Antonio Brady
Encyclopedia
Sir Antonio Brady was an English
naturalist
, social reformer
and British Admiralty
official.
Brady was born at Deptford
on 10 November 1811, being the eldest son of Anthony Brady of the Deptford victualling yard, then storekeeper at the Royal William victualling yard, Plymouth
, by his marriage, on 20 December 1810, with Marianne, daughter of Francis Perigal and Mary Ogier.
He was educated at Colfe's School
, Lewisham
, and then entered the civil service as a junior clerk in the Victoria victualling yard, Deptford, on 29 November 1828, and, having served there and at Plymouth and Portsmouth
, was, through the recommendation of Sir James Graham, promoted to headquarters at Somerset House
as a second-class clerk in the accountant-general's
office on 26 June 1844. He was gradually promoted until in 1864 he became registrar of contracts, and having subsequently assisted very materially in reorganising the office, he was made the first superintendent of the admiralty new contract department on 13 April 1869, when an improved salary of £1,000 a year was allotted to him. He held this appointment until 31 March 1870, when he retired on a special pension. He was knighted
by the Queen
at Windsor
on 23 June 1870.
After his retirement Sir Antonio devoted himself to social, educational, and religious reform. Having taken a great interest in the preservation of Epping Forest
for the people, he was appointed a judge in the Verderer's court for the forest of Epping. He was associated with church work of all kinds. He published in 1869 The Church's Works and its Hindrances, with suggestions for Church Reform. The establishment of the Plaistow and Victoria Dock Mission, the East London Museum at Bethnal Green
, and the West Ham and Stratford Dispensary was in a great measure due to him.
Brady was a member of the Ray
, the Palæontographical, and Geological
Societies. So long ago as 1844 his attention had been attracted to the wonderful deposits of brickearth
which occupy the valley of the Roding
at Ilford
, within a mile of his residence. Encouraged by Professor Owen
he commenced collecting the rich series of mammal
ian remains in the brickearths of the Thames valley
, comprising amongst others the skeleton
s of the tiger
, wolf, bear
, elephant
, rhinoceros
, horse
, elk
, stag
, bison
, ox
, hippopotamus
, &c. This valuable collection of pleistocene
mammalia is now in the Natural History Museum
. In his Catalogue of Pleistocene Mammalia from Ilford, Essex, 1874, printed for private circulation only, Brady acknowledges his indebtedness to Mr. William Davies, F.G.S., his instructor in the art of preserving fossil bones.
He died suddenly at his residence, Maryland Point, Forest Lane, Stratford
, on 12 December 1881. He was buried in St. John's churchyard, Stratford, on 16 December. His marriage with Maria, eldest daughter of George Kilner of Ipswich
, took place on 18 May 1837, and by her, who survived him, he left a son, the Rev. Nicholas Brady, rector of Wennington
, Essex
, and two daughters.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
, social reformer
Reform movement
A reform movement is a kind of social movement that aims to make gradual change, or change in certain aspects of society, rather than rapid or fundamental changes...
and British Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
official.
Brady was born at Deptford
Deptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
on 10 November 1811, being the eldest son of Anthony Brady of the Deptford victualling yard, then storekeeper at the Royal William victualling yard, Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, by his marriage, on 20 December 1810, with Marianne, daughter of Francis Perigal and Mary Ogier.
He was educated at Colfe's School
Colfe's School
Colfe's is a co-educational independent day school in Horn Park in the London Borough of Greenwich. The school is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The official Visitor to the school is HRH Prince Michael of Kent.-History:...
, Lewisham
Lewisham
Lewisham is a district in South London, England, located in the London Borough of Lewisham. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
, and then entered the civil service as a junior clerk in the Victoria victualling yard, Deptford, on 29 November 1828, and, having served there and at Plymouth and Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, was, through the recommendation of Sir James Graham, promoted to headquarters at Somerset House
Somerset House
Somerset House is a large building situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, England, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The central block of the Neoclassical building, the outstanding project of the architect Sir William Chambers, dates from 1776–96. It...
as a second-class clerk in the accountant-general's
Admiralty administration
The administration of the British Admiralty consists of the following branches and officers.-Department of the Controller :Spending branches are in the department of the controller, and it will be well, while we are dealing with the material side of the Royal Navy, to describe briefly their...
office on 26 June 1844. He was gradually promoted until in 1864 he became registrar of contracts, and having subsequently assisted very materially in reorganising the office, he was made the first superintendent of the admiralty new contract department on 13 April 1869, when an improved salary of £1,000 a year was allotted to him. He held this appointment until 31 March 1870, when he retired on a special pension. He was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
by the Queen
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
at Windsor
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
on 23 June 1870.
