John Bigland
title: "John Bigland" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1750-births", "people-from-skirlaugh", "people-from-nottinghamshire-(before-1974)", "1832-deaths", "18th-century-english-historians", "19th-century-english-historians", "english-antiquarians", "historians-of-england", "historians-of-ancient-rome", "historians-of-jews-and-judaism", "historians-of-spain", "schoolteachers-from-yorkshire"] topic_path: "people/1750s" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bigland" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | John Bigland |
| image | |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Skirlaugh, East Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Finningley, South Yorkshire, England |
| resting_place_coordinates | |
| occupation | Historian and schoolmaster |
| criminal_charge | |
| :: |
| name = John Bigland | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = Skirlaugh, East Riding of Yorkshire, England | death_date = | death_place = Finningley, South Yorkshire, England | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | monuments = | other_names = | alma_mater = | occupation = Historian and schoolmaster | years_active = | criminal_charge = | criminal_penalty = | criminal_status = | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents = John Bigland (175022 February 1832) was an English schoolmaster and later a historian.
Early life and education
He was born of poor parents at Skirlaugh in the Holderness area of the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Career
Bigland began his career as a village schoolmaster. In 1803, he published his first work occasioned, on his own account, by his religious scepticism. His work was a success, and he became a professional author, publishing in rapid succession a series of popular books, mainly connected with geography and history.
Works
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/A_natural_history_of_birds,_fishes,_reptiles,and_insects(6198145354).jpg" caption="''A natural history of birds, fishes, reptiles, and insects''"] ::
He was the author of articles in magazines; of a continuation to April 1808 of George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton's History of England in a Series of Letters from a Nobleman to his Son; and of an addition of the period of George III to Oliver Goldsmith's History of England. His other works include:
- Reflections on the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ (1803)
- Letters on the Study and Use of Ancient and Modern History (1804)
- Letters on the Modern History and Political Aspect of Europe (1804)
- Essays on Various Subjects (1805), two volumes
- Letters on Natural History (1806)
- A Geographical and Historical View of the World, Exhibiting a Complete Delineation of the Natural and Artificial Features of Each Country, &c. (1810), five volumes
- A History of Spain from the Earliest Period to the Close of the Year 1809 (1810); translated and continued by Le Comte Mathieu Dumas to the epoch of the Restoration (1814), two volumes
- A Sketch of the History of Europe from the Year 1783 to the Present Time (1811); in a later edition continued to 1814 (translated, and augmented in the military part, and continued to 1819 by Jacques W. MacCarthy, Paris, 1819), two volumes
- The Philosophical Wanderers, or the History of the Roman Tribune and the Priestess of Minerva, Exhibiting the Vicissitudes That Diversify the Fortunes of Nations and Individuals (1811)
- Yorkshire, being the 16th volume of the Beauties of England and Wales (1812)
- A History of England from the Earliest Period to the Close of the War, 1814 (1815) two volumes
- A System of Geography for the Use of Schools and Private Students (1816)
- An Historical Display of the Effects of Physical and Moral Causes on the Character and Circumstances of Nations, Including a Comparison of the Ancients and Moderns in Regard to Their Intellectual and Social State (1816)
- Letters on English History for the Use of Schools (1817)
- Letters on French History for the Use of Schools (1818)
- A Compendious History of the Jews (1820)
- Memoirs (1830)
Personal life
Towards the end of his life, Bigland resided at Finningley, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire. He died, age eighty-two, in Finningley.
References
- Dictionary of National Biography, "Bigland, John (1750–1832), schoolmaster and author", by James Mew. Published 1885.
;Attribution
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