Spencer Cowper (priest)

Spencer Cowper (1713–1774) was Dean of Durham Cathedral from 1746 to 1774,[1] known also for his early contributions to meteorology and his liking for poetry and music.[2]

Not to be confused with Spencer Cowper.

Spencer Cowper, dean of Durham 1746–1774. Unknown artist

Life and work

Cowper was the younger son of William Cowper, the first Earl and the first Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, and his second wife Mary Clavering. He was the cousin of the poet William Cowper.[2]

He was educated at Exeter College, Oxford, matriculating in 1729 aged 16, graduating B.A. 1732, M.A. 1734, B.D. & D.D. 1746.[3]

Along with his religious duties as Dean of Durham, he kept a naturalist's journal which included records of the local meteorology.[2]

Some of Cowper's sermons[4] survive, as does a collection of his letters published in 1956.[5]

Relatives

References
  1. Deconinck-Brossard, Francoise (2008) [2004]. "Cowper, Spencer". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/6508. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. Kenworthy, Joan M; McCollum, Margaret S (March 2009). "A Contribution to Meteorology by Spencer Cowper, Dean of Durham 1746-74". Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London. 63 (1): 57–80. doi:10.1098/rsnr.2007.0047. JSTOR 40647193. S2CID 145590156.
  3. Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Cowper, Spencer (1)" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  4. Cowper, Spencer (1773). Eight Discourses preached on or near the great festivals in the Cathedral Church of Durham. London: the corner of Essex-Street in the Strand: W. Brown.
  5. Cowper, Spencer (1956). Hughes, Edward (ed.). Letters of Spencer Cowper, Dean of Durham, 1746-74. Andrews & Co.
  6. Gittings, Clare (January 1997). "The hell of living: Reflections on death in the diary of Sarah, Lady Cowper, 1700-1716". Mortality. 2 (1): 26. doi:10.1080/713685853.

 Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1887). "Cowper, Spencer (1713-1774)". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 12. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

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