Robert Burton (1577 - 1640)

Born 8 Feb 1577 in Lindley Hall, Leicestershire, England

Died 25 Jan 1640 at age 62 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

Biography

The second son of Ralph Burton of Lindley (a now-defunct ancient country estate in Leicestershire, once incorporating the village of Fenny Drayton but now largely overbuilt and its manor house demolished^[1]). In the calculation of his nativity, on the right hand of his monument in Christ Church Cathedral, the date of his birth is given as 8 Feb. 1576-7.^[2]

He is well known as the writer of 'The Anatomy of Melancholy'.

Sometime vicar of St. Thomas, Oxford, he died at Oxford on 25th January 1640(modern calendar) and was buried in Christ Church Cathedral^[3].

He left a will dated 15 August 1639 and proved 11 May 1640.^[4]

Research Notes

Transcripts and reprints of the Anatomy of Melancholy contain further information of use to the researcher^[5][6].

Sources

1. ↑ Lindley Hall. https://www.weddingtoncastle.co.uk/lindley-hall.html
2. ↑ Dictionary of national biography, vol 8, 1885-1900 edition, by Stephen, Leslie, page 12, https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati08stepuoft/page/12/mode/2up
3. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #5746830
4. ↑ The National Archives; Kew, Surrey, England; Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Series PROB 11; Class: PROB 11; Piece: 183, Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858 [database on-line]. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/discoveryui-content/view/1003991:5111
5. ↑ The anatomy of melancholy, vol 1, Burton, Robert; Shilleto, Rev. A. R, ed; University College, London 1896, https://archive.org/details/b21270818_001/page/n9/mode/2up
6. ↑ The Anatomy of Melancholy, by Democritus Junior. Transcript produced by Karl Hagen, D. Moynihan and Distributed Proofreaders, for Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/10800/10800-h/10800-h.htm

See also:

• Wikidata: Item Q259132, en:Wikipedia
• https://bookowners.online/Robert_Burton_1577-1640