John Edward Pigot facts for kids
John Edward Pigot (born 1822, died 1871) was an Irish lawyer and a passionate collector of music. He played a very important part in helping to create the National Gallery of Ireland, a famous art museum.
Life and Music Collection
John Edward Pigot was born in Kilworth, County Cork, Ireland. He was the oldest son of David Richard Pigot, who was a judge.
As a young man, John became good friends with Thomas Davis and Charles Gavan Duffy. They were part of a group called the Young Ireland movement, which wanted to see Ireland become a stronger nation. They put out messages in a newspaper called The Nation, asking people to send in old Irish tunes they knew. This is how John Pigot started his amazing music collection.
He later went to London to study law. While there, he met Patrick McDowel, who also loved collecting music. Patrick gave John many tunes, and John added even more by collecting from other Irish people living in London.
In April 1845, John Pigot and Charles Gavan Duffy visited the famous writer Thomas Carlyle and his wife Jane Carlyle in London. They wanted to talk about Ireland and defend Irish nationalism. Jane Carlyle wrote in her diary that she found John Pigot to be very handsome. She thought he seemed like someone who would achieve great things for Ireland.
John Pigot later traveled to Bombay (now Mumbai) in India to work as a lawyer. Sadly, he became unwell and returned to Ireland in 1871.
During his life, John Pigot collected over 2,000 Irish tunes! His collection was later looked after by a doctor in Dublin named Robert Lyons. Many of the tunes from Pigot's collection were published in a book called Old Irish Folk Music and Songs in 1908 by P. W. Joyce. You can find more about it here: [1].
Helping to Create the National Gallery
John Pigot also wrote an important document in 1853. This document was very helpful in setting up the National Gallery of Ireland. Because of his important work, he was chosen to be one of the first people to help run the gallery.