After his retirement Sir Antonio devoted himself to social, educational, and religious reform. Having taken a great interest in the preservation of Epping Forest
Epping Forest
Epping Forest is an area of ancient woodland in south-east England, straddling the border between north-east Greater London and Essex. It is a former royal forest, and is managed by the City of London Corporation....
for the people, he was appointed a judge in the Verderer's court for the forest of Epping. He was associated with church work of all kinds. He published in 1869 The Church's Works and its Hindrances, with suggestions for Church Reform. The establishment of the Plaistow and Victoria Dock Mission, the East London Museum at Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green
Bethnal Green is a district of the East End of London, England and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, with the far northern parts falling within the London Borough of Hackney. Located northeast of Charing Cross, it was historically an agrarian hamlet in the ancient parish of Stepney,...
, and the West Ham and Stratford Dispensary was in a great measure due to him.
Brady was a member of the Ray
Ray Society
The Ray Society was instituted in 1844 and named after John Ray, the 17th century naturalist, as a scientific publishing organization whose activities are devoted mainly to the British flora and fauna. So far the Ray Society has published 169 volumes...
, the Palæontographical, and Geological
Geological Society of London
The Geological Society of London is a learned society based in the United Kingdom with the aim of "investigating the mineral structure of the Earth"...
Societies. So long ago as 1844 his attention had been attracted to the wonderful deposits of brickearth
Brickearth
Brickearth is a term used in southeast England for loess, a wind-blown dust deposited under extremely cold, dry, peri- or postglacial conditions. The name arises from its use in making house bricks. The Brickearth is normally represented on 1:50,000 solid and drift edition geological maps...
which occupy the valley of the Roding
River Roding
The River Roding is a river in England that rises near Dunmow, flows through Essex and forms Barking Creek as it reaches the River Thames in London....
at Ilford
Ilford
Ilford is a large cosmopolitan town in East London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Redbridge. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It forms a significant commercial and retail...
, within a mile of his residence. Encouraged by Professor Owen
Richard Owen
Sir Richard Owen, FRS KCB was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and palaeontologist.Owen is probably best remembered today for coining the word Dinosauria and for his outspoken opposition to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection...
he commenced collecting the rich series of mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
ian remains in the brickearths of the Thames valley
Thames Valley
The Thames Valley Region is a loose term for the English counties and towns roughly following the course of the River Thames as it flows from Oxfordshire in the west to London in the east. It includes parts of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, North Hampshire, Surrey and west London...
, comprising amongst others the skeleton
Skeleton
The skeleton is the body part that forms the supporting structure of an organism. There are two different skeletal types: the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, and the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside the body.In a figurative sense, skeleton can...
s of the tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
, wolf, bear
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
, elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
, rhinoceros
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....
, horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
, elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
, stag
STAG
STAG: A Test of Love is a reality TV show hosted by Tommy Habeeb. Each episode profiles an engaged couple a week or two before their wedding. The cameras then follow the groom on his bachelor party...
, bison
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
, ox
Ox
An ox , also known as a bullock in Australia, New Zealand and India, is a bovine trained as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle; castration makes the animals more tractable...
, hippopotamus
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
, &c. This valuable collection of pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
mammalia is now in the Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
. In his Catalogue of Pleistocene Mammalia from Ilford, Essex, 1874, printed for private circulation only, Brady acknowledges his indebtedness to Mr. William Davies, F.G.S., his instructor in the art of preserving fossil bones.
He died suddenly at his residence, Maryland Point, Forest Lane, Stratford
Stratford, London
Stratford is a place in the London Borough of Newham, England. It is located east northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically an agrarian settlement in the ancient parish of West Ham, which transformed into an industrial suburb...
, on 12 December 1881. He was buried in St. John's churchyard, Stratford, on 16 December. His marriage with Maria, eldest daughter of George Kilner of Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, took place on 18 May 1837, and by her, who survived him, he left a son, the Rev. Nicholas Brady, rector of Wennington
Wennington, London
Wennington is a small village in the London Borough of Havering on the outskirts of east London. It is situated 14.8 miles east of Charing Cross....
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, and two daughters.