Josiah Forshall facts for kids

Josiah Forshall (born March 29, 1795 – died December 18, 1863) was an important English librarian. He spent much of his career working at the famous British Museum in London.

Early Life and Education

Josiah Forshall was born in Witney, Oxfordshire, England, on March 29, 1795. He was the oldest son of Samuel Forshall. Josiah went to grammar schools in Exeter and Chester. In 1814, he started studying at Exeter College, Oxford University.

He finished his first degree in 1818. He did very well in mathematics and also in other subjects like classical studies. He earned his master's degree in 1821. After that, he became a fellow and a tutor at his college. This meant he was a senior member of the college and also taught students.

Working at the British Museum

In 1824, Josiah Forshall began working at the British Museum. He started as an assistant librarian in the department that looked after old handwritten books and documents, called manuscripts. Just three years later, in 1827, he became the head of that department.

In 1828, he was chosen to be a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very old and respected group for scientists and important thinkers. Later that same year, Forshall was made the secretary of the British Museum. This was a very important job. In 1837, he left his role as keeper of manuscripts to focus only on being the secretary.

As secretary, he had a lot of influence with the museum's leaders, called trustees. He was asked to speak to a special committee in 1835–1836 that was looking into how the museum was run.

Around 1850, Forshall retired from the museum because he was not well. After leaving, he lived a quiet life. He spent a lot of his time at the Foundling Hospital, which was a home for abandoned children. He had been appointed as a chaplain there in 1829. Josiah Forshall passed away at his home in Woburn Place, London, on December 18, 1863.

Published Works

Josiah Forshall was involved in editing many important books and catalogues. A catalogue is like a detailed list or guide. He helped create the catalogue of manuscripts at the British Museum. This included the Arundel and Burney manuscripts, which are collections of old handwritten texts. He also worked on a catalogue of old Middle Eastern manuscripts.

In 1839, he edited a book called Description of the Greek Papyri in the British Museum. Papyri are ancient papers made from plants.

One of his most important works was with Frederic Madden. They worked for twenty years to publish The Holy Bible … in the earliest English Versions made by John Wycliffe and his followers in 1850. This was a huge project that helped people study very old English versions of the Bible.

He also edited parts of the Gospels (books from the Bible) of St. Mark (in 1862), St. Luke (in 1860), and St. John (in 1859). Some of his other works, like The Lord's Prayer with various readings and critical notes and The First Twelve Chapters of … St. Matthew, were published after he died in 1864.