John Hughes

Born in 1790, he was educated at Westminster School and Oriel College, Oxford, where he earned degrees in 1812 and 1815 and won an Oxford prize for Latin verse. Contemporary records describe him not only as an author, but also as an artist, draughtsman, and wood-carver.

His best-known book is An Itinerary of Provence and the Rhone (1822), a travel work illustrated with his own etchings. He also edited The Boscobel Tracts and published poetry, including Lays of Past Days and an ode on Pompeii. The surviving record suggests a writer with unusually broad interests: languages, literature, visual art, and the textures of travel.

He was the father of the novelist and reformer Thomas Hughes, author of Tom Brown's Schooldays, and of Jane Senior, an important Victorian administrator and social reformer. No suitable verified portrait image was found from the pages reviewed, so a profile image is not included.