author
John Lemprière
d. 1824
Best known for a classical dictionary that shaped how generations of readers imagined Greek and Roman myth, this Jersey-born scholar combined schoolroom learning with a gift for popular reference writing. His most famous book stayed widely read for many years, even as scholars later revised and corrected it.
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About the author
Born in Jersey around 1765, John Lemprière was educated at Winchester College and Pembroke College, Oxford. He became a classical scholar, teacher, clergyman, and schoolmaster, building a career that joined serious academic study with practical work in education.
He is chiefly remembered for Bibliotheca Classica, first published in 1788 and often called Lemprière's Classical Dictionary. The book gathered together names, stories, and places from ancient mythology and history in a form that was useful to students and general readers, and it remained popular for many years.
Lemprière later served as headmaster of Abingdon School and also held church posts, including the vicarage of Abingdon. He died in London on February 1, 1824, leaving behind a reference work that gave many readers their first doorway into the classical world.