 4th Earl of Buckinghamshire 14 Oct 1804; Chancellor, Duchy of Lancaster Jan –Jul 1805; Joint Postmaster General Feb 1806- May 1807; President, Board of Control, from 4 Apr 1812 (also Chancellor, Duchy of Lancaster, May – Jun 1812); m. 1st, 4 Jan 1792 Margaretta, widow of Thomas Adderley MP, Innishannon, co. Cork (and mother of Edward Hale Adderley, qv), and dau. of Edmund Bourke, Corry, co. Mayo; m. 2nd, 1 Jun 1799 Hon. Eleanor Agnes Eden, dau. of William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland PC, politician and diplomat; d. from effects of a fall in St. James’s Park 4 Feb 1816. DNB.

BURDETT, SIR FRANCIS, BART., brother of Robert Burdett (adm. 1776, qv); b. 25 Jan 1770; adm. 16 Sep 1778; expelled as one of the ringleaders of the rebellion “up School” against Samuel Smith (qv), Head Master, autumn 1786; Christ Church, Oxford, matr. 13 Dec 1785; Grand Tour (France, Italy) 1789-91; succ. his grandfather as 5th baronet, 15 Feb 1797; MP Boroughbridge 1796-1802, Middlesex 1802- 9 Jul 1804, 4 Mar 1805 - 10 Feb 1806, Westminster 1807-37, Wiltshire North from 1837; denounced the war with France, and frequently protested against the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act; imprisoned on political charges in 1810 and 1820; a zealous advocate of parliamentary reform, and of Catholic emancipation; a vehement opponent of flogging in the army, and corruption in parliament; a staunch Radical until the passage of the Reform Act of 1832, but afterwards became a strong Tory and “thanked God there was another House”; m. 5 Aug 1793 Sophia, youngest dau. of Thomas Coutts, London, banker; d. 23 Jan 1844. DNB.

HOOKE, ROBERT, son of Rev. John Hooke, Curate, Freshwater, Isle of Wight, and his second wife Cecily, dau. of Robert Gyles, Brading, Isle of Wight, merchant; b. 18 Jul 1635; a pupil of Sir Peter Lely, the painter; subsequently adm. to the School, boarding with the Head Master (Busby) (Chapter Muniments 43112); astonished his teachers by mastering the six books of Euclid in one week; while at school learned “to play twenty lessons on the organ” and “invented thirty several ways of flying” (Wood, Athenae Oxonienses, iv, 628); Christ Church, Oxford, adm. as chorister or servitor, matr. 31 Jul 1658; MA 28 Sep 1663; MD (Lambeth) 7 Dec 1691; assisted Thomas Willis in his chemistry and Robert Boyle with his air-pump; Curator of Experiments, Royal Society, from 12 Nov 1662; FRS 20 May 1663, being one of original Fellows under second charter; Secretary, Royal Society 30 Nov 1677 – 30 Nov 1679; Professor of Geometry, Gresham College, from 20 Mar 1665; the first to apply a spiral spring to regulate the balance of a watch 1658, and the first to infer the rotation of Jupiter 1664; discovered the fifth star in Orion 1664; proposed to measure the force of gravity by the swinging of a pendulum 1666; constructed the first Gregorian telescope 1674; expounded the true theory of the elasticity and the kinetic hypothesis of gases 1678; described a practical system of telegraphy 1684; invented a marine barometer and other instruments; laid before the Common Council of the City of London in Sep 1666 his plan for rebuilding the City of London after the fire, and in Oct 1666 was appointed one of the City’s three surveyors; also one of the Surveyors for rebuilding the City churches, collaborating with his cousin Sir Christopher Wren (qv); buildings designed by him included Bethlehem Hospital, Montagu House and the Royal College of Physicians; Surveyor to the Dean and Chapter of Westminster Jan 1690/1 – Jan 1696/7; author, Micrographia 1665; his Posthumous Works were edited by Richard Waller, 1705; his diaries for the years 1672-80 were published as The Diary of Robert Hooke, 1935, and those for 1688-90, 1692-3 were published in R. T. Gunther (ed), Early Science in Oxford, 1935, 69-265; d. unm. 3 Mar 1702/3. DNB.

SOUTHEY, ROBERT, son of Robert Southey, Bristol, linen draper, and Margaret, dau. of Edward Hill, Bedminster, Somerset, attorney; b. 12 Aug 1774; adm. 2 Apr 1788 (Ottley); Min. Can. 1789; an elegy written by him on his sister’s death was refused for publication by the editors of The Trifler; he, Grosvenor Charles Bedford (qv), and Charles Watkin Williams-Wynn (adm. 1784, qv) founded The Flagellant, which appeared for the first time 1 Mar 1792, but he was expelled from the School for writing the article against excessive flogging in the fifth number, dated 29 Mar 1792; refused admittance to Christ Church, Oxford, and went to Balliol Coll. Oxford, matr. 3 Nov 1792, where he resided for a year and a half, making the acquaintance of S. T. Coleridge; author, Joan of Arc 1796; adm. Gray’s Inn 7 Feb 1797; author, Thalaba 1801; settled at Keswick, Cumberland 1803; author, Madoc 1805, The Curse of Kahama, 1810; Poet Laureate from 12 Aug 1813; author, Life of Nelson 1813, Life of Wesley 1820; MP Downton 1826 – Dec 1826, when unseated for not possessing a sufficient property qualification; during his career his political and religious opinions altered, the republican becoming a Tory and the independent thinker a champion of the established church; author of a large number of books, including the standard edition of William Cowper’s (qv) Works in 15 vols, 1833-7; contributed 95 articles to the Quarterly Review; m. 1st, 14 Nov 1795 Edith, dau. of Stephen Fricker, Westbury, Wilts.; m. 2nd, 4 Jun 1839 Caroline Anne, poetess, dau. of Capt. Charles Bowles, EICS Bengal, Buckland Cottage, Lymington, Hampshire; d. 21 Mar 1843. Monument in Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey. DNB.