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My wife's ancestors - Gibbon - Contents


Edward Gibbon, the historian



Edward Gibbon, 1773.
At [NPG]. See here.
From Wikimedia Commons. See dispute over public domain status.




Edward Gibbon, the historian (see here and here and here),
born 27th Apr 1737,
one of the leading figures of the 18th century western Enlightenment,
educ Magdalen College, Oxford,
engaged to Suzanne Curchod, but his father would not let him marry her, she later became Madame Necker,
author of Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (see here), 6 vols, 1776-88,
his gentle defense of classical paganism against the new Christianity in Chapters 15 and 16 of Vol.1 caused great scandal,
the phrase "The Decline and Fall of ----" has passed into the language,
moved to Lausanne, Switzerland, 1783,
died London, 16th Jan 1794, age 56 yrs,
bur in the church at Fletching, East Sussex. See his deathbed.
See [DNB].
See biography in [Enc.Britannica, 1911].
See images at [NPG].



Edward Gibbon.
Public domain image from here.





".. little more than the register of the crimes, follies and misfortunes of mankind"
- Gibbon on history.

"Another damned, thick, square, book! Always scribble, scribble, scribble! Eh! Mr. Gibbon?"
- William Henry, Duke of Gloucester, upon receiving the second volume from the author, 1781.



Gibbon the ape



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