Author: Jodrell, Richard Paul
Biography:
JODRELL, Richard Paul (1745-1831: ODNB)
A friend of Samuel Johnson (q.v.), he was born 13 Nov. 1745, the eldest son of Paul Jodrell (d 1751) of St Andrew’s, Holborn, and Duffield, Derbyshire, and his wife, Elizabeth (Warner) Jodrell. His father was solicitor-general to the prince of Wales. He had two brothers, physician Sir Paul Jodrell (1746-1803, ODNB) and MP Henry Jodrell (d 1814). Educated at Eton between 1756 and 1763, in 1764 he both matriculated at Hertford College, Oxford (no degree), and entered Lincoln’s Inn (called to the bar, 1772). On 19 May 1772, he married Vertue (1755-1806), his second cousin. She was the elder daughter of Edward Hase of Salle, Norfolk. There were three sons and two daughters by the marriage. Rentier income, an inheritance, and the wealth he gained by his marriage permitted him to settle into a life of leisure and literary activity, translating Aeschylus and Euripides and writing poetry and many plays. Several of his plays were printed; some were staged in London, provincial, and private theatres. He was highly placed in society, eminently clubbable, elected fellow of the Royal Society in 1772 and of the Society of Antiquaries in 1773. He was an original member of the Essex Head Club that was created in 1783 “for the purpose of cheering the declining days of Dr. Johnson.” Oxford granted him the DCL in 1793. A great-grandfather of his was clerk of the House of Commons for forty-three years; his own tenure in the House—MP of Seaford (1790 to 1796)—was brief and unremarkable. Late in life, he was declared mentally incompetent to handle his own affairs. He died in Portland Place, 26 Jan. 1831. (ODNB 9 Nov. 2023; ancestry.com 13 Nov. 2023; R. G. Thorne, History of the House of Commons) JC
Other Names:
- Richard Paul Joddrell