James Davis (satirist) facts for kids

James Davis lived from about 1706 to 1755. He was a Welsh doctor and a satirist. A satirist is someone who uses humor, irony, or exaggeration to criticize people or ideas.

Early Life and Education

James Davis was born in Chepstow, a town in Monmouthshire, Wales. In 1723, when he was sixteen years old, he began studying at Jesus College, Oxford, a famous university in England.

He worked hard and earned several degrees. In 1726, he received his first degree, a Bachelor of Arts. A few years later, in 1729, he earned a Master of Arts degree. He then decided to study medicine. By 1732, he had completed his medical studies and earned a Bachelor of Medicine degree.

Working as a Doctor

After finishing his education, James Davis became a doctor. He moved to Devizes, a town in Wiltshire, England. He worked as a physician there for many years. He continued to live and work in Devizes until he passed away on July 13, 1755.

His Humorous Writings

James Davis was known for his clever sense of humor. He wrote a book called Origines Divisianae, which means "The Origins of Devizes". It was published in 1754. In this book, he made fun of how some historians studied old things.

He especially made fun of people like William Stukeley. Stukeley was famous for studying ancient sites like Stonehenge. Davis's book pretended that silly made-up stories were real historical facts about Devizes. Some people even believed his funny stories were true!

Examples of His Wit

Davis loved to play with words and ideas. Here is an example of his humor from his book:

An old woman, who shew'd Lord Bathurst's fine place by Cirencester, was ask'd by a Gentleman that came to see it—Pray what building is that?—Oh Sir, that is a ruin a thousand years old, which my Lord built last year; and he proposes to build one this year half as old again.

This quote shows how he made fun of things that seemed old but were actually new.

He also ended his book with a funny statement:

The foregoing papers were wrote by no man living,—for the Author dy'd some months ago. He long entertain'd a disrelish for the modern sort of scholarship and was not unwilling for these papers to go to the press to prevent many larger from going there.

This was his way of saying that the author (himself) was "gone" or "dead" to the kind of serious, boring writing he was making fun of. He wanted his funny papers to be published instead of longer, more serious ones.