Jeremiah BENTHAM Samuel BENTHAM Alicia Woodward GROVE Mini tree diagram

Jeremy BENTHAM

- 6th Jun 18321,4,10,11

Life History

14th Feb 1747/8

Baptised in St Botolph Aldersgate.1,2

From the Parish Register :-
"14 / Jeremy Bentham Son of Jeremiah & Alicia / Church Lane"

Date - 14th February 1747 - old style

9th Mar 1753

Mentioned in Will.3

of John Ray
"my cousin Jeremy Bentham the son of my cousin Jeremiah Bentham Esquire"

19th Jun 1788

Mentioned in Will.5

of Jeremiah Bentham
Described as :-
"my dear sons Jeremy and Samuel"

5th Apr 1792

Executor.6

of the will of Jeremiah Bentham
Joint executors :-
Jeremy Bentham Esquire the son
Sarah Bentham widow the relict
Samuel Bentham Esquire the son
John Sharp Palmer Esquire

30th May 1832

Wrote will.7

"I Jeremy Bentham revoke all former wills ... ..."

"my body I give to my dear friend Doctor Southwood Smith to be disposed of in a manner hereinafter mentioned and I direct ... ... Auto Icon ... ..."

Some names mentioned :-
1. John B?? Doctor of Law
2. my nephew George Bentham
3. my said nephew George Bentham and his two sisters Madame de Chesnek and Sarah Bentham

6th Jun 1832

Died in Westminster (Queen Square Place).1,4,10,11

From the Yorkshire Gazette :-
"Same day, at his house in Westminster, Nr. Jeremy Bentham, the celebrated author and jurist"

From the Caledonian Mercury :-
"DEATH OF JEREMY BENTHAM
Died on Wednesday at his residence in Queen Square Place, Westminster, Jeremy Bentham, in his 85th year.
During the late unhealthy season, he had been subject to repeated attacks of bronchitis; but he had recovered from the first severe attacks with so much vigour, that it was considered by many that he would return to his former state of health, and he again received the visits of distinguished foreigners and of public men, with whom he was in the habit of friendly discourse; and it was believed that he would have been able to continue his labours for several years to come. Several days ago he had taken up the portion of his manuscripts for the third volume of his unpublished Constitutional Code, which is reputed by jurists, who are acquainted with its progress, to be one of the most valuable of his productions, as it contains the principle for the formation of a judicial establishment, and a code of procedure. Another attack of his disorder, however, arrested his labours for ever. His death was singularly tranquil. Only a portion of his works have been printed, and of those printed, some, have been spoken of by eminent men as the most valuable, such as the “Essay on Judicial Establishments,” have never in reality been published. Repeated proposals have been made to publish a complete edition of his works. A few weeks ago Prince Talleyrand, whom at all times, in common with the leading spirits of the age, has professed his high admiration of the author, made proposals to get a complete edition of all his works, in French, published in Paris. A short time before his death he had projected a new work on language, and one on mathematics. Amongst the unpublished works is one on the use of language, with a view to thee giving certainty to the expression of the will of Legislature. Some, if not all, of these works will, it is expected, be edited by gentlemen well conversant with the branches of science and art to which the works relate, and will, at some future period, be made public, in a complete and uniform shape. Besides those which were translated by the late m Dumont, others of his works, which are little known in England, have great reputation on the Continent of Europe and in north and South America. Mr. Bentham was a bencher at Lincoln’s Inn, and was the father of the bar. In conformity with the desire of his father, he practised for a short time in equity, and was immediately remarked for the ability he displayed; but the death of his father left him with a moderate fortune, and the free choice of his course of life, when he at once abandoned all prospects of professional emoluments and honours, and devoted his subsequent life to those labours which he believed would produce the greatess happiness to his fellow creatures. His extreme benevolence and cheerfulness of disposition are highly spoken by all who had the honour to be admitted to his society, and was much sought after, and also by his domestics and by his neighbours who were acquainted with his habits. The news of the reform bill having been carried greatly cheered his last hours. He has, we are informed, bequeathed his body to his medical friend, Dr Southwood Smith, with a charge that he shall use it in an anatomical school for dissection, in illustration of a course of lectures."

21st Jun 1832

Probate in Prerogative Court of Canterbury.7

Other facts

 

Oxford University Alumni.4

"BENTHAM, Jeremy, s. Jeremy of Crutched Friars, London, arm. Queen's Coll., matric. 26 June 1760, aged 13; B.A. 1764, M.A. 1767, bar.-at-law, Lincoln's Inn, 6 Nov. 1769, bencher 1817, a celebrated writer on jurisprudence, died 6 June 1832, aged 84, by his will his body was dissected, and his skeleton deposited in University College."

 

Portrait in National Portrait Gallery.8

"Sitter in 9 portraits
Philosopher, political theorist and social critic; he was committed to the utilitarian belief in the "greater happiness" principle. Promoting a secular version of utilitarianism he advocated that fulfillment could be achieved through the rigorous investigation of human nature. His work had an important impact upon judicial organisation and c¡vil law and the reform of the penal system."

 

Research Note.9

For more information about Jeremy Bentham see :-
University College London & the Bentham Project
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bentham-project

 

ODNB.1

For more information see his entry in the online edition of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography :-
F. ROSEN,
"Bentham, Jeremy (1748-1832)",
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,
Oxford University Press, 2004;
online edn, May 2014
http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/2153

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