Bernard Burke
Encyclopedia
Sir John Bernard Burke, CB
(5 January 1814 – 12 December 1892) was a British
officer of arms
and genealogist.
, and was educated in London and in France
. His father, John Burke
(1787–1848), was also a genealogist, and in 1826 issued a Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the United Kingdom. This work, generally known as Burke's Peerage
, was issued annually starting in 1847. While practising as a barrister Bernard Burke assisted his father in his genealogical work, including the two volumes entitled The Royal Families of England, Scotland, and Wales, with their Descendants &c., which were not published until after his father's death (volume 1 in 1848, volume 2 in 1851), following which he took control of his publications. In 1853 Burke was appointed Ulster King of Arms
. In 1854 he was knighted and in 1855 he became Keeper of the State Papers in Ireland
. After having devoted his life to genealogical studies he died in Dublin on 12 December 1892. He was succeeded as editor of Burke's Peerage and Landed Gentry by his fourth son, Ashworth Peter Burke.
Continuing the strong family tradition of genealogy and heraldry, another of Burke's sons, Sir Henry Farnham Burke
, would eventually rise to the office of Garter Principal King of Arms
.
Burke's own works include:
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(5 January 1814 – 12 December 1892) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
officer of arms
Officer of arms
An officer of arms is a person appointed by a sovereign or state with authority to perform one or more of the following functions:*to control and initiate armorial matters*to arrange and participate in ceremonies of state...
and genealogist.
Personal life
He was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and was educated in London and in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. His father, John Burke
John Burke (genealogist)
John Burke was an Irish genealogist, and the original publisher of Burke's Peerage. He was the father of Sir Bernard Burke, a British officer of arms and genealogist....
(1787–1848), was also a genealogist, and in 1826 issued a Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the United Kingdom. This work, generally known as Burke's Peerage
Burke's Peerage
Burke's Peerage publishes authoritative, in-depth historical guides to the royal and titled families of the United Kingdom, such as Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, and of many other countries. Founded in 1826 by British genealogist John Burke Esq., and continued by his son, Sir John...
, was issued annually starting in 1847. While practising as a barrister Bernard Burke assisted his father in his genealogical work, including the two volumes entitled The Royal Families of England, Scotland, and Wales, with their Descendants &c., which were not published until after his father's death (volume 1 in 1848, volume 2 in 1851), following which he took control of his publications. In 1853 Burke was appointed Ulster King of Arms
Norroy and Ulster King of Arms
Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is one of the senior Officers of Arms of the College of Arms, and the junior of the two provincial Kings of Arms. The current office is the combination of two former appointments...
. In 1854 he was knighted and in 1855 he became Keeper of the State Papers in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. After having devoted his life to genealogical studies he died in Dublin on 12 December 1892. He was succeeded as editor of Burke's Peerage and Landed Gentry by his fourth son, Ashworth Peter Burke.
Continuing the strong family tradition of genealogy and heraldry, another of Burke's sons, Sir Henry Farnham Burke
Henry Burke
Sir Henry Farnham Burke, KCVO, CB, FSA was a long serving Irish officer of arms at the College of Arms in London.-Biography:Henry Burke was a son of Sir Bernard Burke . Henry Burke was appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary in 1880...
, would eventually rise to the office of Garter Principal King of Arms
Garter Principal King of Arms
The Garter Principal King of Arms is the senior King of Arms, and the senior Officer of Arms of the College of Arms. He is therefore the most powerful herald within the jurisdiction of the College – primarily England, Wales and Northern Ireland – and so arguably the most powerful in the world...
.
Works
In addition to editing Burke's Peerage from 1847 to his death, Burke brought out several editions of a companion volume, Burke's Landed Gentry, which was first published between 1833 and 1838. In 1866 and 1883 he published editions of his father's Dictionary of the Peerages of England, Scotland and Ireland, extinct, dormant and in abeyance (earlier editions, 1831,1840, 1846); and in 1855 and 1876 editions of his Royal Families of England, Scotland and Wales (1st edition, 1847–1851) Integral to the study of armorists was the publication in 1878 (enlarged edition in 1883) of his Encyclopaedia of Heraldry, or General Armoury of England, Scotland and Ireland was published in 1848.Burke's own works include:
- The Roll of Battle Abbey (1848)
- The Romance of the Aristocracy (1855)
- The Romance of the Forum (185-)
- Vicissitudes of Families (1883 and several earlier editions)
- The Rise of Great Families (1882)
- A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Colonial Gentry. Vols 1 & 2 (1891)